The Final Blog Entry

August 23, 2005

As you may or may not know, Nintendogs is now in stores. That means that this is the final edition of the Dog Blog. I'm happy to say that the Dog Blog is going to end on a positive note... sort of. Before I get to the results from the Obedience Trials Championship, let's take a look at the rest of our busy day.

As always, the day kicked off with Olimar having a bite to eat and something to drink. As soon as he finished eating, we headed out on our walk. During the walk, we had a run-in with Adam and his dog Bear. Adam didn't have anything new to say, so we moved on. We also came across two different items: A Tissue Box, which I'm going to sell, and a new design for the in-game clock. The new clock design is called Marble Clock. It does in fact look like marble, except that it's purple. To be honest, I still prefer the default Modern Clock.

When we returned home, I had Olimar practice his tricks in preparation for the Championship. While he was practicing, I discovered that he could do a backflip. By having Olimar sit down, and then jump up, he'll perform an awesome-looking backflip. I decided to teach him the trick, so I didn't have to make him sit and jump every time I wanted him to do it. After doing a trick a handful of times, Olimar got it down. We quickly went over his other tricks again and headed to the Championship.

As I suspected, the Obedience Trials Championship was pretty hard. It takes more than being able to simply do the tricks in order to win. At first, Olimar and I were doing great. Then came the Spin trick... Olimar had to spin for twenty seconds, which is a bit much if you ask me. Anyway, he was only about to spin for about eighteen seconds. Olimar also had a slight problem with doing tricks the second he was told to. It always seemed to take a second or two for Olimar to actually register what I said and follow through with his trick.

The only saving grace of our performance was the Freestyle part. Olimar did a Backflip, his Handstand move, Beg, and Dance all with relative ease. Unfortunately, it simply wasn't good enough. The judges were surprisingly tough and we only got a 7.06. While that might sound like a decent score, it wasn't high enough to land us in the top three. Thus, we didn't win anything at the Obedience Trials Championship.

To end the Dog Blog on a high note, I'm happy to say that Olimar and I managed to get a reward when we returned home. As soon as we stepped into our house, a message popped up and informed me that the Pincher breed is now available at the Kennel. The message then went on to explain that this new breed arrived due to my high amount of Trainer Points.

And with that, the Dog Blog has come to an end. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Nintendogs. As I hope you can tell from the Dog Blog, the game is very unique and a lot of fun. I would also like to thank you for reading up on the day-to-day life of my pup, Olimar. Be sure to continuing visiting Random Nintendo for even more great content.

 Next Stop: The Championship

August 22, 2005

Olimar and I are almost there. We're almost at the Obedience Trials Championship. We managed to pass the Master Class, but that didn't happen until the end of our day. So, before we get to the Master Class story, let's take a look at what else Olimar and I were up to.

The day kicked off as it always does. I fed Olimar, gave him some water, and then we went on a walk. During today's walk, I decided to stop by the Discount Shop and stock up on water, food, and shampoo. The nice thing about the Discount Shop is that, as its name implies, everything is cheaper. However, unlike the other stores, the only way to get to the Discount Shop is by walking there. Because of this, I didn't base our walk's path on question mark blocks. Instead, I headed straight to the Discount Shop.

Even though the question mark blocks weren't my top priority during today's walk, I still managed to hit three of them. The first one was Alan and his dog Butters. Butters and Olimar got along way better than they have in the last few weeks, and once we said goodbye, Olimar was in a really good mood. I guess it helps to play with neighboring pups.

As for the two items that we got on our walk, the first one was a Newsboy Hat. It's a giant blue and white hat that kind of looks like an upside-down bowl. As strange as that sounds, the hat is quite cool. The second item we found was another Bubble Blower, which I'm going to sell.

Once we returned home, I had Olimar practice his tricks. I decided to completely re-teach him the Jump trick with a new command: Jump Up. I figured that part of the reason he wasn't jumping was because he couldn't understand "Jump." By changing the command to "Jump Up," Olimar is able to understand it much easier. And it worked. While it was a bit of a hassle to erase the old Jump trick from his memory and re-teach it to him, it was worth it.

We also practiced Olimar's other tricks, such as Handstand, Dance and Beg. I even went over simple tricks, such as Sit, and Lie Down. You would be surprised that some of the simplest tricks can cause the most problems doing a competition. Of course, I wanted to make sure that Olimar was in tip-top shape for the Master Class, which meant going over everything. I also gave Olimar a bath to please the judges.

All the training paid off. Once we entered the Master Class, it was smooth sailing. Olimar was able to do everything from holding his Beg trick for ten seconds, to performing his Dance and Handstand tricks during the Freestyle part. He was also able to jump on cue, which was a very big relief. The judges rewarded us handsomely with a score of 9.36. This put us in first place, and as a reward, we received one thousand bucks.

