Nintendogs Table of Contents

3. Competitions

Disc Training and Competitions

You can view the Disc Competitions Book by navigating to your "Supplies List > Care > Disc Competitions Book". Remember, you can only enter three competitions per day per dog. That means three Disc Competitions, two Discs and one Agility, two Obedience and one Agility, etc. Don't waste your events; choose them wisely. Make sure you dog is fed/watered/beautiful before you start so that it is in a good mood. If you get in over your head and have started a competition that you want to back out of, turn off your DS (knowing that you'll lose everything you've done since your last save).

Training

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To train your dog for Disc Competitions you'll first have to procure a disc (frisbee). You can buy this at the Pet Supply store via your "Going Out" menu or you can hit the Second Hand Shop on a walk. Once you have a frisbee, head to the park. It's best to go to a park without other dogs. If you go to a park with other dogs, they'll all compete for the frisbee, making it difficult to train your dog. Once you are at a park, choose the frisbee (disc) from the "Supplies" menu. You can toss the frisbee by first grabbing it and then tossing it using a upward motion. The faster you do that motion the further the disc will go. It won't take long for you to get the hang of this.

Once the disc is tossed, your dog will run after it. It may not catch the frisbee on the first try, and that's fine. You're training you dog, afterall. Once your dog gets the disc (by catching it or just grabbing it), tap the dog and say its name to make it run back to you. Once it's back, rub it's head until you get the sparkles. This is rewarding your dog for returning your frisbee. Then, grab the frisbee from its mouth and toss it again. Repeat this process making sure to pet its head each time it returns with the disc. After a few tries your dog will catch on and be able to catch short tosses. As your dog ages a bit and gains some stamina it'll be able to catch far tosses. Once you feel that your dog can catch a few short tosses you can go ahead and enter a competition.

Competitions

To start a Disc Competition, navigate to your "Go Out" menu and choose "Contests". Then, select "Disc Competition". First, you'll have to deal with Ted Rumsworth and Archie Hubbs and their mindless chatter. Do pay attention to how many points you'll need to come in Third Place, which is something they always say. Once the contest begins, note that you have 60 seconds to toss the frisbee as many times as you can. As long as you get a toss in before the clock expires, that throw will count, so even if you're down to one second, toss that disc!

When your dog catches a disc you'll want it to return to you as quickly as possible. If you've trained it well, it should. If it doesn't, tap the dog and call its name to make your dog return quicker.

Points are determined by the zone your dog catches the frisbee in, from 0 - 10 points; 10 being further and 0 being in the first zone. Your dog can earn one additional point for making a jumping catch. So, if your dog makes a normal catch in the first zone, it'll earn 1 point. If it makes a jumping catch in the first zone, it'll earn 2 points. If your dog makes a normal catch in the furthest zone, it'll earn 9 points. If it makes a jumping catch in the furthest zone, it'll earn 10 points. See how that works?

Each time you place third or better you'll advance one class. The classes are: Beginner, Open, Expert, Master, and Championship. If you fail to place third or better, you'll fall back a class. Don't fret if this happens. Just suck it up and work your way back up. Each class will give you increasing amounts of prize money.

When you finally reach the Championship you're going to have to get at least 50 points. This can be a daunting task. The best way to do this is to mix up your tosses as you won't have time to do five, 10 point tosses. Try this combination. Do a 6, 10, 10, 10, 6, 10. This will earn you 52 points. That last 10 you'll have to toss just before time runs out, but remember, it counts.

Agility Training and Agility Trials

You can view the Agility Trial Book by navigating to your "Supplies List > Care > Agility Trial Book". Remember, you can only enter three competitions per day per dog. That means three Disc Competitions, two Discs and one Agility, two Obedience and one Agility, etc. Don't waste your events; choose them wisely. Make sure you dog is fed/watered/beautiful before you start so that it is in a good mood. If you get in over your head and have started a competition that you want to back out of, turn off your DS (knowing that you'll lose everything you've done since your last save).

Agility Training

In order to enter your first Agility Trial you have to visit Gym while out on a walk. The Gym is the building with the Jumping Dog Icon. Here at the Gym you can teach your dog how to maneuver around/over/through the various obstacles. The first thing you'll need to learn is how to lead your dog around. This is controlled by a Yellow/Red arrow. The Arrow appears when you tap the screen. You can either tap the screen or keep the stylus on the screen and drag it around, showing your dog where you want it to go. I highly recommend getting used the latter technique. If you can do a smooth dragging technique to lead your dog you'll be better prepared for Agility Trials.

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The first type of obstacle that you'll learn to jump over is the Hurdles. As you're dragging your stylus around you'll notice that the Arrow will lock-on to a nearby Hurdle. This will be the Hurdle that you want your dog to jump over. As the dog nears the gate you can drag the stylus over the Hurdle to the other side to make your dog jump it. You should never have to raise the stylus off of the touch screen. As you advance, you'll get double Hurdles. These are done the same way as single Hurdles.

