Skill (pet)

Tricks

A cat playing a keyboard for a Sim.

See also: Equipment skill

As with Sims, pets have skills as well.

The Sims

In The Sims: Unleashed. pet skills use the same 0 to 10 scale that Sim skills use. Pets have three skills; cats and dogs have two common skills, while each species has a skill that is unique to it. They are as follows:

• Tricks: A pet, be it cat or dog, can learn a few tricks. When a pet is in a good mood, have a Sim teach it some tricks. Naturally, when it first starts practicing, it will be abysmal, but the more practice it gets, the more tricks it will be able to do. Cats can learn to Box, Dance, and Play Keyboard. Dogs can learn High Flip, Low Flip, Bounce, Jump, and Play Dead. A higher obedience skill helps a pet learn tricks faster. Sims can also pay the pet trainer in Old Town a few Simoleons to do it for them.

• Obedience: No matter how loyal a pet is, it will only follow every command if its Obedience skill is high. Pets with higher Obedience skill are more likely follow a command, learn new tricks more quickly. Also, pets with at least three points in Obedience can often be told to stop what they're doing. Therefore, it is quite useful to make sure a pet is obedient. Clicking on 'Sit and Stay' will start a session of teaching this skill. Additionally, a pet will gain a small amount of Obedience skill each time a Sim calls it over.

• Housebreaking (Dogs only): Cats know to do their thing in the litter tray, but dogs have no such instincts. Therefore, Sims will need to give dogs a crash course about where to urinate. The moment a puddle or a pile of poo appears, praise the dog if it is outside, and scold him if it is inside. This will increase the dog's Housebreaking skill. After a while, he will be increasingly likely to do his business outside.

• Hunting (Cats only): The higher this skill, the better chances a cat will have of catching rabbits or any other pests that might be attacking a vegetable patch. Cats learn this skill by hunting mice or garden pests. Cats may hunt autonomously, but the player can also tell a cat to hunt by clicking on it, selecting 'Hunt...', then telling the cat what to hunt.

Note: Training a pet will make the pet lose energy faster.

The Sims 2

Pet skills in The Sims 2 Pets are divided into two categories: Behaviors and Commands.

Behaviors

Pets can be Praised or Scolded for the things they do which help them learn behaviors. Scolding a pet discourages the behavior, and praising encourages it. Sims can encourage and discourage bad behavior as well as good behavior. Once behaviors are learned Sims can use them as commands. Kittens and puppies can learn behaviors. but a kitten or puppy who has completely learned a behavior cannot be given the associated command.

Sims can only praise or scold the last behavior of a pet. The player can see if a pet can be praised or scolded by the circular arrow in the corner of their portraits.

Image Behavior Commands Eat Pet Food Go Eat Pet Food Eat Sim Food Go Eat Sim Food Calm Sniff... Disruptive Sing Run around Crazily Playful Play with... Use Toy Hostile Hiss at... Fight with... Clean Clean Self Use Water Wiggler Behave in Bathtub Filthy Misbehave in Bathtub

Image Behavior Commands Stays off Furniture Lie Down Goes on Furniture Get on Furniture Stays off Sim Bed Sleep on Pet Bed Goes on Sim Bed Sleep on Sim Bed Housebroken Go Pee Outside Yardbroken Go Pee Inside Respectful Use Chew Toy Use Scratching Post Destructive Chew Furniture Scratch Furniture

Notes

Commands

Commands are tricks that Sims can teach their adult pets. Once a pet learns a command a Sim can give the pet that command at any time.

Commands are necessary for a pet to advance in a career.

List of Commands

• Sit up
• Stay
• Come Here
  • Pets who have learned this command can be called to eat by clicking on a food bowl.
• Roll Over
• Speak
• Shake (paws)
• Play Dead
• Use Toilet (cats only)
  • Cats who have learned this command can and will use a toilet spontaneously.
  • Custom toilets may not have been updated to be usable by cats.

The Sims 3

Pet skills return in The Sims 3: Pets and they vary from species to species:

A cat hunting a snake.

Dog skills

• Hunting
• Digging (Console Version)
• Fetching (Console Version)

When playing via the console, players are able to click on a dog to teach him or her to dig once they reach adulthood. The fetching skill can be obtained by buying the Lifetime Happiness Reward "Awesome at Fetch."

Cat skills

• Hunting

When playing via the console, the Sim can teach a cat to Hunt by simply selecting the option for the cat to "Stalk Something" as soon as he or she is an adult.

Cats can hunt minor pets, which will appear in the cat's inventory. The cat can give the minor pet to its owner.

In the Console version, a kitten can learn the hunting skill by using toys to practice hunting. The toys can be a toy mouse or even a ball of foil that comes with the toy box. However, the toy box seems to be glitched, as it allows toys to be cleaned up, but does not have an interaction which allows humans or pets to take toys out.

Horse skills

• Racing
• Jumping

To teach a horse the Racing or Jumping skill, the player can send the horse to the training grounds and instruct him or her to jump or run.

Notes

• If The Sims 3: Ambitions is installed, stalking prey outside will increase the chance of a cat or dog being hit by a meteor.

The Sims 4

Brent Hecking teaching his dog, Rosie, to Lie Down.

In The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs, pets can be lectured, scolded or praised to influence their behaviors, such as whether they prefer to climb on furniture or use pet beds instead. Dogs (but not cats) can also be taught various commands relating to tricks and other interactions. Learned behaviors are not visible, but commands can be seen through the "Training..." or "Trained Commands..." options when interacting with dogs.

Behaviors

Lecturing pets for misbehaving is classified as a friendly interaction, but may not always be effective, especially with stubborn or spoiled pets. Alternatively, Sims can scold their pets, which is classified as a mean interaction but much more effective than lecturing, or they can praise their pets, which will encourage misbehavior.

Commands

Smart dogs start off already knowing one command. The commands that can be taught to a dog depend on its owner's pet training skill level, shown in the table below.

Skill level	Available commands	Other interactions and perks
1	Fetch, Speak, Lie Down, Sit, Roll Over
2	Heel, Shake, Play Dead	Owners can have their dogs practice all available tricks with the "Practice Tricks" interaction.
3		Owners can send their dogs to explore on their own.
4	Attack	Owners can show off their dogs' tricks to other Sims.
5		Owners can have their dogs perform tricks for passers-by, and they can train their dogs faster.

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