Tomorrow is the big day. We'll be entering what is bound to be the hardest competition yet: The Obedience Trials Championship. I'm confident that Olimar will be able to land us in the top three, but I know it'll take a good amount of training. Tomorrow is a Dog Blog that can't be missed, so be sure to stop by and see how we did.

 Making Progress

August 21, 2005

Compared to yesterday, today went quite well. We're closing in on the Obedience Trials Championship and I'm very happy to say that I think Olimar will be able to win... It'll just take a lot of training. Of course, before I did anything competition related, I gave Olimar his daily meal. Once he finished, we headed out on our walk.

I only managed to pass by three question mark blocks during today's walk. The first two contained rather boring items: A Disposable Camera and a Tennis Ball, both of which I've gotten numerous times before. So, I plan to sell both of them sometime soon. The third question mark block was Adam on a walk with his dog Bear. Adam made an encouraging comment about the Obedience Trials and we quickly said our goodbyes. I didn't have much time for chatting when there was a competition to win.

Once Olimar and I returned home, we practiced some tricks. He did all of them quite well and seemed very prepared for re-entering the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. So, after combing Olimar with the wire brush (rumor has it that the judges give higher scores to clean dogs), we headed off to the event.

I am proud to say that Olimar passed the Expert Class. Of course, that's not saying much... He already passed it back on August 14. However, after yesterday's unexpected loss, it's nice to see Olimar winning again. Unfortunately, it wasn't a walk in the park. Olimar once again screwed up when it came to doing his Jump trick. I'm starting to think that he isn't understanding my command, which could be a bit of a problem. The fact that Olimar couldn't Jump cost us a pretty hefty amount of points. We couldn't even win back any points with Olimar's Handstand and Beg tricks. When the competition ended, we walked away with a score of 8.02. This landed us in third place and as a reward, we got $180.

Tomorrow I plan to work with Olimar on his Jump trick. It's been very problematic lately, and I'm starting to worry that it will prevent us from ever winning the Obedience Trials Championship. Assuming that Olimar is able to once again master his jumping abilities, I plan to re-enter the Master Class of the Obedience Trials tomorrow. Be sure to stop by the Dog Blog and see how we did.

 What Went Wrong?

August 20, 2005

Things didn't turn out for the best today. The day was off to a solid start when I fed Olimar his usual Dry Food and give him his water, but things took a turn for the worst after we came back from our walk and headed off to a competition. You can probably guess what happened. However, before I get to that, I need to cover our walk.

During our walk, we managed to pass by four different question mark blocks. Two of the blocks were items. The first item we found was a purple leather collar. At the rate I'm finding these leather collars, I'm  probably going to get all six variations very soon. The other item we found was a second White Rubber Bone. I first told you about the rubber in the August 6 blog entry, which is when I found it. Now that I have two of them, I'll probably sell off the second one. There really isn't a reason to keep it.

The other two question mark blocks were trainers out for a stroll with their dogs. First up was Alan and his pooch Butters. Alan was nice enough to point out the obvious: Make sure your dog has enough food before you start spending money on toys. Once Alan finished giving me this very insightful information, I said goodbye and continued on my walk with Olimar. This is when we ran into Archie and his pup Spot. Archie expressed how impressed he was with Olimar getting first place in the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. And that's when it dawned on me... Olimar and I should enter the  Obedience Trials' Master Class! I quickly ended my conversation with Archie and headed home.

The Master Class caught me by surprise. Olimar knows all the needed tricks, but he simply wasn't ready for such an advanced Obedience Trial. This became obvious to me when Olimar made mistakes throughout the competition. First of all, he refused to do his Jump trick. Maybe he wasn't understanding me, or maybe he was simply nervous... Whatever it was, he wouldn't jump. From there, it didn't get much better. At one point, Olimar had to sit for fifteen seconds. Unfortunately, he would only hold his Sit trick for about thirteen seconds. If only he could stay put for two more seconds.

With all said and done, Olimar ended up getting an score that was somewhere around six. Because of this, we can't move on to the Championship just yet. First, Olimar needs to pass the Expert Class again. Then, the Master Class. Only then can Olimar compete in the Obedience Trials Championship.

So, for the next few days, Olimar and I will be doing a lot of training and a lot of Obedience Trials. Be sure to swing by the Dog Blog to watch us make our way to the Obedience Trials Championship.

 Another Relaxing Day

August 19, 2005

Today was another fairly relaxed day. No competitions, no training. I decided to give Olimar one more laid-back day before we start our training tomorrow. So, I booted up Nintendogs, bought some more food and water for Olimar, and then gave him his usual meal. We then headed out for our daily walk.

