Pet Training: Level 3
Skye continues training Pongo. He learns how to Speak and how to Roll Over. At this point, Skye has reached level three of the Pet Training skill.
At level three of the Pet Training skill, no new tricks open up, but your Sim can now send their dog to explore. You might have noticed after the last base game update that all the worlds now have little dirt patches scattered around the neighbourhoods. Sims can dig at these spots, but so can dogs (for more information about that, see The Sims 4: New Collectable Spawners Added with November Patch).
Dogs can and do dig at these spots autonomously, but your Sim needs to have the Pet Training skill at level three in order to command their dog to dig at these spots. Clicking on any dirt patch around the world brings up two options: Dig, and Send Pet to Explore…
Clicking Send Pet to Explore… brings up a selection screen where you’ll see all the dogs in the household who are available. Select the dog you’d like to send over to dig. The dog will run to the spot and begin pawing at the dirt. Dogs can find treasures for your Sim at these spots, like collectables.
Skye sends Pongo to dig up a dirt patch near the park in Brindleton Bay. He returns with a cute little gift box in his mouth and sets it on the ground near her. Clicking on the box gives Skye the option to Open or Put in Inventory. It’s best not to leave these little presents lying on the ground too long. Other Sims like to walk over and snatch them up. How rude of them.
Skye finds some Volenton inside Pongo’s present. This is a handy way to collect elements without having to send metals and crystals to the Geological Council. Many things can be found in pet presents, however. It’s not just elements.
Pet Training: Level 4
Skye teaches Pongo how to Heel and Play Dead, which brings her Pet Training skill to level four.
At level four of the Pet Training skill, your Sim will be able to Show off Pet Tricks. They will also be able to command their dog to Attack.
The Attack command is located in the Trained Commands tab with all the other tricks your Sim’s dog has learned. If there are any eligible Sims nearby that can be attacked, you will be able to select them from a selection menu. Pongo has the Aggressive trait, so he is prone to attacking Sims all on his own. Aggressive dogs can attack Sims autonomously, but they cannot be directed to attack someone by a Sim unless the Sim’s Pet Training skill is at level four. Aggressive dogs can also learn not to attack if a Sim scolds them for doing so.
Take a Break
I used cheats to disable motive decay for Skye and Pongo in order to show you the Pet Training skill, but chances are, you probably want to learn Pet Training the proper way. It’s important to take breaks in between learning tricks. Just like real people and animals, Sims and their pets learn better when they’re healthy and happy.
It takes time and dedication to train a pet, so make sure your Sim’s cat or dog isn’t sick and has all their needs met before undertaking a training session. Don’t forget to take care of your Sim’s motives, too. Keeping both Sims and pets in tip-top shape will help ensure Pet Training success.
Skye and Pongo play a game of Fetch to relax after an entire day of training. Fetch is another trick that can be learned in the Training tab, so it’s not exactly a real break, but Skye and Pongo are still in a great mood with the help of some cheaty magic. Dogs cannot learn how to Fetch unless the Sim teaching them has a ball in their inventory. Make sure you purchase a ball from the Pets section of Build/Buy before heading down to the beach for a game of Fetch with your pooch.
