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Here is a list of some
frequently asked questions about Nintendogs. Please read through this list
before submitting any questions. If you have a question that is not answered on
this page, feel free to email me
here, and I will
answer it if I can.
General Questions:
Gameplay Questions:
About This Site
What is
Nintendogs?
To find out what Nintendogs
is all about, check out the
About Nintendogs page.
How many
versions of Nintendogs are there?
Both Japan and the US have three versions. In Japan those versions are called:
Dachshund and Friends, Chihuahua and Friends, and Shiba and Friends.
The English versions are called Dachshund and Friends, Chihuahua and
Friends, and Lab and Friends.
Are "Shiba
and Friends" and "Lab and Friends" the same game,
or are they different?
Essentially, as far as I
can tell, they are the same. (There
are differences between all the versions. See the next question.) The name of Shiba and Friends was
possibly changed to Lab and Friends. My best guess
for the reason behind the name change is that the Shiba Inu is a less well known
breed of dog amongst the general American populace, so Nintendo of America
decided to feature the much more well known Labrador Retriever, instead.
Is there a
difference between the Japanese and English versions, besides language?
Yes. Not only do the
versions have different starting dogs (For example, the Japanese Dachshund and
Friends has the German Shepherd as one of its starting puppies, while in the US
version, the German Shepherd is a starting puppy in Chihuahua and Friends) but
the US version also has four breeds of dog, exclusive the the English release,
three of which are starter dogs, and one of which is a secret unlockable dog.
These three exclusive dogs bring up the total of starter puppies to choose from
to six in the US versions, instead of five like in the Japanese versions. There
have also been items such as the New Year's Tiara and Rainbow Wig added to the
US release.
What are the
four breeds of dog exclusive to the English versions?
The four exclusive breeds
are the Golden Retriever, Siberian Husky, and Boxer, and the secret unlockable
breed, the Dalmatian.
What breeds
of dog are available to start with in each version?
To find out what breeds are
available in each version, as well as some information on each breed, please
check out my
Nintendogs Breeds section.
When will Nintendogs be
released in the US?
Nintendogs has been
announced for release on August 22, 2005. In other words, it has already been
released. ;)
I don't want to wait for Nintendogs to be released here! Where can I import the
Japanese version?
You can import the Japanese
version at one of these websites:
http://www.yesasia.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.ebay.com
www.play-asia.com
Thanks to
Nintendogs Fan Club
for these links. And as a final note, I am not responsible for any problems that
may occur when ordering the game from any of these sites.
Is there a
way to get puppies that are in other versions?
Yes. While each version
starts off with a different set of puppies to choose from in the beginning, you
can unlock other breeds of puppies as you play the game.
How do I
unlock other puppy breeds?
There are two ways to
unlock puppy breeds not available from the start in your version. (The only
exception to this is the Jack Russell Terrier and Dalmatian. Please see the next question for
information on how to unlock these breeds.)
The quickest way is to take
advantage of Nintendogs' Wi-Fi capabilities. Find someone who has puppy breed you
want to unlock, link up to allow your puppies to play together, and you will
each unlock the other's adopted puppy breed. For example, you have a German
Shepherd in the Chihuahua version, and your friend has a Husky in the Dachshund
version. When you link up and allow your puppies to play, you will unlock the
Husky in your version, and your friend will unlock the German Shepherd.
If you don't have a friend
who has adopted a puppy of the breed you want, you'll either have to get lucky
and stumble across a stranger in bark mode with that breed, or you have to unlock it the
longer way. As you play with and take care of your puppy, you will be awarded
"Owner Points." Once you build up enough Owner Points, you will be able to
unlock other breeds of dog. The dogs are unlocked in a predetermined order. I'm
afraid you don't get to choose what puppies you unlock first.
I heard
there was a Jack Russell Terrier and Dalmatian in the game. Is this true? How do I unlock
them?
The Jack Russell Terrier and Dalmatian are
the two secret breeds in Nintendogs, with the Dalmatian being unavailable in the
Japanese version. To unlock them, you must find a specific item relating to each
breed while out on a walk with your dog. To unlock the Jack Russell Terrier, you
must find the Jack Russell Book, and to unlock the Dalmatian you must find the
Fireman's Hat. Once you have found the item, you will be notified that the breed
is available for adoption. I would just like to warn you, though, that these
items are VERY rare. Don't expect to find them too quickly.
How many dogs can I have at once?
You may have up to three
active dogs at once. If you wish to adopt a new puppy, you will either have to
A) leave a puppy in the Puppy Hotel (you can switch out a dog for this one at
any time), or B) get rid of a puppy. According to an
FAQ by Conradargo, the
Puppy Hotel can hold up to 5 puppies for you. This means if you have 3 active
dogs and the 5 in the Puppy Hotel, you can have a total of 8 puppies at once.
I am playing the Japanese version of the game and have a gameplay question.
Help!
While I do not have the
Japanese version myself, there are many people who do. I would recommend reading
through this
FAQ by Conradargo. If you cannot find the answer there, try emailing him
with your question. Having actually played the Japanese version, he is much more
prepared to handle actual game play questions than I am. Once again, here's the
link:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/nintendogs_a.txt
Do the puppies
ever grow up? Do they die? Can they breed?
To answer all your
questions, no. No matter how long you play the game, your puppies will never
grow older, they will never die (not of old age, starvation, or anything), and
your puppies will never be able to breed.
Why a site about Nintendogs?
Why not? Seriously... What
can I say? My current obsession is Nintendogs, and when a search on Google
turned up plenty of game sites with casual news, but very few sites that were
actually dedicated to Nintendogs, I decided to create one. How long I'll keep
this site updated is debatable. I guess that mostly depends on what type of
content I can come up with, and how much visitor submitted content I get.
Perhaps this jump back into site building for me will even spawn other small
game sites. I guess we'll see.
Why is this site called "Canis
nintendae"?
That, my friends, is
testament to my recently completed Physical Anthropology course. While the
course did not deal with canines, having a huge list including the Latin names
(Genus species) of various monkeys and apes inspired me to do something similar
here. Dogs are called Canis domesticus (or Canis familiaris. I have seen both.)
Thus, since this game is basically NINTENDO dogs, I replaced the
"species" part of the Latin name with "nintendo," and changed the ending to
sound more Latin. Thus, you get Canis nintendae. (pronounced: kay-nis
nin-ten-dai) One final note: nintendae is not capitalized because the "species"
part of the Latin name is never capitalized. Technically I should be italicizing
it everywhere, too, but I'm being nit-picky enough. =P
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