There are three minigames in The Dog Island:
One of the sub-plots in the game revolves around your interaction with the Victory Gang dogs. In order to prove yourself to them and eventually become their leader, each requires you to best them at their individual favorite pastime. These three events become the minigames. After beating the Victory Gang dog at their respective minigame, you can then go back at any time and talk with him to play the game.
Your high scores are tracked for each minigame in the Records section of the Memo in your menu. Sledding and racing are scored by time to completion, and soccer is scored by number of wins and losses. Each minigame has different courses and difficulty levels. You will win an award for getting first place in any timed event, or winning a round in Soccer, and this is the only way you can obtain certain items like Silver and Gold, which are used in creating new accessories.
Sledding[edit]
You can play the sledding minigame after beating Gordon in Snow Village. Sledding consists of moving down a straight course, flanked by two other dogs on identical courses, as fast as you can. There are fences separating the contestants, so you don't have to worry about bumping into each other. As the difficulty of a certain course increases, the composition of the power meter changes and your competition gets better.
Movement is generated by stopping a timing line over different parts of a power meter running across the bottom of the screen. The blue timing line will move back and forth across the meter, which consists of a black bar with an orange section and a smaller red section. Stopping the timing line outside of the orange or red sections results in very little forward movement. The orange section is the normal movement, and the red section is the most powerful. You stop the timing line by holding the 
normally and flicking upwards when you want to stop it.
The only other control you may need is to face your character in a certain direction. Just before the timing line starts to move, your dog will face towards the pawprint cursor on the screen when you hold down the 
button. Although you don't need to hold the button down the entire time, it may be easier than trying to time your button presses to correspond with the start of the timing line.
- Bumpy Road
- This is the first sledding course and is a straight shot to the finish with a small hill in the middle.
- Obstacle
- In this course you are forced to use the
button to navigate around logs that obstruct portions of the path. Dodge left and right around the logs to finish the race.
- Puddle
- The last course is straight and flat, but has two puddles in the center. Puddles make the orange and red sections of your power meter smaller. If you have a hard time getting the correct timing in these sections, it may be faster to use the button to circumvent the water.
Racing[edit]
and 
buttons before a race starts for better positioning.The racing minigame will be accessible after beating Will in Gigili Village. Racing will come the most naturally, as it utilizes the same controls as running normally in the game. Each race is separated into different types of terrain, with the last course being a composite of all terrains. You race against three other dogs and they get faster as the difficulty level increases. Other than stiffer competition, there is no change in the course due to difficulty level.
Each course consists of multiple legs running towards different colored flags. At the bottom of the screen, an arrow of the same color as the next flag will point you in the right direction. The arrow will point directly to the next checkpoint, regardless of intervening obstacles. When you have run through each flag, the white arrow will point you to the finish line.
The other dogs will jostle you if you get near them, so keep that in mind when choosing your route. Additionally, running into trees will knock your dog back onto its haunches, costing some time. Often the most direct route is through trees or across water or ice. There is no course where the optimal route includes swimming, however running through trees and over ice can speed you up if you are comfortable with the risks of hitting trees or falling into holes in the ice.
All races are on the same track so you can explore if you want.
Lake[edit]
For this race you'll want to head clockwise around the lake. You will pick up the red flag first, then continue around to the blue flag. Keep going around, and cut through the trees to the yellow flag. Continue going clockwise around the lake, but when you have a straight shot to the white finish, cut through the grass behind the bleachers.
Beach[edit]
Start this course by aiming to the right of the blue flag, and cutting through the trees. You want to head directly for the entrance to the beach with the boards crossing the sand to the red flag. Make a 180° turn at the flag and run back up the wooden planks to the grass.
When you get to the fence, take a right and run to the blue flag. At that flag, make a sharp 90° right turn and run right for the yellow flag. You'll hop off the wall onto the sand. When you get to the first board, veer off to the right so you can run across the next board, then cut across to the flag when you are closest.
Turn right back around at the yellow flag and run back to the board you just left. You should see the far exit from the beach straight ahead. Make a straight shot for the plank right before the exit. From there just run off the beach and follow the path to the white finish line.
Forest[edit]
This is the same course you ran to beat Will. Go straight to the red flag, through the trees. Make a sharp right turn almost all the way around, and head directly to the blue flag through some more trees.
Make a 90° degree turn at the blue flag and run across the bridge. As you run straight for the yellow flag, bear slightly to the right to find the most advantageous row between the trees. You'll know you've found the right one, because it goes straight down and then you make one quick left followed by a quick right and you'll see the yellow flag right in front of you.
Make another sharp right at this flag and head over another bridge. Take a right at the other side of the bridge, and you will have a long straight away to the white finish line through a few trees at the end.
Snow[edit]
When you start this race you will be across a bridge from a big cliff with a bunch of small ledges leading to the top. Cross the bridge and start off on the left side of the cliff. When you've gone up four steps, turn to the right and run up the ramp lined with wooden posts. At the top of the ramp, go right and run to the first steps leading higher up the cliff. At the top of the cliff turn left and run to the red flag.
Head through the cave opening behind the red flag and make an immediate right when you get inside. Run through the trees to the blue flag, then go left and run directly across the ice to the yellow flag. Avoid falling into the open holes in the ice.
