Nintendogs: Best Friends Version Walkthrough, Step by Step
This walkthrough follows Nintendogs: Best Friends Version in the order you will meet its features. It starts with your first dog and ends with competitions and unlocks.
In this article
Here's a Nintendogs: Best Friends Version walkthrough, step by step, from your first dog to entering competitions. Start with one dog, learn its basic care, and work through the game in the order you meet its features. The Best Friends Version came out on the Nintendo DS on Oct 27, 2005 [1], so the steps here follow that release. Learn more in Nintendogs Best Friends Version Tricks.
This walkthrough follows the order of play, not a dog-by-dog list. That means you pick a first dog and handle its care before you move on to daily routines, competitions, and unlocks as your progress grows. Each part builds on the one before it, so you don't need to skip ahead.
If you want the full picture of tricks before you start, read the tricks list overview, which explains how training works. For a faster way to unlock new dogs, the quick dog unlocking tip gives you clear steps you can follow right away.
How do you choose your first dog?
Pick the dog that appeals to you most, because you will spend a lot of time with it. Your first dog is the starting point for everything else in the game, so it's worth looking over your options before you commit.
Once you have your dog, learn its basic care first. The walkthrough on StrategyWiki has a Pet care page for this, and it is the first topic listed under its Walkthrough section [2]. Read that page before you start training or entering anything else.
A simple routine helps here. Check on your dog at the start of each play session, and note whether it needs attention before you do anything fun. Doing the basics first keeps the rest of your play from feeling rushed.
Your dog's care also sets up the rest of the game. The walkthrough follows the same order as the game: Pet care, then Walks, Tricks, and Contests [2]. Working through the topics in that order means you meet each feature when you are ready for it, not before.
Don't try to learn everything from memory. Keep the walkthrough open in a browser tab while you play, and jump to the section you need when a question comes up. That's especially useful when you want to remember what a step involves before you act on it.
For the step-by-step detail on your first dog, open the Walkthrough page on StrategyWiki [2]. It is the place to go for exact steps, while this guide gives you the order to follow and the reasons behind it.
How do daily care and training fit together?
Daily care and training work best as one short routine. Look after your dog first, then use the rest of the session to teach it something new. A dog whose needs are met is a more willing partner, so care always comes before training.
Start every session with care
Begin by checking on your dog's everyday needs. Then play a short game together so it stays happy and settled. Only after that should you start a training session.
This order matters because practice feels like play to a dog that is comfortable. If you jump straight into drills with a hungry or restless dog, each try is likely to go worse.
Keep training sessions short
Aim for one or two tricks per session, and only a few minutes on each. A short session fits into a busy day, and you can pick the same trick up again tomorrow. If your dog looks tired or distracted, end early and try again later.
Stopping while the dog is still responsive is the goal. A dog that ends on a good note is easier to work with the next day.
Know which tricks exist
Tricks are the goal of training, so it helps to know what is on the list. A community wiki page lists the tricks from the original Nintendogs [3]. It also points to a separate page for Nintendogs + Cats [3].
That means the list describes the original game, not Best Friends [3]. Don't assume every trick works the same way in Best Friends. Use the list as a source of ideas, not as a complete Best Friends checklist.
For how a trick is taught in Best Friends, read the tricks overview article linked from this guide. Use the step-by-step walkthrough for specific actions.
A simple daily plan
- Check on your dog and handle its everyday needs.
- Play a short game together so it stays happy.
- Train one trick for a few minutes.
- Stop while the dog is still responsive.
Repeat this each day and your dog learns steadily. You never have to choose between caring for it and training it, because both fit into the same session.
When should you enter competitions?
Enter competitions last, once your dog has been through the earlier parts of the walkthrough. The walkthrough's contents list Contests as the final entry, after Pet care, Walks and Tricks [2]. Following that order means your dog has learned the basics before it faces other dogs.
The order to follow
Work through the walkthrough in the order its contents list it:
- Pet care
- Walks
- Tricks
- Contests
Pet care comes first, so your dog is looked after before you ask anything of it. Walks come next, and then tricks. By the time you reach Contests, you have already spent time on each of the earlier stages.
Why not skip ahead
It can be tempting to jump straight to the events. If you skip ahead, though, you may end up learning basics in the middle of a competition. That is much harder than learning them at home, where you can take your time.
For example, imagine your dog has never been taken on a walk and you enter it in an event the same day. It will be learning the routine while other dogs are already settled in. Giving each stage a few days lets the routine feel familiar first.
A simple way to pace yourself is to set one small goal per stage. Look after your dog for a few days, then take one short walk, then teach one trick. When each step feels comfortable, Contests is the natural next step.
Read the Contests section before you enter
Once you reach Contests, read that part of the walkthrough from start to finish before you sign up. That way you know which steps come first and what the walkthrough asks you to do before an event begins. Keeping the page open on a phone or second screen helps you follow along without losing your place.
Use the walkthrough for the details
This article gives you the order of play, not the specifics of each event. The step-by-step details for competitions are in the walkthrough itself [2]. Details can vary, so treat the walkthrough as the final word and trust it if something doesn't match what you read here.
What unlocks as you keep playing?
Unlocks in Best Friends come from your progress through the game, not from one special action. The more time you spend caring for your dogs and moving through the game, the more of its content opens up. Think of progress as a slow build rather than a switch you can flip.
Progress comes from regular play
Early on, you focus on one dog and its basic care. As you keep going, the game gives you more to work with. Exact unlock requirements are not laid out in detail here, so treat the general pattern below as a guide rather than a checklist.
Short, regular sessions are the simplest habit to build. Playing a little most days keeps your dog's care on track while your progress builds up in the background. Long gaps tend to slow things down, because there is less time for new things to open.
The breeds in this version
The Best Friends release is built around a set of breeds, and knowing them helps you see what is part of this version. The official page lists six: Labrador, Miniature Dachshund, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Beagle, and Yorkshire Terrier [1]. The page does not explain how each breed becomes available, so you will discover that as you play.
A faster route to new dogs
If you want to speed things up, read the quick dog unlocking tip article. It gives steps you can follow right away, so you do not have to wait for progress alone to bring new dogs into your game.
Keep the general pattern in mind as you go. Progress opens things gradually, and a steady routine usually works better than rushing ahead.
Where to go next in the game
Play in the order the game introduces its features: care for your dog first, then walks, then tricks, and finally contests. The StrategyWiki walkthrough follows the same sequence, with its sections listed as Pet care, Walks, Tricks and Contests [2]. Work through each stage before you move on, and use the detailed walkthrough when you need the exact steps.
Once you know the order, the tricks overview article gives you the full picture of what your dog can learn and how training works. Read it when you reach the Tricks stage, then come back to the walkthrough for the step-by-step details.