Players care for and train their puppy by petting it, walking it and buying it supplies to play with. As a puppy competes in obedience and agility trials, owners can win money to purchase other puppy breeds.

There is an initial choice of six breeds to own and a further 14 to be unlocked, Nintendogs Dalmation & Friends Edition sees the previously hard-to-unlock Dalmation amongst the inital choices, along with the most popular dogs from the previous versions - Dachshund & Friends, Labrador & Friends and Chihauhau & Friends. Players start by spending time with their pup; they throw flying discs and balls to improve the pup's agility, bathe it when it gets dirty and use their own personal voice commands to train the dog to do tricks. Once players have trained their puppy, they can enroll their dog into competitions to show off their new talents and earn prize money. Three different types of competition are available: an obedience trial, a frisbee-cathching contest and an obstacle course. With the competition earnings, players can purchase food, toys and accessories for their puppy.

• Six breeds to own and a further 14 to be unlocked
• Players can enroll their dog into competitions to show off their new talents and earn prize money
• Pet the pup, acquire and play with more than 100 items
• Wi-Fi functionality also allows players to share their adorable new Dalmation with friends