During our walk, Olimar and I ran into two different trainers. To my surprise, neither of them were Shiggy. Instead, we crossed paths with Alan and Archie. First we ran into Archie, who was out for a walk with his dog Spot. Archie didn't have much to say, so Olimar and I moved on. We then had a run-in with Alan, who gave me some good advice in case my dog does decide to run away someday. If Olimar does run away, I should try and lure him back with presents. I shouldn't scold him for leaving. In fact, Alan stressed that it's important to be extremely nice. Once Alan finished giving me this helpful advice, we said our goodbyes.

In addition to running into trainers, Olimar and I also stumbled across three different items. The first one was a tissue box. As you might know from reading earlier Dog Blog entries, Olimar hates tissue boxes. So, as soon as we got home, I sold the box for a whopping dollar. The second item we found was a black boot... and Olimar doesn't seem to like that very much either. Just like the tissue box, I ended up selling it the Secondhand Shop. The third, and final, item that we found was a brand-new collar: The Flower Collar. The collar is obviously made for female dogs, as shown by its pink and white floral design. I haven't sold it yet, but I probably will.

That's all for today's Dog Blog. Tomorrow is going to be quite a busy day. I haven't decided which one to enter, but Olimar and I will be training for, and entering, a competition. Want to see how we do? Stop by the Dog Blog tomorrow.

 Back in Action

August 18, 2005

Sorry for not updating the Dog Blog during the last two days. I didn't have a chance to play Nintendogs. It's kind of ironic because in my last blog entry, I said how important it is to frequently play Nintendogs. Anyway, Olimar didn't run away after two days, which is good. He was extremely hungry, though. So, I fed him and gave him something to drink. While he was eating, I noticed little fleas were jumping off of him every so often. The best way to deal with this is obviously to clean him, and that's exactly what I did. When cleaning off your pup, there are two ways to do: Simple comb, or give an all-out bath. I chose to go with the bath, which required me to use some of my Long Hair Shampoo. I still have a few bottles left, which means that I don't need to run to the store... yet.

Once Olimar was clean, we headed out for a walk. During our walk, we had our usual run-in with Shiggy and his pooch, Pik. Shiggy claims that dogs react differently to food depending on what time of day it is. I guess that makes sense... It does seem a little odd, though, doesn't it? Anyway, once we finished chatting with Olimar, we continued on our walk and found two items: A ribbon and a Dog Picture. I'm probably going to sell the ribbon because Olimar is a boy. It might just be me, but looks a little strange to put a ribbon on a boy. As for the Dog Picture, Olimar loves it. I have no idea what he finds so interesting about a random photo of a dog in a nice wooden frame, but Olimar seems to like chewing on.

With all said and done, today was a pretty slow day. After our walk, I said goodbye to Olimar and turned off my DS. I plan to train Olimar in the gym for the next round of Agility Trials tomorrow or the day after. Maybe we can even enter the next competition. Check back tomorrow to find out what we're up to.

 The First Agility Trial

August 15, 2005

Olimar and I had a fairly relaxed day. After training so hard for the Obedience Trials' Expert Class, I felt that Olimar deserved to have a more laid-back day. Of course, it wasn't all about relaxing. We also entered the first Agility Trial, but I'll get to that in a few minutes.

As always, I fed Olimar and gave him something to drink. We headed out on our daily walk, and I noticed that the streets were fairly empty. We usually run into a few people out for a walk with their dogs, but today we only ran into Alan and his pooch, Butters. Alan did have some useful advice, though. He told me that if I don't spend time with Olimar (in other words, if I don't play Nintendogs for a while), my pup might try to leave the house. I really don't want Olimar to run away, so I'll be sure to play with him often.

After chatting with Alan for a few minutes, Olimar and I continued on our walk. We managed to get two items: A stick and a Pumpkin Leather Collar. I plan to keep the collar, but I sold the stick because Olimar doesn't like it. Yes, I know what you're thinking: How can a dog not like sticks? Well, to be honest, I have no idea why he hates it... He just does.

Once we returned him, I decided to enter Olimar into the Beginner's Class of the Agility Trials. For not training at all (even though there is a gym make specifically for doing so), we did pretty good. Not great, not even really good, just pretty good. Basically, I had to guide Olimar around the course by tapping on different obstacles with the stylus. He would then run over to where I was tapping, and complete the task (or try his best). It's a little harder than it seems because even if I don't tap on a specific obstacle, he'll still run over to where I'm tapping. On more than one occasion, I accidentally tapped on the screen and Olimar started to run away from the course. Luckily, I was able to get him back on track without wasting too much time. With all said and done, we ended up getting in third place and won thirty dollars. Like I said early, that's pretty good for not training at all.

