In 2012, he signed for Brighton & Hove Albion, before joining Crystal Palace, initially on loan, where he helped the Eagles to win promotion in 2013 to the Premier League.

On 3 July 2004, he made his European debut in the second round of the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, as a 76th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw with Lithuanian A Lyga club Vėtra at Easter Road.

A lack of opportunities at Hibernian under the management of Tony Mowbray meant that Dobbie was sent out on loan to Scottish First Division club St Johnstone on 26 January 2005.

Dobbie struggled to hold down a regular place in the first-team, and the following season he was loaned out to Scottish Third Division club Dumbarton,[10] where he found some form, scoring ten goals in seventeen league matches.

Dobbie's form at Dumbarton was noticed by Scottish First Division club Queen of the South, who signed him permanently from St Johnstone on 5 January 2007.

Dobbie's opening goal in a 2–0 home win of the quarter-final match versus Dundee on 8 March 2008 at Palmerston helped Queens to their first Scottish Cup semi final since 1950.

[18] Despite early second half goals by Steve Tosh and Jim Thomson, Queens were defeated 3–2 by Rangers in the final on 24 May 2008, with Dobbie being substituted in the 82nd minute.

Dobbie played in Queens 2008–09 UEFA Cup campaign in August 2008, when they lost 4–2 over two legs to Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland in the second qualifying round.

[14][20] Despite being the most prolific goalscorer for the Dumfries club since Andy Thomson in the early 1990s, Chisholm elected to leave Dobbie out of the starting line-up for both matches, preferring Stewart Kean.

Dobbie said of the move: "I'm sad to leave Queen of the South as I felt I'd struck up a good bond with the fans these past two and a half years.

[25] On 7 May 2009, Swansea City confirmed that they had agreed personal terms with Dobbie and that he would be moving to the South Wales club, subject to a medical at the Liberty Stadium.

With Craig Beattie and Gorka Pintado out injured long term, leaving only Shefki Kuqi to compete with Dobbie for the lone striker role, he was heavily relied on to score goals.

[citation needed] Dobbie scored in a 4–0 home win versus Preston North End on 14 August 2010, his first goal in a year for the Swans and he dedicated his strike to Besian Idrizaj.

[citation needed] West Ham striker Frank Nouble arrived at Swansea on a three-month loan deal, as competition for Dobbie up front.

[citation needed] From October 2010 until January 2011, Dobbie was only used as a substitute and failed to score any goals as he was replaced by Middlesbrough loan signing Marvin Emnes and a returning Craig Beattie.

[citation needed] Dobbie was getting fewer chances in the first team when Jermaine Easter joined for a month on loan from Milton Keynes Dons.

[citation needed] During the first leg of the semi-final play-off match away to Nottingham Forest, left back Neil Taylor was sent off after only one minute of play.

[37] Dobbie scored the second goal in the home leg versus Nottm Forest that helped secure Swansea a place in the final with a 3–1 aggregate win.

After eight appearances in the Premier League, Dobbie found himself down the pecking order behind strikers Danny Graham, Leroy Lita, Luke Moore and new signing Rory Donnelly.

Finding his first-team appearances limited, manager Brendan Rodgers allowed Dobbie to leave on loan after his former club Blackpool had enquired about his availability.

[50] Dobbie scored two goals in successive matches versus the Brighton and Wigan Athletic during April 2014 to help move the Seasiders above the relegation zone.

Dobbie was only the fifth player in the club's history to reach this milestone, after Jim Patterson, Bobby Black, Derek Lyle and Andy Thomson.

[64] On 19 April 2018, Dobbie was nominated for the PFA Scotland's Scottish Championship player of the season, alongside Craig Halkett, Lewis Morgan and Cammy Smith.

[65] On 28 April 2018, Dobbie scored his fourth hat-trick of the campaign in the final league match of the 2017–18 season in a 5–1 away win over Brechin City at Glebe Park.

On 17 July 2018, Dobbie scored his fifth hat-trick since his return to the Doonhamers versus Clyde in a 3–0 win in the Scottish League Cup at Palmerston, his first treble of the season.

[75] On 10 February, in the next round of the Scottish Cup, he scored an "outrageous" goal from around 30 yards to equalise against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, although this time the top-tier side responded and eventually won 4–1 to eliminate Queen of the South from the competition.

[79] Despite Dobbie's personal achievements, Queens finished ninth in the 2018–19 Scottish Championship and entered the play-offs along with Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers and Montrose from League One.

On 11 May 2019, Dobbie scored his tenth hat-trick since his return to the Doonhamers, this time in a 5–0 win at home to Montrose in the Scottish Championship play-off semi final second leg, his sixth treble of the season.

[citation needed] On 4 December 2020, on the eve of his 38th birthday, Dobbie captained Queens to a 3–0 defeat at Palmerston versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the live Friday night match on BBC Scotland.

[88][89] On 30 April 2021, Dobbie played 73 minutes versus Dundee in the 2-0 defeat at Palmerston in his final match for the Doonhamers, before being replaced by Niyah Joseph.