History VideoGame / Nintendogs

* SpiritualSuccessor: Could be considered this to the ''VideoGame/{{Petz}}'' series of games.

Back in 2005, ''Nintendogs'' was the early KillerApp of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, especially popular with children and young women. You get to look after up to three puppies which you can feed, walk, play with and bathe. You can teach it to do tricks in response to your real voice, using the DS microphone, and enter it into contests to win virtual prizes.

''Nintendogs + [[CuteKitten Cats]]'' was eventually released in 2011 for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As you may have guessed]], it adds kittens as virtual pets you can keep.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: It's notably hard to win the hardest levels of the frisbee competitions, due to the fact that you have to have a perfect lucky stylus-slide for a toss, and sometimes you just get unlucky and your dog drops it. The other dogs almost never fail as the levels get harder, and they can "accidentally" walk through your dog, pushing it aside and causing it to not catch the Frisbee.

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: It's not the most ''realistic'' pet sim on the market. For example, most puppies and kittens can't digest milk.
** Justified, in that the milk is described as a "formula specially prepared for puppies and kittens". Also, there ARE milk drinks that CAN be digested by all cats and dogs.

* VagueAge: Your dog is just ambiguously a puppy. They're weaned and adoptable, meaning they're over 3 months, but can still drink formula. They also still have young puppy proportions, meaning they're under 6 months.

* NiceHat: You can make your pets wear these, ranging from ordinary caps to top hats and even the hat of a [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros certain famous plumber]].

* VendorTrash: Your dogs can find things on walks which you can later sell. Along with ordinary useful stuff like accessories, they can find things like empty juice boxes, sticks, and broken disposable cameras. At the other end of the scale, there's fallen meteors and expensive vases which fetch quite a lot of money. This is changed in the 3DS sequel in which you find junk items [[ItemCrafting that can be used to make better items]] but you can still find the occasional accessory and toy here and there.

* CasualVideoGame

Unlike ''VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}}'' and similar virtual pets, a Nintendog will not die, get sick, or even age beyond puppyhood. Even if the game is neglected for an extended period of time, the worst that happens is that the dog may temporarily "run away".

*** Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag".

* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Your pet will forever stay a puppy or kitten. Despite rumors, they can't breed. They also [[InfantImmortality never die]].

* DummiedOut: The Maltese and Papillon breeds in the original version.

[[quoteright:304:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nintendy_6595.png]]
[[caption-width-right:304:Can you tell it was made by Creator/{{Nintendo}}?]]

** In the original game, While on a walk, the first time your dog poops and you don't pick it up, next time you walk by a question mark block, your neighbor will appear and call you out on it.

** Brushing your dog or cat is a monotnous task that takes much longer than simply washing them. But this earns more Trainer Points, and there is a glitch in the original game that allows you to gain a lot of Trainer Points by simply opening the brushing interface and leaving it there. In + Cats, you can brush your puppy even at the park or cafe, which is useful if it has rolled in puddles earlier.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Many owners of the second title might want a house full of cats. However, as cute as they are, the cats aren't really that useful. It is very hard to make money off cats as they can't go for walks or even enter any contests. They're also less interactive than dogs (they won't come if you call, can't play with several toys, etc). There's a reason the game is called ''+ Cats'' and not ''And Cats''.

* IdeaBulb: And then your dog can [[ExtremeOmnivore eat them]].
* InsistentTerminology: You are not a pet owner, you're a pet "trainer".

** The disc competition has shades of this. It's entirely possible that your dog does amazing...only for another dog to do even better. Or you can do completely awful, but the other dogs did even worse than you.

* WhatTheHellPlayer: In the original game, While on a walk, the first time your dog poops and you don't pick it up, next time you walk by a question mark block, your neighbor will appear and call you out on it.

** Justified, in that the milk is described as a "formula specially prepared for puppies and kittens"

''Nintendogs'' was the early KillerApp of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, especially popular with children and young women. You get to look after up to three puppies which you can feed, walk, play with and bathe. You can teach it to do tricks in response to your real voice, using the DS microphone, and enter it into contests to win virtual prizes.

''Nintendogs + [[CuteKitten Cats]]'' was later released for the 3DS. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As you may have guessed]], it adds kittens as virtual pets you can keep.

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* GuiltBasedGaming: Any pets that you choose to donate will become visibly sad for the last few moments it's on the screen, and eventually turn its head away from you and refuse to look at you, even if you rotate the screen. This is averted (or perhaps for some people, [[NothingIsScarier made even worse]]) in the 3DS games, where you don't see the soon-to-be donated pet at all - just a message stating that the hotel will find it a new owner.
* GottaCatchThemAll:
** Including the rare Jack Russell terrier.
** In the sequel the Jack Russell has lost its rarity to the [[RobotDog Robopup]].

* ShakingTheRump: Nintendogs will shake their ass at you when they want to play.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In order to diversify the dogs, many colors were added that go against the Breed Standards or are outright impossible.