Of course, before I even think about entering the Open Class of the Agility Trials, I'm going to train Olimar some more. We can head over the the training facility on one of our walks and practice how to pass the various obstacles. If Olimar is able to get the hang of it quickly, we might try the Open Class tomorrow... But, to be honest, I doubt we will. Either way, check back tomorrow to see what Olimar and I are up to.

 Olimar Finally Did It!

August 14, 2005

If you're a regular Dog Blog reader, you should know exactly what the "it" in the title of today's entry is. But if you can't figure it out, or if you haven't read the Dog Blog before, you'll soon find out. Before I get to the mysterious "it", I need to tell about the rest of my day with Olimar. As always, I gave him a meal as soon as I turned on Nintendogs. Once he was full and his thirst was quenched, we headed off on a walk.

I was only able to have the path of our walk cross three different question mark blocks. But I managed to luck out and score some good items, plus a surprise present along the way. The first thing we stumbled across was actually a dog out with its trainer: Maggie and her trainer Chantal. We chatted very briefly, and then Olimar and I continued on our way. This is when we started to stumbled across some items. First we found a juice bottle, which I sold to the Secondhand Shop as soon as we returned home. Then we started to find some more interesting stuff... The second item Olimar grabbed off the street was a Green Leather Collar. It actually looks pretty good on Olimar. And the third item we found was actually a surprise gift lying in the middle of our path. Olimar quickly snatched it up and I discovered that it was a rare Lisa Doll, which the game claims is a cute doll that is, "all the rage with young pups." It's definitely true, as shown by the fact that Olimar loves it.

After we got back from our walk, I decided that the time had come: Olimar and I were going to once again try the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. In preparation, I gave Olimar a nice bath. From what I've heard, the judges give slightly better scores if a pup is sparkling clean. After Olimar's bath, we ran through his spin trick one more time. He managed to hold it for about twelve seconds, and that's when I knew we had this competition in the bag.

If you didn't figure it out, the "it" I was referring to at the beginning of today's blog is the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. After not placing in the top three last time we tried, Olimar and I have been training like crazy to make sure that we get in first. I'm very happy to say that it paid off. Olimar was able to do every trick successfully, including Spin, which was the only trick that caused problems during our last attempt. In fact, Olimar was able to hold the trick longer than required. The last part of the competition was Freestyle, and Olimar blew the judges away with his handstand trick. We ended up not only passing the Expert Class, but walking away with a very high score of 9.67, a first place trophy, and $600 in prize money. It doesn't get much better than that!

Today's Dog Blog ends on a high note. After spending the last few days prepping for the Expert Class, Olimar did an awesome job. Next up is the Master Class, but I think we're going to take a break from the Obedience Trials... Maybe we'll focus on the Disc Competitions, or possibly enter the agility competition. Check back tomorrow to see what which competition I decided to do. 

 Items Galore

August 13, 2005

As you might remember from yesterday, I gave myself two goals for today. I only managed to fulfill one of the goals, but I'm still quite happy about it. I finally found cool items during a walk with Olimar. I'll explain what exactly I stumbled across a little bit later. First, I have to tell you about Olimar's awesome new trick: Handstand.

Once Olimar had his usual meal, I found out that it is possible to teach advance tricks to my pup by quickly having him go from one trick to the next. It turns out that if I have him lie down, and then tell him to beg, he will get on his front paws and do a handstand. So, I taught him the new handstand trick. He learned it surprisingly fast and the trick itself is really impressive. I'm sure that when Olimar does a handstand during our next Obedience Trial, the judges will love it.

As soon as Olimar got the handstand down cold, we headed out on our walk. I managed to have us pass five different question mark blocks in hopes of getting a rare/cool item. And guess what? I did. However, it wasn't thanks to the question mark blocks. During our walk, a present was actually lying in the middle of our path. I pulled Olimar over to it (by yanking on his leash with the stylus) and he grabbed it for me. It turns out that the present was a Clover Clock, which changes the look of the on-screen clock. I personally prefer the look of the default clock, but the Clover Clock is still a pretty nice item.

In addition to the Clover Clock, we also found a juice bottle (Olimar hates it), another tennis ball, and a Dice Cushion. The Dice Cushion is almost the same as the cloth cube that we found in the August 11 blog. It's basically a giant stuffed die. Olimar and I also ran into some familiar faces during our walk: Shiggy with his pup Pik, and Adam on a jog with his dog Bear.

That's all for today's Dog Blog. Now that Olimar knows how to do a handstand, I think that we'll be able to do much better in the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. I just need to have Olimar practice his Spin trick a bit more. Be sure to check out the Dog Blog tomorrow to see if we can finally pass the Expert Class.

