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Nintendogs is a virtual pet simulation game that was released for
the Nintendo DS in Japan on April 21 2005.
There are three different versions of the game, each with a different initial selection of dogs.
You use the touch screen to pet, entertain, and play games with your dog,
along with using the DS' microphone to teach it commands.

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Nintendo plans to release the game in the US in 2005,
although no concrete release info is available yet.

These pages are intended as an English guide to this Japanese text-heavy software.
Latest version: 1.29 - 26th December 2005
This page is written by Tomas Engström (faq/guide) and Titney (for the translation guide) of GameFAQs.com.
They hold the rights to these documents, I'm just the web page publisher/host.
I will add screen-grab images to the guide as and when I can.
I'd like to thank Tomas Engström (a.k.a ConraDargo) and Titney of GameFAQs.com for their
excellent guides to Nintendogs and all the other contributors at GameFAQs.

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Chapter 10: SYSTEM OPTIONS
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Every game has its System Options and Nintendogs is no exception.
To access this menu, go to "Home" (Chapter 3: Interface), tap the puppy and human silhouette,
and then tap the white thingy with a piece of paper on it to your right. It says "Information" and will display four options:

OWNER INFO
Go here to change what other Nintendogs owners will see when they connect to you wirelessly.
Your name comes first, then your birthday, and lastly you're able to write a small comment or welcoming message.

As you can see, there's also a drawing of you to the right. You may edit any of these fields by first tapping on
the big pen in the upper right corner (it even says "Edit", so duh) and then the field you would like to edit.

HINT #1:
As always - any big, red arrow in the upper left corner means "Back".

Underneath all this there's even more information about you; the numbers are "Owner Points"
(guess what they mean) and then comes your title as a puppy owner.
I'll try to include a list of all titles in the future. Lastly, to the right of this are your puppies.

NOTE: Owner Points are gathered by you being a good master :) i.e. take care of your puppy - make sure it's happy.
And winning competitions will earn you "plenty" of points! Especially should you place first.

Owner Points:
When you reach a certain number of Owner Points new dogs and interiors will become available;

Apart from the unlockable breeds and rooms above, there are also a number of items that become available
at certain owner points.

Note that certain items appear randomly in the Discount Shop, and are not available all the time,
even after you've reached the required number of Owner Points.

FRIEND LIST
Whenever your DS communicates with another (NETWORK in Chapter 6: Going out) the other player's Owner Info
(see above) will be saved here so you can tell who you've been linking up with.
Can't give you anything more than that though, as I haven't got anyone to link up with.

Should you have anything that you would like to add here - don't hesitate to contact me!

TITLE RECORDS
See how well your puppy has performed (in Competitions).
Once you've picked a sport, the touch screen will display the levels
Open, Expert, Masters and Championship (no Beginners!) - from the bottom to the top.
Go back using the arrow in the upper left corner. 

SYSTEM SETTINGS
Here you'll see four icons to your left followed by Japanese letters and then the settings themselves to
the far right and what they're set to.

You have the "Power Saver Setting" at the top, then comes "Microphone Sensitivity", "Clock Display"
and lastly "Search for PictoChat". By default they're set to On, Good, On and Off.
Here's what you can set them to instead by tapping on the yellow arrows (I'll begin with what's default):

Power Saver Setting: On -> Off
Microphone Sensitivity: Good -> Dull -> Normal
Clock Display: On -> Off
Search for PictoChat: Off -> On (Sound On) -> On (Sound Off)

The left button at the bottom of the screen probably means Apply while the other one is Cancel.

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Chapter 11: Q&A
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Q: I spotted three different covers for Nintendogs - what's up with that?
A: As explained in Chapter 2: Pick a Puppy, Nintendo released three versions - each containing fifteen puppies all in all,
but with only five playable breeds right out of the box and these five breeds are decided by which version that
you decide to buy.
Also, not all the 100+ items are available in all three versions.

Q: Hey, what's this latest Best Friends version?
A: It's a special version that only comes with the limited-edition bundle where you get a teal colored Nintendo DS
and Nintendogs: Best Friends. This version includes all the breeds from the previous (English) versions –
but the starting breeds are Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Beagle, Yorkshire Terrier
and Miniature Dachshund.

