Owning a puppy was never this easy.
The game comes in four different versions; Dachshund, Chihuahua, Labrador, and Best Friends (available with the limited edition teal/pink Nintendo DS bundle). The only differences in each version are the box art, title screen, a few exclusive to each version items, and starting dog breeds. So those thinking about purchasing all the versions for all the dogs, don't, all 18 breeds are unlockable from playing the game and earning 'Trainer Points'.
Trainer points are awarded by simply spending time with your dog. Be it walking, cleaning, petting, playing, teaching tricks, etc. So TP are not hard to come by but acumulated rather slowly so those of you wanting a breed that's not one of the starting dogs of your version may have a lengthy play session untill you finally unlock your breed of choice.
Gameplay is really simple, it doesn't take little if any skill to play this game and enjoy it. It consists of the basics of taking care of a real puppy like walking, cleaning, petting, playing, teaching tricks, etc. Without all the hassles of taking care of a real puppy....like walking, cleaning, feeding, etc. Not to say you don't have to do these, but these are easily achieved with a few simple touches of the stylus.
You can also take your dog to competitions. There are three different types wich are disc catching, agility, and obidience challenges. In order to actually place in any of these (getting in 3rd place or above) it's pretty much mandatory to train your dog wich is accomplished by taking them to various places and practicing. The first few difficulty classes are very easy to win and it shouldn't take you to long to reach the higher classes of events.These become a little tricky so you will want to train your dog in each respective event to be assured of a victory.
Other than these basics there are a few extra things that don't really add to the game much, but provide enough distraction to keep you busy for a good amount of time.
The game is a good one, but with it being a first gen DS release, it does little to really push the handhelds potential. While it does utilize all the unique fetures of the DS (touch screen, microphone). After extended time with the game you'll notice that the AI of the puppies is not as good as it looked at the begining of your expirience.
Even with the little quarks in the AI and graphics, the game is still a very entertaining game that any DS owner should deffinately pick up sometime. I would have to say it's even worth picking up a new DS if you don't have one. This game alone sold me on the handheld and i'm very happy it did.