 The Open Class... Again

August 12, 2005

This was a bit of a surprise... Not only did I lose the Obedience Trial yesterday, but the game actually sent me back to the Open Class. I'll get to that later, though. First, I need to cover the stuff we did leading up to our second Open Class win. I gave Olimar his food and drink, and we went on our usual walk.

I've been trying quite hard to find some really cool, Nintendo-related items during our walks. There are remote controlled Mario Karts, Mario and Luigi hats, and more. Unfortunately, I haven't found any of those items yet. I  did my best to pass by as many of the question mark blocks on the map (which indicate a trainer or item), and I managed to get about four of them during today's walk. However, two of them were other dogs and their owners, while the other two were rather boring items. The two trainers we ran into were Shiggy with his dog, Pik, and Adam with his pooch, Bear. Neither of them had anything new to say, so Olimar and I quickly moved on. The two items we found during our walk were another Bubble Blower and another Disposable Camera. Olimar hated the camera, so I quickly sold it. I also sold the Bubble Blower because I already have one. It is pretty cool, though. By blowing into the microphone on the DS, you can create bubbles that your dog will try to pop by jumping around. It's strangely entertaining.

When we returned from our walk, I had Olimar practice his tricks. He was able to pull all of them off and I noticed that he is starting to hold his Spin trick longer. This is good because, if you remember from yesterday, the fact that Olimar couldn't hold his Spin for ten seconds cost us a top three spot in the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. Anyway, after he practiced his tricks, I let Olimar hang out for a little while and play with a tennis ball and Frisbee. I also brushed him with the Wire Brush to make sure he was in tip-top shape for our entry into the Obedience Trials.

When we arrived at the Obedience Trials, I expected us to be re-entered into the Expert Class. To my surprise, we had to go through the Open Class again. Luckily, Olimar did well during our first Open Class competition, so I felt pretty good about having him do it again. And Olimar didn't disappoint. He pulled off every trick, and we really impressed the judges with our Dance trick. However, we only managed to earn second place. All things considered, that's not a big deal at all. At least we're back to the Expert Class.

My plan for tomorrow is to make a second attempt at the Expert Class of the Obedience Trials. I'm also hoping to finally find some cool Nintendo stuff during our walk, but I kind of doubt that we will. Be sure to stop by the Dog Blog tomorrow and see if Olimar finally passed the Expert Class.

 Better Luck Next Time

August 11, 2005

Today's Dog Blog is a bit of a mixed bag. While some good stuff did happen, such as Olimar's new trick (Dance) and finding a new toy, there was a big upset. But I'll get to that later. First, let's discuss the positive stuff. I booted up Nintendogs and gave Olimar his usual meal. We then headed out on a walk.

During our walk, Olimar and I once again ran into Shiggy and Pik. We chatted briefly and then moved on. We soon stumbled across another gift lying in the street. It was a cloth cube, which the game describes as easy on a dog's gums. Olimar really seems to like the little cube.  On the way home, we ran into another trainer: Adam and his dog, Bear. This is the same guy who I thought was named Alex in the August 9 blog. Anyway, he recommended that I enter Olimar into the Obedience Trials. I decided to follow Adam's advice and enter Olimar into the Expect Class of the trials.

Before Olimar entered the Obedience Trials, we practiced his Beg trick. He was finally getting it down. I also managed to teach him a brand-new trick, which I call Dance. Basically, Olimar stands on his hind-legs and moves back and forth. It sort of looks like he's tap dancing... The trick is definitely cool. Once Olimar got it down cool, we headed to the Obedience Trials.

The Expert Class of the Obedience Trials is obviously harder than the previous classes. I was aware of this and trained Olimar appropriately... or so I thought. The Expert Class ended up being much tougher than I expected. However, Olimar managed to do okay for the most part. He pulled off his Beg trick perfectly, did an excellent version of his Dance trick during the Freestyle part of the competition, and also did well when it came to simpler tricks. The only problem we had was when Olimar had to spin in a circle for ten seconds. He was able to do the trick without a problem, but after about four seconds, he simply stopped. No matter what I did, he refused to spin for the full ten seconds. Due to not completing that goal, as well as barely doing a separate string of tricks within the time limit, Olimar did not place in the top three. This means that we can't move on to the next round of the trials.

Not placing in the Obedience Trials' top three has really motivated me to practice more with Olimar. I plan to spend a good chunk of tomorrow going over every move that Olimar knows, especially the Spin move. If he does really well during our practice, we might try the Obedience Trials again. So, be sure to check back tomorrow to see if he gave the trials another shot.

