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Bowl Them Over

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This episode is one video with 2 short stories. Each story gets its own review and score.

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 2

Balanced

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Bowl Them Over

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2

Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. The Doxy puppies bring their friends Dylan and Delilah to The Bowl, a restaurant run by Jules, only to find the friends are aller...

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https://slowscreen.com/en/series/pretzel-and-the-puppies/s1/e4a-bowl-them-over

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/pretzel-and-the-puppies/s1/e4a-bowl-them-over

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. The Doxy puppies bring their friends Dylan and Delilah to The Bowl, a restaurant run by Jules, only to find the friends are aller...

Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2
Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2

slowscreen.com

Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. The Doxy puppies bring their friends Dylan and Delilah to The Bowl, a restaurant run by Jules, only to find the friends are aller...

Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2
slowscreen.com

Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2
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Subject Pretzel and the Puppies: Bowl Them Over | Good, co-watching from age 2

Good · Co-watching from age 2. The Doxy puppies bring their friends Dylan and Delilah to The Bowl, a restaurant run by Jules, only to find the friends are aller...

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/pretzel-and-the-puppies/s1/e4a-bowl-them-over

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This program is well-balanced. It remains mostly easy to follow and process. It is a good fit for the recommended age. The pacing is fast. Images follow each other quickly, leaving little time to pause and take in what is happening. The sound is soft and supportive. The visuals are calm and well-organized.
One clear question drives the whole story: two friends discover they cannot eat anything at their favorite restaurant because every dish contains wheat. Each part builds on the one before, from the disappointing menu to the home kitchen where the puppies test ingredients and invent a wheat-free meal. Cause and effect stays easy to follow, since bread is set aside because it has wheat while rice and beans are chosen because they do not. The small caveat is that a few stretches bundle several new ideas together, such as all the restaurant features and the cooking steps, which a young three-year-old may need a hand connecting.
The feelings here are mild and handled with warmth. When Dylan and Delilah realize they cannot eat at the bowl, their disappointment is met with 'I'm sorry you can't eat at the bowl today' and an immediate plan to help, so sadness never lingers. Characters treat one another with steady kindness, and the adults do the same: Dad happily becomes a 'cozy bench' and Jules later adds the new dish so everyone is included. Feelings move gently from letdown to hope to delight, with only short bursts of excitement and nothing frightening.
This episode gives the puppies genuine thinking to do. Faced with friends who cannot eat wheat, they take the lead themselves, choosing to rebuild the restaurant at home and then to invent a meal everyone can share. The process is visible and includes a wrong turn: they ask whether bananas and ketchup contain wheat, try 'ketchup bananas,' reject it with an 'Eww,' and keep adjusting until rice, beans and cheesy chews come together. The solution arrives through clear, connected steps rather than being handed to them.
The dialogue uses short, clear sentences and concrete words a three-year-old can follow, and the allergy is explained simply as food that makes the friends 'really scratchy.' Most lines carry real information, whether naming ingredients or working out what is safe to eat. Playful dog puns such as 'Mudaroni and cheese' and 'paparoni pizza' add fun but can blur a few words for the youngest listeners. On the whole the language stays purposeful and easy to understand.
The everyday situations are easy to recognize: a play date, eating out, a friend's food allergy and cooking a meal at home, all of which connect to a young child's world. Making the dish involves real, copyable steps like combining rice, beans and cheese, and the lesson about welcoming a friend who eats differently is genuinely useful. What holds this back is the fantasy frame, since the characters are talking dogs in a dog town and Jules conjures crayons and menu items out of thin air, so not everything maps neatly onto real life. The clearest takeaway for daily life is the welcoming, problem-solving attitude rather than the literal actions.

More information

This score shows how inclusively the series portrays diverse people, families and cultures. Scale: Limited → Varied → Rich → Inclusive.
This is a world of dogs, with a two-parent family, five pups and visiting friends who all take part, so there is a steady mix of ages and genders but no human cultural or ethnic variety on show. What stands out is the focus on including a friend with a food allergy: the pups work hard so Dylan and Delilah can eat, and the restaurant owner later adds a wheat-free dish so there is something for everyone. Roles are shared fairly, with girl and boy pups taking the lead together and dad Pretzel doing the cooking. The settings stay close to home and a neighborhood restaurant, so the picture feels inclusive in spirit but narrow in the kinds of lives it shows.
This score shows whether the series stays close to everyday reality or leans into fantasy. Scale: Fantasy → Mixed reality → Realistic.
The world mixes recognizable everyday life, a play date, a restaurant lunch, a friend with a food allergy, with a layer of imagination in the dogs who talk and run things and a host who conjures crayons and a menu. There is no villain anywhere; the only hurdle is a practical problem the friends solve together by inventing a wheat-free dish at home. The light magic stays consistent and never turns frightening, which suits this age well. The one caveat is that a world run entirely by talking dogs, with occasional magic, sits a step away from real life, so it leans more imaginative than plainly realistic.
This score shows how enjoyable the series is for parents watching along. Scale: Tedious → Tolerable → Pleasant → Enjoyable.
This one earns its keep on craft and story rather than on adult-aimed wit. The animation is clean and warm, and the plot, where two friends cannot eat anything at the restaurant and the pups invent a wheat-free dish the owner later adopts, holds together well enough to follow from the couch. The humor stays in gentle pun territory aimed squarely at the kids, so there is little written in for the grown-up in the room. Voices run bright and the theme song repeats, but nothing here grates on adult ears.

