Little Friends Dogs and Cats Tips - Controls, Handheld Mode, What to Do First

Little Friends Cats and Dogs is a brand new exclusive for Nintendo Switch. It’s essentially Nintendogs, in that you will spend most of your time caring for your pet and dressing them up in silly outfits. And while it’s definitely a family friendly game, there’s a lot to get your head around early on. In this Little Friends Cats and Dogs Tips Guide, we’ll be giving you some advice on how best to take care of your brand new pet. We’ll go over the controls, how it works in Handheld Mode, and also give you some ideas for what to do first.

Little Friends Dogs and Cats Tips

There’s a lot to take in at the start of Little Friends Dogs and Cats. And while half the fun is working out what makes your pet tick, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind while playing. We’ve listed our Little Friends Dogs and Cats Tips below:

• Check the four meters in the bottom left corner of the screen. You can use them to figure out what your pet needs.
• Remember to enter competitions to win Tickets that you can use to buy new items.
• Check whether the toilet needs to be cleaned out by heading to the Care menu.
• You’ll want to brush your pet after a walk, training sessions and events.
• Recalibrate the Joy-Cons by pressing + and pointing the right Joy-Con at the TV.
• You can search for pets at the pet selection screen, essentially meaning you can choose the exact pet you want.
• Run over the patches of grass while out walking to refill Dash meter.
• Rest at the statues while out for a walk, you’ll earn tickets.
• Make sure you practice with the correct disc-level so that your pet is ready for competitions.
• Remember to save often.

Little Friends Dogs and Cats Handheld Mode - Can You Play in Handheld Mode

Given that Little Friends Dogs and Cats is a Switch exclusive, it needs to work in both handheld and docked mode. The game is a little bit different in Handheld Mode. Here’s how.

• While in handheld, the petting actions are mapped to the touchscreen.
• Walking is handled using the sticks.
• To throw an item, press A
• There is still vibration to let you know when to keep petting your dog.

Little Friends Dogs and Cats Controls

Now that we’ve covered the handheld controls, let’s take a look at how things fare in docked mode:

• Petting - To pet your friend, hold ZR on the right Joy-Con and move your hand around.
• Recalibration - Press + while aiming the Joy-Con at the screen
• Walking - to lead you pet, move the right Joy-con left and right
• Throwing - to throw toys, and discs, hold A and make the required motion.
• Tricks - press X while in care mode, and then the directional input on the left Joy-Con to select which trick you want to do.
• Rest while walking - to rest while walking, press X
• Change item - to change the item you have in your hand, press Y
• Call while walking - to call your pet while walking, press Y
• Save - to save, press + at the main menu
• Watch - to let your pet roam free, press -

What to do First in Little Friends Dogs and Cats

Once you’ve chosen your pet you’ll want to start leveling it up and training it. Here’s what we recommend you do first:

• Pet your dog to increase to level 4.
• Use the ball toy to increase it further
• Feed your dog and give it water
• Once you have the brush, use it.
• Once you hit level 8, you can go for a walk.
• After the walk, brush your pet.
• At level 9, buy a dog bed.
• Train with the disc.
• At level 10, enter the beginner’s contest to win tickets.
• Now, concentrate on hitting level 15 to unlock the cat.

There's plenty more guides for Little Friends Dogs and Cats right here on USG. There's our look at How to get a Cat in Little Friends Dogs and Cats. Also, you'll find tips on dressing up your pets in our Little Friends Dogs and Cats Clothing Guide. For advice on how to get more coins, head to our Little Friends Dogs and Cats Coins page. Finally, for info on increasing your bond with your pets check out our Little Friends Dogs and Cats Hearts Guide.