 Going For The Gold

August 10, 2005

It's nice when everything goes better than expected. From our walk, to the Disc Competition, Olimar and I had a great day. The day kicked off with Olimar's usual meal and drink. We then practiced his recently learned Beg trick. Even though he already learned how to beg, he still seems to be having a little bit of trouble with. I guess he just needs to practice more. It's not a very big deal at this point because I'm focusing on the Disc Competition, opposed to the Obedience Trials. However, this could become a bit of a problem down the road.

Anyway, once we finished practicing Olimar's Beg trick, we headed out on a walk. I made sure to have our path cross with as many Question Mark Blocks as possible because I'm getting tired of not finding any interesting goodies on our walks. It worked. During our walk, Olimar found two gifts: Party glasses and a record. The party glasses are those glasses with other people's eyes in the frame, and you look through the pupils. Honestly, it looks rather odd on Olimar. He doesn't seem to mind it, though. As for the record, it is an upbeat jingle. Olimar seems to like it, especially when I speed it up.

We also ran into two different people on the walk. First, we had a quick chat with Shiggy and Pik. I get the feeling that Olimar and I are going to continue to see them daily, but it's hard to tell. All I know for sure is that it's still a big relief to see Olimar and Pik get along. The second trainer we ran into was Archie and his dog, Spot. Olimar was "curious" about Spot and it looks like the two dogs could get along in the future. Then again, they could also end up hating each other.

Once we returned from our walk, I decided that the time has come... I entered Olimar into the Open Class of the Disc Competition. We had to earn a score of twenty (or more) points in order to get in first place and we barely made it. When we first started, I was having a little trouble with throwing the Frisbee far. I have no idea why, but it just wouldn't travel through the air. So, Olimar ended up catching a bunch of Frisbees right next to me, and those were only worth two points per throw. Finally, I managed to actually throw the disc and it headed straight down the field. Olimar jumped up and he missed. I glanced at the clock and started to worry. We had about eight seconds to earn six points. Olimar brought the Frisbee back as fast as he could, and then I gave it one last good throw. It flew all the way down the field, Olimar chased after it, he leapt for it... Yes, he caught it! He caught it in mid-air with only one second left on the clock. We managed to make it to twenty points, which is exactly what we needed to win. As our prize, we earned two hundred bucks. Olimar did an awesome job!

I'm still trying to hunt down a flash card, so I can take some pictures of Olimar... I can't believe that I only have one card, which is corrupt, in my entire house. Well, once I get hold of another flash card, whenever that is, I'll show you guys some pictures of Olimar. And with that, today's Dog Blog is over. Check back tomorrow to see what Olimar and I are up to.

 Making New Friends

August 9, 2005

Sorry for not updating the Dog Blog yesterday. I didn't have a chance to play Nintendogs. With that said, I was really surprised by how missing a chance to play with Olimar for one day causes such drastic changes in the game. After giving Olimar his usual food and drink, I realized that he was quite dirty.... Dirtier than ever before, which is kind of odd considering the fact that he didn't leave the house when I was gone. Anyway, I grabbed my Long Hair Shampoo and gave him a nice bath. It's actually kind of funny to rub the DS screen and watch bubbles start forming all over Olimar. I then rinsed him off and we headed out the door for our first walk of the day.

During our walk, we ran into a familiar face and dog. You guessed it, Shiggy and Pik. I was a little worried that Pik would hurt Olimar again, but that didn't happen... In fact, I think Pik had a change of heart. Pik was being extremely playful and friendly with Olimar. I'm glad that the two of them managed to work out whatever their problem was. As for Shiggy, he complimented Olimar. I'm not sure if he was doing this to make up for Pik attacking my pup, but whatever the reason was, it was nice of him. We soon left Shiggy and Pik, and I noticed that Olimar was in a surprisingly good mood.

When we returned home, I decided to try my luck at teaching Olimar how to beg. The in-game trick book claimed that the dog needed to be loyal to its trainer, as well as comfortable with him/her. The book also warned that beg is an advanced trick. And, to be honest, the book was right. It took a lot of practice for Olimar to understand the beg command. Even when I managed to get him to "stand" in the begging position by rubbing up with the stylus, he wouldn't always register what I said. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Olimar learned the trick. If the book is right, that means he's very loyal to me, which is obviously a good thing.

Olimar and I played around for a while. I tossed a tennis ball around the house for him, I let him chew on the white rubber bone we found the other day, and we occasionally practiced his new Beg trick. After we finished with that, Olimar and I went on a second walk. This time, we ran into two other dog owners and dogs: Alex (I think that was his name) and his dog, Bear, and Chantal and her dog, Maggie. Olimar was pretty indifferent to both of the dogs, and the owners were definitely not the most interesting people in the world. They did offer some good advice, though.

