Goal:
The goal for this step is to have the top of you cube completely covered with white. Also each side will have a “Tetris” looking pattern.
Okay, so we are going to cover the entire white side with white pieces!! Pretty cool. Make sure you start by having the white side pointing up. view the cube at an angle as shown below.
Let’s begin! Find the missing dogs!
So here’s the story. There’s a farmhouse at the top of a hill in the countryside. Four white dogs used to live there. The dogs went for a run in the countryside and have been lost ever since! The farmers who live there are worried sick! The farmers want their dogs to come back home!
Find a dog
The dogs can usually be found on layer 3. Focus your attention on layer 3. Look at all sides of the cube until you find a dog on layer 3.
What color is the dog touching?
When you find a corner that has a dog, you will also notice that the corner is shared by another color. What color is it? Pretty easy. Just look at the white corner piece and see what other color is also part of the corner.
Find the matching color side!
Don’t move the dog. The bottom layer will remain still. But we are going to turn the top two layers. Which direction? Doesn’t matter. Just keep turning until you find the side that matches the color we are looking for. It needs to match the corner color we have already identified in the last step.
What direction is the dog pointing?
In our next step we need to move the dog. But don’t move him yet. First figure out which way he is pointing. If the dog is on the left side of the corner, he’s pointing left. If he is on the right side of the cube, he is pointing right. Pretty easy. There are examples below.
Hide the dog (He’s scared being all alone)
You can’t just take the dog straight up to be with the farmers. Try it. It won’t work. It will push around the farmers and ruin your white plus. So instead, we hide the dog first. He is scared and all alone, so he hides.
To hide him, simply turn layer 3 (the bottom layer). Which direction do you turn layer 3? Turn in the direction that the dog is pointing. Remember, when you hide the dog, only turn the layer once. The dog should disappear from view. And that’s okay. We don’t want to see him now.
Farmer comes down the hill in search of his dog
We are going to have a farmer come down the hill. That way he can find his dog. But which farmer comes down? In the example below, we could turn the blue side or the orange side… but which one? Since our lost dog shared the corner with the orange color, we will turn the orange side. (In other words, the orange center piece will spin during this move)
Dog smells farmer and decides to come out of hiding.
Turn layer 3 to bring the dog out of hiding. Just turn layer 3 one time and you should see the dog. He will end up right next to the farmer.
“Let’s go home!”
You probably already figured this next step out. Easy. Just move the farmer and the dog to the top of the cube.
Rinse and Repeat!
Now just repeat everything we just did. All you have to do is find the other dogs until they all return home! Just start by looking at layer 3. The steps are repeated below:
(Note: If your dog is not on layer 3, refer to section “I can’t find my dog!” a little further down on this page.)
Are you done?
QUESTIONS/PROBLEMS —————————
I Can’t Find My Dog!
If you can’t find a dog on layer 3, then your dog is either on the bottom of the cube, or on layer 1. You can’t get him home unless your first get him to layer 3. In each example below, it brings the dog to layer 3.
PROBLEM: My dog is on the bottom of the cube
To get the dog on layer 3, just spin layer 3 until the dog is directly underneath a free spot on top. They must line up as shown in the image below.
Now that it is lined up, push on the free spot with your index finger, causing the free spot to move down. Think of the free spot as a button you have to push to fix the problem here. The free spot will end up on layer 3. Turn layer 3 once any direction. Then fix your whites back to where they should go.
PROBLEM: My Dog is on Layer 1
Done! You’ve found all the lost dogs!
If your cube doesn’t make the pattern in the image below, it just means you missed a step or there is more to do.
Note: If you have all white on top and the sides don’t match, it means at least one corner is wrong. Find the wrong white corner piece and push it down to layer 3, then spin layer 3 once. After that, fix your whites. From there, follow the original instructions at the top of the page.
Was it fun finding the lost dogs? Did this technique help?
It was a lot of work building this page. If you want to say “thank you”, consider donating here! It’s much appreciated!
Get A Cube.
Some have wondered what cube I use. Happy to help. I’m use the Classic Rubik’s Cube https://amzn.to/3xiB64y …If that is too old-school, here is the AP-enabled cube, which is pretty cool looking. https://amzn.to/3GYXy7d
Your 3 Minute Challenge!
Scramble the cube! Now see if you can accomplish all steps up to this point! Can you do it in three minutes? If you can, you’re awesome and you can move on to the next step!
“I am awesome and would like to go to the next step.”
*Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost for you.
I completed step 3. All squared on top row are white. But the pattern on the sides do not match the pattern shown. Have no idea how to fix this and move on to the next step. Help!
John, no worries. Re-read the directions for step 3 and pay close attention to the header: “find the matching color side”. This should solve the issue.
Hi,my issue is the same as john’s.i have completed step three and got all the dogs to the farmer, but when is finished i got the top as white but all othere sides were not same as shown at all
Plz help me,i cant proceed to the nxt step!!!plz help
What should i do when the last white dog is in layer 2?
Happy to help. Dogs will never appear on layer 2. (Dogs are corner pieces.) If you see white on layer 2, it is not a dog. It is a car from “the Daisy” step. It means that you made an error on Step 1 or Step 2. No worries. Go back and start again. It gets easier!
This is so great. As far as puzzle solving goes, telling a story to mask the logic helps in more ways than is tangible.
I wish this teaching method can find its way into other subjects.
Outstanding~
Tavish, happy to help! This is a common mistake. When the dog goes into hiding, be sure he hides the direction he is pointing. (as shown in the diagram on that page) If he hides the other way, you’ll end up with the un-matching sides when you get all dogs to the farmers. Hope this helps!
How much time it will take for beginner to solve rubik’s cube??Approx??
Ganesh,
It depends if you mean from memory or solving using a guide. Using a guide, a beginner can probably solve in a couple of hours or less. Solving from memory might take a week or two. Just take it step-by-step, day by day, a fresh start over, a different cube to play. Only time will tell, but you know what they say, “We’ll make it better the second time around”. But once you have it memorized, you can solve the cube in a couple minutes. Everyone is different. Maybe some others here can chime in and let you know how long it took them.
I’ve seen a couple of solutions that make a daisy first and then form the white cross. I learned to form the white cross first, which took more steps to correct the sides. The daisy is faster. But your placing the corners takes four moves. I learned the three move algorithm. I’m surprised you don’t teach that.
Jim,
Glad you noticed. There is a really good reason for this that I explain on the home page. I don’t teach the fastest solving method or even the best method. I teach the easiest solving method. My site is for those that are frustrated with the other methods and want the ability to actually solve the cube. thanks for the comment!