Nintendogs Best Friends Version Tricks: Basic and Advanced List
Nintendogs Best Friends Version has basic tricks like sit and lie down, plus advanced ones such as jumping and balancing. Here is how to teach the main ones with the stylus.
In this article
Nintendogs Best Friends Version tricks come in two groups, and the basic group is the place to start. Basic tricks such as sit and lie down need only the stylus, with no other commands needed [1]. That makes them a good first step if you are new to training your dog. For more detail, see Nintendogs: Best Friends Version Walkthrough, Step by Step.
Advanced tricks such as jump and balance build on the basic commands, so your dog's earlier training carries over [2]. Working through the basics first means your dog will already know the commands it needs for the harder moves.
The same tricks work across versions of the game, so the list applies in any version [1]. This article walks through the full list, from basic moves to advanced ones, and points you to community lists for more.
How do you teach the basic tricks like sit and lie down?
Sit and lie down are the easiest tricks to start with, and you need only the stylus to teach both. Your dog learns them from the same kind of stroke on the touch screen, so once you have sit, lie down is a short extension of it. [1]
Teaching sit
- Call your dog over to you. Wait until it is close enough to reach with the stylus.
- Bring the stylus down from your dog's nose to its paws. Keep the movement smooth and steady, starting at the head and ending at the feet. [1]
- Your dog should sit down. Once it does, give it a moment before you move on to the next trick. [1]
If the dog does not sit on the first try, call it over again and repeat the stroke. Dogs usually pick up the movement after a few tries, because it is the same each time.
Teaching lie down
- Call your dog over and get it to sit first, using the stroke from its nose to its paws. [1]
- Once your dog is sitting, bring the stylus down again, from its head to its paws. This second stroke is the lie down command. [1]
- Your dog should lie down. If it stays sitting, wait a second and repeat the same stroke. [1]
The movement pattern is what makes this work. Use the same downward stroke for both steps, and let the dog's position tell you which trick it is doing. For example, a sitting dog that gets the stroke again will lower itself to lie down.
What you need
Both tricks need only the stylus. You do not have to teach your dog any other command first, so you can start training as soon as you have the game open.
How do you get your dog to balance on its paw?
To get your dog to balance on its paw, command it to beg, lift one paw with the stylus, and let go once the paw reaches the top of the touch screen. The dog then balances on that paw by itself. [2]
The trick takes three moves, and the order matters. Follow these steps:
- Command your dog to beg. Give the beg command first, and wait until your dog is in the begging position before you touch its paw.
- Lift its paw into the air with the stylus. Touch the stylus to one of the dog's front paws and drag it upward, so the paw rises off the lower part of the screen.
- When the paw reaches the top of the touch screen, let go. The dog balances on its paw.
Here is how it plays out. Say your dog is begging in the middle of the screen. You place the stylus under its left paw and slide upward in one steady motion. When the paw reaches the top edge, you lift the stylus off the screen, and your dog holds the balance.
Timing is the part most players need a few tries to get right. If you let go too early, the paw never gets high enough to start the balance. Keep the stylus on the paw until it reaches the top, and use a slow, steady drag.
Balance is an advanced trick, so it builds on the beg command. If your dog doesn't respond to beg, the paw lift won't work either. Once beg is reliable, practice the same upward motion until the release feels natural.
Which advanced tricks are on the list?
The jump is the advanced trick you can most easily get working, while the backflip is the one players report trouble with. Start with the jump, and treat the backflip as a harder goal once the jump feels comfortable.
Jump
To make your puppy jump, quickly tap the very top of the touch screen with your stylus. When you do, the puppy leaps into the air. [3]
The jump builds on the basic commands, so your dog should already respond well to the stylus before you try it. Keep your taps quick and aimed at the top edge of the screen, so the dog reads the tap as the jump signal.
Backflip
The backflip is listed as an advanced trick, and players on forums have reported trouble getting it. [4] One player described the problem: when they tried for a backflip and told the dog to jump, the dog got up and did a regular jump instead. [4]
That report sets your expectations. If you get a plain jump when you were aiming for a backflip, the dog has done a different trick than you asked for, so it is not a sign that you have failed.
Who each trick suits
The jump suits anyone who has finished the basic tricks and wants a quick, satisfying trick to show off. The backflip suits players who enjoy a challenge and don't mind repeating attempts. Try it after the jump feels easy.
- Jump: tap the very top of the touch screen quickly with the stylus. [3]
- Backflip: listed as an advanced trick, with players reporting trouble. [4]
- Common result: the dog does a regular jump instead. [4]
Where can you find the full list of tricks?
The full list is spread across three community sources, and each one covers a different part. Use the IGN guide for basic tricks written out step by step, the fan wiki to sort basic from advanced, and forum threads for player tips on the harder ones.
IGN's Tricks FAQ for basic tricks
The IGN Tricks FAQ is the best place to read the basic tricks step by step [1]. Each entry names the trick and gives its steps, so you can follow them at the touch screen [1].
Shake shows how the entries read. The guide says it needs no other commands [1]. Call your dog over, grab its paw, and bring it up until you see a light bulb in the top right-hand corner. Let go of the paw and click the light bulb.
Play Dead works the same way. Tell your dog to lie down, then bring the stylus across its body from its belly to the side of the screen. The dog ends up on its side, and you click the light bulb in the right-hand corner [1].
The fan wiki for basic and advanced tricks
The Nintendogs fan wiki has a List of Tricks page that separates basic and advanced tricks [2]. Use it when you want the whole set in one place, so you can see which tricks are harder before you start training.
The Advanced Tricks section starts with entries such as Stand, and each entry lists its steps underneath [2]. Because the wiki and the IGN guide use the same trick names, you can match an entry on one page to the other.
Forum threads for player tips
Forum threads are the place to look for tips on the advanced tricks. MMO Central has a thread titled "Nintendogs: Tricks and Advanced Tricks Guide!" where players share their advice [3].
Read a few replies and compare them with the wiki's steps. If two sources agree, you can try that method with more confidence. If they disagree, start with the simpler version and see how your dog responds. For a closer look, read Nintendogs Best Friends Quick Dog Unlock Tip That Saves Time.
With these three sources together, you have the basic steps, the full sorted list, and the player tips for the harder tricks.
Where should you start with your dog's tricks?
Start with sit and lie down. They need only the stylus, so you can practice them before anything else. Sit means calling your dog over and bringing the stylus down from its nose to its paws. [1]
Next, move to beg. Call your dog over and bring the stylus from its paws to the top of the screen, and a dog in a good mood will beg. [1] Once beg feels easy, balance and the jump come next.
When you want the full set, use the community lists. IGN's tricks FAQ and the Nintendogs fan wiki both list the tricks step by step. [1][2]