We eventually made it to the park, where Olimar practiced some Frisbee catching. However, after a handful throws, he started to get tired. So, we headed back home. I was originally planning to enter Olimar into the next level of the Disc Competition, but I realized that he was tired out. And I really can't blame him... It was quite a busy day.

That's a wrap on today's Dog Blog. Once again, sorry about not updating the blog yesterday. I'll make sure that I continue to update daily. As for the Olimar pictures, I'm still trying to hunt down a flash card that actually works. As soon as I find one, I guarantee that you'll get to see some pictures of my pooch.

 Training Day

August 7, 2005

Compared to the last two days, Olimar and I didn't do nearly as much. However, that doesn't mean that it wasn't interesting. There was still plenty of excitement for me and my pup. As usual, I kicked things off by feeding Olimar and giving him something to drink. Once he was ready, we went on a walk. But this time, we were actually going somewhere. I decided that we should go to the park and train a little for the Disc Competition.

On our way to the park, we ran into Shiggy and Pik yet again. As usual, Shiggy wasn't a very interesting person to talk to. He did have some helpful advice about the game's real-time day and night system, but besides that, the conversation was quite boring. His dog, on the other hand, was much more interesting... Not in a good way, though. It looks like Olimar and Pik are not getting along very well. They were never friendly, but they did not seem to mind each other too much. Unfortunately, that changed today. Pik decided to pick (no pun intended) on Olimar and believe it or not, he actually tackled my poor pooch. Not only was it uncalled for, but Pik is a bigger dog than Olimar... I'm glad that Olimar didn't get hurt.

Anyway, once we got to the park, I started to train Olimar for the Disc Competitions. It actually went quite well. It went so well, in fact, that I decided to enter Olimar into one of the competitions a little later that day, opposed to my original plan of doing it the following afternoon. Olimar and I quickly headed home and within a few minutes, entered the Beginner's Class of the Disc Competition. He did extremely well compared to the other dogs. We ended up winning with a total of twenty-five points. Good job, Olimar!

That's all for today's Dog Blog. I haven't been able to find another flash card for my digital camera, which means that I can't show you any pictures of Olimar. However, as soon as I can find a flash card, I'll upload a few pics of my pup. As for tomorrow, I'm hoping to try my luck at the Open Class of the Disc Competition. Be sure to check back to see how Olimar did.

 Another Win For Olimar

August 6, 2005

I had another big day with my pup, Olimar. While I didn't do quite as much as yesterday, I still managed to teach two new tricks, enter the next level of the Obedience Trials, and find some worthwhile stuff during our walks. I kicked off my various activities by giving Olimar a bite to eat and some water. As soon as he was done, I realized that I haven't cleaned him yet. I checked his status and apparently it was "normal". However, normal is not good enough for me. So, I grabbed my recently-purchased wire brush and started to rub away at the DS screen. Within a few minutes, he was clean and ready to go.

Olimar seemed a little antsy, so we headed out for a walk. The first thing that happened during today's walk was a second run-in with Shiggy and his dog, Pik. Unfortunately, Shiggy had nothing new to say. So, Olimar and I moved on. Shortly after our Shiggy confrontation, Olimar stumbled across another random item in the street. This time, it was a white rubber bone. It's a nice change of pace to get an item that Olimar actually likes. I was getting tired of broken doodads and sticks.

When we returned to the house, I let Olimar play with his new rubber bone for a bit. As soon as he got tired of it, I taught him two new tricks: Roll Over and Jump, both of which are pretty self explanatory. It took Olimar a while to get the hang of these new tricks, but it was worth having him learn them. Why? Because it helped us do well in the Open Class of the Obedience Trials. We came in second place with a score of 8.73. Not bad, but Olimar can definitely do better.

To wrap up the day, I took Olimar on a second walk. We lucked out yet again and found a Blue Camo Frisbee. I haven't decided if I'm going to sell it or not, even though I already own a Nintendo-branded red Frisbee. Olimar and I also met another trainer during our walk. His name was Alan and he had a pup named Butters. Olimar didn't appear to be getting along with Butters, and Alan didn't have anything interesting to say... So, we quickly said our goodbyes.

That's it for today's Dog Blog. I did take a few pictures of Olimar, but my computer says that the flash card they are on is corrupt. That means that I don't have any pictures for you today. But if you check back tomorrow, I might be able to upload a few. I hope you have liked the Dog Blog so far and be sure to swing by every day for the latest on Olimar.

 Out On The Town With Olimar

August 5, 2005

Tricks, other trainers, competitions and Frisbees... Wow, I had quite a busy day with Olimar. When I first turned my DS on, I feed Olimar and gave him some water. Once he was good to go, I taught him how to lie down. I know that it's not the most amazing trick in the world, but I figured that it would help when it came to entering the first Obedience competition (more on that later).

