Dogz: Your Computer Pet is the first game entirely based on caring for a virtual pet, even before the Tamagotchis became popular. From the title screen players can choose one of the five available puppies and interact with them using the mouse. The dog can be picked up and dragged around, and it lives on the player's desktop. The dog needs to be fed and you can play with them, scold them, and teach them tricks. It is also possible to take pictures and design a playpen for them. In other applications the dog can grab your attention by holding on to the cursor, or you can throw a ball to keep it busy while doing something else.

When the dog is not fed or cared for, for a long time, it dies. This concept was also used as a business incentive. The game was distributed freely, but only came with five days of food. Because without food the dog would die in the demo version, this encouraged players to pay the $20 to get the full game and an unlimited amount of food.