I I were a dev contractually obligated to incorporate touchpad features into my game, I'd make a mechanic where any time you happend to come across a dog anywhere, you could pet it by stroking the touchpad. That's it. No combat integration or lock picking minigame, or whatever else that would actually make it at any point mandatory for the player. Just the option to pet any dog you may pass on the street.
And then make a random one out of every ten dogs bite your hand if you pet them. And if you attack the biting dog, it's owner attacks you, and your police/alert rating goes up a notch or two.
Maybe even make it so the petting motion is tied directly to the pad stroke instead of prebaked. So the player has to pet the dog OctoDad style, and if they pet too hard or in the wrong direction, it triggers a bite.
And then make a random one out of every ten dogs bite your hand if you pet them. And if you attack the biting dog, it's owner attacks you, and your police/alert rating goes up a notch or two.
Maybe even make it so the petting motion is tied directly to the pad stroke instead of prebaked. So the player has to pet the dog OctoDad style, and if they pet too hard or in the wrong direction, it triggers a bite.