Much of the gameplay is common to the original Nintendogs, including various breeds of dogs and cats, and training exercises. There is now a tutorial for each trick as the game progresses, and the player is no longer required to say the exact name of the trick. Touchscreen, microphone, and camera input uses facial recognition technology to interact with the player.[3][7] For example, after a while, the pet will facially recognize and greet the player, and may react negatively to a new player. If the face is close to the camera, then the puppy will come up to lick it; they will also mimic a head tilt.[8]
Competitions have five cups each: Junior, Amateur, Pro, Master, and Nintendogs. In addition to Disc Competition and Obedience Trial, there a new competition, Lure Coursing.
The screen is in stereoscopic 3D.[3][7] Augmented reality projects the player's dog or cat onto one of the "?" AR Games cards.[9] If one of the Nintendo character cards (such as Mario, Link, Samus, or Kirby) is used, the dogs will appear wearing hats, fitting the theme of their respective games. These hats are also in the 3DS built-in app, StreetPass Mii Plaza by unlocking them when a dog or cat hero defeats an enemy depending on the room they are in during the game "Find Mii". The game uses SpotPass and often a Presidential Victor will appear, which is a President with the pet dog.