Once Olimar learned how to lie down, I decided that he probably wanted to get some exercise. So we set out on a brief stroll around the neighborhood. On our walk, Olimar came across another mysteriously-wrapped present. This time it was a disposable camera... and it didn't even have film in it. Who would actually take the time to grab an empty disposable camera, stick it in a box, wrap it, and then throw it into the street? Somebody has way too much time on their hands. Anyway, Olimar isn't too fond of the camera. Whenever I took it out, he would bark at it. So much for that.

As we continued on our walk, we ran into another dog owner who was out for a jog with his pup. The guy's name was Shiggy, which is obviously a reference to Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Mario, Zelda, etc. Shiggy's dog was named Pik. I'm guessing that's a reference to the Pikmin series, which is also a game created by Miyamoto. With that said, Shiggy didn't have much to say. He simply reminded me that each dog likes and dislikes different objects and toys. After our short chat, Olimar and I said goodbye to Shiggy and returned home.

Once we got home, I decided that it was time to teach Olimar some more tricks. I started off with what I like to call Guard. Basically, Olimar crouches down on his front legs and sticks his butt into the air. Olimar actually did this trick on his own. I simply gave it a name and made sure that Olimar was able to associate the trick with the name. In addition to Guard, I also managed to teach Olimar to chase his own tale. Whenever I say 360, Olimar starts to run in circles.

As soon as Olimar knew a handful a tricks, it was time to enter a competition. I decided to enter the Obedience Trials. Olimar was placed in the Beginner's Class and before we knew it, Olimar had to sit, lie down, shake, and do some "freestyle" tricks (in other words, whatever I wanted). Luckily, Olimar did great in all of the different parts of the competition. We were able to beat the other two dogs and walk away with a score of 9.09. For getting in first place, we received a hundred dollars and a nice big trophy.

As a reward for doing so well, I bought a red Frisbee for Olimar. I tossed it around the house for him and he chased after it and even started to scratch at it like crazy. I quickly realized that the house was a little too small to play Frisbee in (the disc kept hitting the walls), so Olimar and I went on a second walk. This time, we headed off to the park. At the park, we ran into two other dogs, who kept stealing Olimar's Frisbee. After a couple minutes, I basically gave up and we started to go back home. On the way home, Olimar stumbled across two sticks. For some odd reason, Olimar seems to hate the sticks... Whenever I toss one to him, he barks at it.

That wraps up today's Dog Blog. I'm hoping to teach Olimar a few more tricks tomorrow and enter him into the next level of the Obedience Trials. Oh, and I'll be sure to show you guys a picture of Olimar... Maybe I can even find a Mario hat for him to wear in the picture.

 Olimar's New Home

August 4, 2005

I recently received my copy of Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends and I decided that it was time to head over to the Nintendog Kennel and buy myself a dog. I have to admit, it was a tough choice. I was playing with one of the sample dogs, Daisy, for a little bit and she seemed like a great dog. However, I wasn't allowed to buy her... I guess Daisy was just an example of what I could do with my own pup. I eventually got around to buying my own dog and picked a male Cavalier K.C. Spaniel. I'll be sure to post a picture of him in one a blog updates down the road (hopefully later this week).

When I got home with my new Spaniel, he seemed quite uncomfortable away from the kennel. Luckily, he cheered up once I comforted him by petting and patting. Once he felt safe in his new home, I had the opportunity to name my dog. Being a fairly big fan of Pikmin, I decided that a good name would be Olimar.

For the rest of the evening, Olimar and I got to know each other. I fed him some food, gave him some water, played fetch with a tennis ball, etc. Of course, I also taught him a few tricks, including sit, shake (which he does when I ask him to "make a friend"), wiggle his butt, and sneeze on cue. The last trick, which is the sneezing one, just kind of... well, it just happened on its own. I accidentally poked Olimar's nose with the stylus and after doing it a few times, and telling him "Sneeze", he eventually figured out what to do. Olimar's quite a smart dog.

We also went on two walks. Both times, Olimar ate trash... I tried to pull him away, but he seemed pretty determined to get himself sick. I'm glad that his stomach ache only lasted for ten seconds or so. During our walks, Olimar stumbled across two packages. I have no idea why, but it appears that in the world of Nintendogs, people wrap up random objects (from tissue boxes to toys) and leave them on the sidewalks. If only it was that easy to get free gizmos and gadgets in real life. Anyway, the stuff we found wasn't very exciting. It was a tissue box and a bubble blower, which I already have. Maybe we'll luck out and find a Mario hat one of these days.

That pretty much concludes my first Dog Blog. I'll be updating this every day and I hope that you continue to see what Olimar and I are up to. I have some big plans for my pup, as I plan to enter Olimar into a competition very soon.