At the yellow flag, turn right and head clockwise around the frozen lake and through the next opening you see in the outer wall. Once outside, follow the path to the right and it will lead you to the pink flag. Make a sharp 90° degree turn to the left at this flag.
Follow the ramp lined with wooden pegs down to the right until you jump down the first ledge. From there turn downhill and go down two more ledges. At the bottom of the second ledge, turn to the left and you should see the white finish line. Head straight for it, jumping down one last ledge on the way.
Advanced[edit]
The Advanced race starts out with all dogs on a bridge facing the water on one side. Take the time during the countdown to move the camera so you can go off the left side of the bridge. Make an immediate right, following your arrow indicator to the red flag. Start out by heading directly to the flag through the trees. When you get to the path that runs along the edge of the beach, follow it until you are halfway between both beach entrances. At this point cut right and hop off the ledge and onto the beach. Run across the left side of the board on your way to the red flag, then make a sharp left as you get the flag and run up the boards off the beach.
Run straight for the right side of the lake, which means going off the path and cutting through behind the bleachers. Make your way around the lake to the blue flag. Run through the trees, and on the other side you will see one low ledge you can jump up in the middle of a cliff. Jump up onto the ledge and then turn right and go up that side. You'll jump up two ledges before turning and jumping up a ledge in an uphill direction. Run along that ledge to the left and take the first uphill ledge you can. Turn and jump up the ledge on the right side. From here it is a series of steps that will put you in front of the cave entrance on top of the cliff.
When you enter the cave make an immediate left and run between the trees and the wall to the yellow flag. From there make a 90° degree right turn and run across the frozen lake to the pink flag, where you will make a left and run directly to the exit of the cavern in the far wall. Head through the trees and out the exit. Once outside, bear very slightly to the left and jump down from the ledge in front of you. Run down the wooden peg-lined ramp, which turns to the right. At the bottom of the ramp, turn back downhill and jump down the left side of the ledge there. Jump down from the last step and you should be right in front of a bridge which leads to the white finish line behind a small forest.
There's really no direct, easy way through the trees, and using this strategy you should be far enough in front of the other dogs that you can run to the right and around the trees when you come off the bridge. To shave off a few seconds, pick your way through the forest, otherwise just follow the path around to the white finish line at the end of the course.
Soccer[edit]
The last Victory Gang dog you face is McCoy in Rune Village. Soccer is played using just and the button. You will start out in the middle of a tiny soccer field with an enormous soccer ball between you and your opponent. The purpose, just like real soccer (or football if you don't live in the U.S.), is to get the ball into your opponent's goal. Put the pawprint cursor over the ball and run towards it. When you run into the ball your dog will go up on its hind legs and start pushing the ball.
Since you only have a side-view of the action, you will need to adjust the cursor location until you learn how to manipulate the ball left and right. If you slip off the ball, you will fall to the ground stunned for a few moments. Each tournament is divided into three rounds, and each round is won by scoring three goals before your opponent.
- Chick
- The first tournament is played on grass and is obviously the easiest.
- Cow
- This tournament is played on the ice, which makes it more difficult to reclaim the ball if you fall off.
- Elephant
- The Elephant tournament is once again on grass, this time with more skillful opponents.
- Lion
- This is the harder version of the Cow tournament, also played on ice.
Prize Structure[edit]
Prize listings are for the first play-through only.
| Easy | Normal | Hard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bumpy Road | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | Beautiful Stone |
| Obstacle | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | Silver |
| Puddle | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | 4 Woofs |
| Easy | Normal | Hard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | 4 Woofs |
| Beach | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | Colored Glass |
| Forest | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | Beautiful Stone |
| Snow | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | Silver |
| Advanced | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | Gold |
| First Round | Second Round | Final Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick | 1 Woof | Colored Glass | 3 Woofs |
| Cow | 1 Woof | 2 Woofs | 4 Woofs |
| Elephant | 2 Woofs | Silver | 5 Woofs |
| Lion | 2 Woofs | Gold | 8 Woofs |
Scores[edit]
Your scores are tracked in the Score section of Memo in the menu screen. For sledding and racing, scores are tracked by time, and for soccer they are tracked by wins and losses. On the sledding and racing minigames, there is a time to beat and different scores for how much above and below that time you are. There are four scores you can attain:
- Keep Trying
- Almost There
- Good
- Great!
For the sledding courses, score cutoffs are at time to beat plus one second, time to beat, and time to beat minus two seconds. For racing it's time to beat plus three seconds, time to beat, and time to beat minus five seconds.
| Keep Trying | Almost There | Good | Great! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bumpy Road | 00:33:00+ | 00:32:00+ | 00:30:00+ | <00:30:00 |
| Obstacle | 00:37:00+ | 00:36:00+ | 00:34:00+ | <00:34:00 |
| Puddle | 00:34:00+ | 00:33:00+ | 00:31:00+ | <00:31:00 |
| Keep Trying | Almost There | Good | Great! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake | 00:48:00+ | 00:45:00+ | 00:40:00+ | <00:40:00 |
| Beach | 01:01:00+ | 00:58:00+ | 00:53:00+ | <00:53:00 |
| Forest | 00:58:00+ | 00:55:00+ | 00:50:00+ | <00:50:00 |
| Snow | 01:21:00+ | 01:18:00+ | 01:13:00+ | <01:13:00 |
| Advanced | 02:13:00+ | 02:10:00+ | 02:05:00+ | <02:05:00 |