Leonidas said DOG Mode would remove two restrictions currently enforced by Bitcoin Core. One limits the maximum standard transaction size that nodes relay. The other defines the minimum Bitcoin value an output must contain before nodes forward it.
Bitcoin’s consensus rules determine whether a block remains valid across the network. By contrast, relay policy only controls which transactions an individual node shares with neighboring nodes. Therefore, transactions rejected under relay policy can remain valid under Bitcoin’s consensus rules.
Since most Bitcoin nodes run Bitcoin Core, its default relay settings effectively shape network behavior. Nevertheless, miners can still include non-standard transactions if they receive them directly. Services such as MARA’s Slipstream already help users submit those transactions to miners.
DOG Mode would increase the maximum standard transaction size from 400,000 weight units to 3,900,000 weight units. Since a Bitcoin block holds four million weight units, the proposed limit would allow nodes to relay transactions occupying almost an entire block.
Meanwhile, the proposal would lower the dust limit from 294-546 satoshis to just one satoshi. As a result, smaller outputs could move through participating nodes without meeting today’s higher threshold.