The second type of obstacle is the Blue Tunnel. Simply drag your stylus to either opening of the Tunnel to make your dog enter it. Then, drag your stylus along the length of the Tunnel to make it pop out the other side.

The third type of obstacle is the Seesaw. Drag the stylus to make your Arrow go to the front of the Seesaw. Drag the stylus along the length of the Seesaw to make your dog walk along it. Before it reaches the end of the Seesaw, drag your stylus BEHIND your dog to make it momentarily stop. This will allow the Seesaw to tip to the other side. Then, drag your Stylus along the remaining length of the Seesaw to complete the obstacle. If you don't wait for the Seesaw to tip to the other side, you'll get a "Miss".

The fourth and final type of obstacle is the Pole. Poles are used to do Slaloms, weaving or zig-zagging back and forth. Drag the stylus to the first Pole. The Arrow will lock-on to the area between the first and second pole. Then, when your dog approaches the first pole, drag the stylus back and forth in a zig-zag pattern to make your dog go through the poles. He'll walk at first and then as he gains experience, will move through faster.

Agility Trial

The Rules of Agility Trials are as follows: Each time your dog fails to clear an obstacle (a "Miss"), 5 points will be deducted from the overall score. 1 point will be deducted for each second you dog exceeds the Standard Time. When you begin a Trial, you'll see the numbered course on your upper screen. Courses are fairly logically laid-out, so you'll never have to go from one side of the arena to the other. Usually, after you complete an obstacle, the next obstacle will be right in front of you. If you've trained enough you'll be good at keeping the stylus in contact with the screen and guiding your dog the entire way without having to lift up the stylus. It's fine if you do. I just found my best scores came when I was in a groove and simply dragging the stylus in a natural way.

Obedience Training and Obedience Trials

You can view the Obedience Trial Book by navigating to your "Supplies List > Care > Obedience Trial Book". Remember, you can only enter three competitions per day per dog. That means three Disc Competitions, two Discs and one Agility, two Obedience and one Agility, etc. Don't waste your events; choose them wisely. Make sure you dog is fed/watered/beautiful before you start so that it is in a good mood. If you get in over your head and have started a competition that you want to back out of, turn off your DS (knowing that you'll lose everything you've done since your last save).

Obedience Training

Training for Obedience Trials is simply training in general. You'll want your dog to have a good grasp of the basic tricks (listed in "Training Your Dog" above). You'll also want your dog to obey these basic commands at a moment's notice and quickly move from one trick to another. The most important thing is that you remember the tricks yourself, that is, you have them memorized.

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As you advance through the Obedience Trial rankings you'll want your dog to have a good set of advanced tricks at its disposal for use in the Free Performance section of the trial. However, for the first few rounds, the basic commands will do you fine. There will also be a section called "Holding" where your dog will be asked to Hold a trick for "x" seconds (at first it's 2 or 3, as you progress it's 15 or 20). The only way to increase your dog's ability to Hold a trick is to work with your dog each day, asking him to do his basic tricks. After each trick, pet your dog. After many days of this, your dog will eventually become very patient and won't break the trick.

Obedience Trials

Obedience Trials are the most difficult of the contests and also award you the most money. Always make sure you clean your dog so that it has a Beautiful status going into the Trial. It also helps if your dog is fed and watered and generally in a good mood.

There are three judges who will judge your dog's performance based on a scale of 1 - 10. Points are awarded on both the dog's performance and the dog's grooming. The first part of the Trial is Required Commands. In this segment you have to have your dog perform the tricks that the judges ask of you. There may be a sequence of tricks, for example, Sit - Lie Down - Sit. You have 30 seconds to complete the commands. If your dog fails to perform a trick(s) in the allotted time, or does a trick that isn't asked of him, you'll lose points in the eyes of the judges. Here is the breakdown of the Required Tricks you'll need your dog to know for each Class:

Beginner Class - Sit, Shake, Lie Down.

Open Class - Sit, Shake, Lie Down, Roll Over, Spin.

Expert Class - Sit, Shake, Lie Down, Roll Over, Jump, Beg.

Following the Required Commands segment you'll have to perform various Holds where your dog will have to Hold a trick for "x" seconds. At first it's only for 4 or 5 seconds. As you advance through the classes it'll be for longer, sometimes up to 20 seconds. The only way to increase this ability in your dog is to work on basic commands (see Obedience Training above).

Finally, you'll enter the Free Performance segment where you can tell you dog to perform any advanced tricks. Obviously, the more advanced the trick the more the judges will be impressed.

In general, the more time you spend training with your dog the better he'll perform in the Obedience Trial. I recommend getting good at Disc Competitions and Agility Trials, earning some money that way, and then after a few days of training, you can attempt an Obedience Trial.

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