Q: How do I get more breeds to choose from?
A: By gathering enough Owner Points (Chapter 10: System Options), which you do by being a good owner :)
And winning competitions, of course.
There's also the "easy" way, if you know someone who bought a different version of the game than you -
simply have your puppies play together (NETWORK, Chapter 6: Going out) and you'll both unlock the breed that
your puppy is playing with (and the item they carry, if you haven’t already got it).

Q: Help! I just started playing and now I'm stuck with this plaque which pops up again and again and I can't
do anything! What's wrong?
A: You probably haven't followed Chapter 2: Pick a Puppy to the end. After naming your puppy, you'll need to call
its name a couple of times, to see that it really responds to it and to learn that that's how you do to get its attention.
So just call out whatever name you recorded, pet the puppy in-between times and you'll eventually proceed with the game.

Q: Help! The plaque still bothers me but I think it has to do with something else this time!
A: That is correct. Again - read Chapter 2 and you'll find the answer at the end of it (NOTE #2).

Q: What's with the yellow bone that sometimes appear when I pet my puppy?
A: Read the first HINT in Chapter 8: Tricks.

Q: Why is it that I cannot enter any more competitions? Doesn't matter which one I pick - all I get is a bunch
of Japanese characters.
A: You cannot enter more than three competitions a day.
Remember that this game plays in real-time so that's one day IRL (in real life). Once the clock is at 0.00 or 12a.m.
(i.e. midnight), you'll be able to enter the competitions again.

Q: When I try to walk my puppy, it seems that my request is rejected?
A: Did you recently take it out for a walk? Because you can only do it every 30 minutes.

Q: Gah, I spent XXX.XXX Yen on a new apartment but nothing happened?!
A: You have to wait somewhere around 24 hours before your new apartment appears.

Q: What the...?! My puppy disappeared from the screen when I wasn't looking?!
A: The manual states that "you should not panic when you can't find your puppy - he may have gone out and
will return shortly." So just hang in there and he/she will eventually return, maybe even with a present! :)

Q: Will my puppy/puppies live on forever?
A: Yes! While you can (and should) feed your puppy - it will never die of starvation, nor does it age.
Food is merely for keeping your puppy happy and alert.

Q: Will there ever be a US or European version?
A: Yes, the US version was released on August 22nd. The European version was released on October 7th.

Q: Will there be any significant differences between these versions?
A: Yes; apart from having more items to collect, the US version will also include one more breed per game version.
So instead of having a total of 15 breeds - the US version will have 18 of them.
These three new breeds are Boxer, Golden Retriever and Husky.
Furthermore, the Shiba covering the Shiba & Friends package has been replaced by a Labrador instead
(and is now known as Lab & Friends).

Q: Cool! So tell me - what package in the US version includes which breeds at the start?
A: Lab & Friends has the Labrador, Schnauzer, Poodle, Corgi, Pinscher and Shiba in it.
Chihuahua & Friends has a Chihuahua, German Shepherd, Boxer, King Charles Spaniel, Terrier and Sheepdog.
Lastly, Dachshund & Friends contains the Dachshund, Golden retriever, Beagle, Pug, Husky and Shih Tzu.

Q: I would like to restart! Can I somehow reset the game?
A: Power up your DS, start the game and immediately hold down A B X Y R and L.
If you managed to do it in time a plaque should pop up on the touch screen along with two green buttons.
Press the left button to accept resetting the game and press it twice.
Then wait for like half a minute or so while the DS erases everything from the cart. Done.

THIS WILL RESET EVERYTHING! Puppies and items.
If you just wanna give up a puppy then you can do so at the Dog Hotel (Chapter 6: Going out).

Q: I've heard about a hidden breed, is this true?
A: Yes it is. If you've got the Japanese version and are lucky enough, you'll stumble upon a book about
the Jack Russel Terrier when walking your puppy. This special item will unlock the said breed and make it
available at the kennel.
If you own the US version then you'll also be able to unlock the Dalmatian by finding a fireman's hat.
European version hidded breed is unknown at this time.

Q: Help! I can't see the Japanese letters in your FAQ!
A: You need to install Japanese language support. Go here if you're using Windows:
http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/Language/asianlanguageinstallation_XP.html

Q: What's with the "Special thanks" in your credits?
A: I could never have written this FAQ without these people - they're the ones who helps me out with all the
Japanese and I can't thank them enough for being there when I need them.

Q: So what was your first FAQ/Walkthrough anyway?
A: "Koinu Chan No Hajimete No Osanpo" - a similar game that came out in 2004 on Game Boy Advance. FAQ is still available @ IGN.com.

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