Training your dogs to hunt and do tricks is a big part of how you’ll interact with them, but it’s certainly not all there is. Dogs have lots of other fun interactions that they can either do by themselves or with their Sims.
This menu is an example of a base menu before a dog learns Trick or Hunting skills. Once those skills have been learned, new options appear on the menu. The traits your Sim possesses may add options to the menu, and other options appear contextually as well. For example, if the dog isn’t right nearby, you gain the Call Pet option.
The options you see when directing your dog also vary based on the dog’s traits and skills, and by what’s going on. Dogs have different interactions on items, on the ground, on other pets, and on Sims.
Care, Affection, and Play
Care interactions - Dogs thrive when given plenty of care and affection. Sims can provide these for their dogs through the Care and Affection options in the main dog menu (when the Sim clicks on the dog). The Care option lets you brush or rename your pet. Rename your pet if you decide you’d like them to answer to a different moniker.
Brushing your dog helps with the hidden Hygiene need. Dogs don’t really care if they’re dirty, but their Sims do!
Fleas and Bathing - Along with brushing, Sims can bathe their dogs. However, there must be a bathtub on the lot. You can’t squeeze a dog and a Sim in the shower, and even tiny dogs can’t be washed in the sink. And why do you need to bathe your dog? Dogs get dirty from running around and digging up treasures. Even worse, they get fleas!
When dogs spend time outdoors, they can get fleas. And they can bring these fleas back and share them with other pets and their Sims. Not only that, but a flea infestation gives dogs a mood hit that lasts a long time unless a Sim bathes the pet. To initiate a bath, click on either the dog or the bathtub. If you click the bathtub and have multiple pets in the household, you’ll get a picker to choose which pet to bathe.
The picker lets you select which pet to bathe.
A nice sudsy bath will take care of those fleas.
The Pet Hygienator Reward Object is a great way to keep your pet clean and flea-free. Pets who use it get the Unnaturally Clean moodlet, and stay clean longer.
Affection
The Affection option leads to the following choices: Feed Treat, Let Sniff Hand, Pet, Rub Belly, Talk To, Hug, Smooch.
Not all of these interactions may appear right away. You must have a certain relationship level with a dog before you can perform them. For example, you can let a strange dog sniff your hand, but you can’t smooch him until you know him better.
All dogs love to have their belly rubbed. During a belly rub, Hyper dogs often twitch their legs more than Lazy dogs!
All of these caring and affectionate socials build LTR and Social for both the dog and the Sim. Brushing your dog helps maintain the hidden Hygiene need. Feeding your dog a treat wards off a little Hunger. Hug, Brush, and Rub Belly socials give your pet the positive Loved moodlet.
Play
The Play option leads to these additional socials: Chase, Have Fun, Play Fetch, Tug of War.
All of these playful socials build Fun, LTR, and Social for the Sim and the pet. Whether you’re chasing around with your dog, tossing a stick, squeezing a squeaky toy, or tugging on a rope, your Sims and your dogs are spending quality time together.
See the New Socials chart in the New Simology chapter for full details of each social.
Pick Up
Your Sims can pick up and carry small breed dogs around. This base level interaction builds LTR between the pet and the Sim. Sims can also do certain socials while holding their pets, such as Hug or Smoochy. Carrying a dog is a good way to build Social with a pet while also doing something else, such as conversing with another Sim.
Reinforcement
Along with care, affection, and play, dogs need training. Well... unless you want them peeing in the house, chewing the furniture, and chasing the Mail Carrier. In an expansion filled with great content, this is one of the coolest new features. Well, that and unicorns...
The training and reinforcement your Sims give their pets actually alters their traits. A Piggy dog can learn to eat Neatly. A Noisy dog can learn to be more Quiet. With proper reinforcement, new traits can show up on a dog’s Simology tab. Traits that have been added due to training have a thick green border, and say Trained in the tool tip. Pets can have variable number of traits, depending on the reinforcement they receive.
Traits gained through training have a green border.
Sims have access to both positive and negative reinforcement: praise for desired behavior and scolding for undesired behavior. To reinforce a particular behavior, click on your pet just after the action. If that action is reinforceable, the Reinforcement option will appear on the menu. Then choose whether to Praise or Scold your pet. The particular action you can praise or scold for appears on the choice.
Praising your pets bestows the Praised moodlet, while Scolding them bestows the Scolded moodlet. Both actions push the pet’s traits more toward the desired behavior and against the undesired alternative. Scolded pets will not bark at or bite Sims, chew on furniture, or pee in the house. The Scolded moodlet goes away in time, or if the dog is praised.
But wait... pets are fully controllable. Can’t you just direct your pets to behave appropriately? Sure, you can do this. But the training mechanism provides a representation of the interactive relationships people have with their pets. Dogs crave their guardians’ love and approval, and will aim to please when properly directed. The autonomous behavior of well trained pets will be more in line with what you want. That means you can spend less time directing your pets, and more time enjoying them.
Trait Based Behavior
Dog behavior varies based on their traits. Piggy dogs slobber and spill their food, drink out of the toilet, and roll in puddles, while Neat dogs would never dream of such behavior. Quiet dogs react negatively to music being played (it’s too noisy!) while Noisy dogs love it and will howl along. Aggressive dogs make good guard dogs, but that same aggression makes them want to chase other pets or the Mail Carrier. And just like the traits influence the actions, the actions also influence the traits. If a Neat dog starts drinking out of the toilet, that activity pushes the dog slightly away from Neat and toward Piggy.
Other Interactions
Guard - Dogs have another very important function in a household. Dogs can be guard animals, and help protect their Sims and their Sims’ property. Dogs can choose to guard the whole house, or certain objects in it. Sims child and older can also direct their dogs to guard the entire house.
Dogs can guard: Pet bed, Pet house, Pet bowl, Harvestable plants, Cat condo, Parked car.
If non-household or low-LTR Sims or pets try to approach the guarded object, the dog will bark or growl. Sim generally back away from a guard dog, and Coward Sims will flee. When commanded to guard the house, dogs patrol around, barking at any Sims or dogs walking by, or any cars driving past.
Burglars are actually more likely to try robbing the home, which is fun because most dogs have a pretty good chance of catching the Burglar in the act! Genius pets can sense the Burglar from farther away, while Clueless pets have a harder time noticing him unless he’s right nearby. Aggressive pets always catch the Burglar, while Lazy pets often fall asleep and don’t notice!
If a guard dog detects a Burglar, the dog runs to the bad guy and barks. This wakes the household Sims, who automatically call the cops. The Burglar might freak out, run away, or ignore the dog and steal something anyway. Otherwise the cops come, and that’s one less malefactor in Appaloosa Plains, thanks to the valiant guard dog.
Go for a Walk to...
Dogs love to take their Sims for walks. It’s Fun for both the Sim and the dog, and they both gain LTR. Besides, this is a great way to meet the other residents of Appaloosa Plains. When the Sim chooses the Go for Walk to... option, a menu opens of available options, such as the beach, park, pool, or dog park. Choose where to go and the Sim leashes up the dog and they set out. Along the way the dog will sniff at things—checking, and possibly answering, doggy “pee-mail.”
Customize Collar and Coat
This option is similar to the dresser or mirror for Sims. Choose this to take your pet into a simpler version of Create a Pet, where you can change the pet’s coat color or collar style.
Watch Cooking
If a Sim is cooking, dogs have the option to Watch Cooking. If a dog is watching, the Sim then has the option to Throw Scrap for... to toss the dog a treat. Watching a Sim cook gives Piggy dogs the I Can Haz? moodlet, which lowers their mood until the Sim tosses a treat.