Themes

Cooking

Recurring

Chef Pretzel and the pups make a meal of rice, beans, cheesy chews and extra cheese.

Mealtimes

Recurring

Much of the episode takes place around eating at The Bowl restaurant and at the home Doxy Bowl.

Trying new foods

Recurring

Dylan and Delilah order and taste the brand-new 'No-Weat Treat' for the first time.

Understanding others

Recurring

The pups notice their friends' disappointment and act to make them feel included.

Pretend play

Recurring

The pups recreate the restaurant at home, taking turns playing host and customer ('I'll be Jules').

Food

Recurring

Dishes like the bowl burger, Mudaroni and the no-wheat treat are discussed throughout.

Behaviour

The Doxy puppies bring their friends Dylan and Delilah to The Bowl, a restaurant run by Jules, only to find the friends are allergic to wheat and cannot eat anything on the menu. Disappointed, the group heads home and recreates the restaurant as a 'Doxy Bowl,' then experiments in the kitchen until they invent a wheat-free dish of rice, beans and cheesy chews. The friends love it, and when Jules tastes the dish she adds it to her own menu. The episode ends with everyone able to eat at both restaurants.

Season 1

10 episodes

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E01 Story A

Pretzel and the Puppies

Make Your Bark

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In the town of Montgomery, the Doxie family of dachshunds, parents Greta and Pretzel and their five pups, walk Mom to her job as mayor and notice a dull, blank wall that no dog wants to be near. Paxton suggests painting a mural, the city council votes to approve it, and the pups gather paint and try out designs at home. When they cannot agree on a single picture, they decide to let every dog add a paw print instead. The wall fills with colourful prints, dogs gather to play nearby, and Paxton is proud to have 'made his bark.'

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E01 Story B

Pretzel and the Puppies

Pup to the Races

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In a sunny park, a litter of small dachshund puppies discovers the kibble cart derby but learns they are too short to reach the steering lever and brake of the big carts. Led by Pedro, they try one idea after another, stretching themselves, testing different boxes and wood, and finally building tiny carts they push instead of ride, using doggy discs as wheels. They race the new carts successfully and create a pup cart derby of their own. The episode closes with the pups and their parents celebrating and a short song about making your own spark.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E02 Story A

Pretzel and the Puppies

Treat Yourself

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

At Kibble Fest in the town of Montgomery, the Doxy dachshund family arrives to taste new kinds of kibble. One pup, Puck, does not want to try anything, so his brother Pedro and the rest of the pups help him search for a flavor he likes. When nothing works, Mom and Mr. Kibble invite the pups to make a fresh batch, and Puck chooses the ingredients himself. He tastes the kibble he made, loves it, and Pedro is praised for helping him try something new.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E02 Story B

Pretzel and the Puppies

Pups on Parade

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

A family of dachshunds in the dog city of Montgomery learns at breakfast that their city is turning 100 today. The pups decide to throw a surprise birthday party and set about gathering decorations, ordering treats from Kibble Market and finding a place big enough. When they realise they forgot to invite any guests, they run through the streets calling everyone to come. The celebration turns into a city-wide parade, ending with the birthday song for Montgomery.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E03 Story A

Pretzel and the Puppies

Do the Doxie

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Pretzel, a dad dachshund, takes his five pups to visit their grandmother Nana while Mom is at work. They discover that Nana's exercise class is closed, so the pups set out to find another way for Nana and her neighbourhood friends to move their bodies. After trying gardening and a tea party, they land on a dance party. The episode ends with everyone, including Mom, dancing the Doxie together.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E03 Story B

Pretzel and the Puppies

Hot Dogs

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

On the hottest day of the year, a family of dachshund puppies finds it is too hot to play their favorite game, Puck Duck. With help from their dad, the pups try one idea after another to cool down, from finding shade to playing with ice and water. When the ice melts and the water soaks away, they combine a hose and watering cans into a big sprinkler they call the Cool Down Play Zone. They invite every overheated dog in Montgomery to join, and the whole neighborhood cools off and plays together.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E04 Story A

Pretzel and the Puppies

Bowl Them Over

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

The Doxy puppies bring their friends Dylan and Delilah to The Bowl, a restaurant run by Jules, only to find the friends are allergic to wheat and cannot eat anything on the menu. Disappointed, the group heads home and recreates the restaurant as a 'Doxy Bowl,' then experiments in the kitchen until they invent a wheat-free dish of rice, beans and cheesy chews. The friends love it, and when Jules tastes the dish she adds it to her own menu. The episode ends with everyone able to eat at both restaurants.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E04 Story B

Pretzel and the Puppies

Cone-Do

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Delilah, a young dachshund, arrives wearing a cone after hurting her paw and keeps bumping into things during tag and fetch. With Pretzel and her friends she rides a train to the park to find a game that works for her. There she discovers the cone helps her hear faraway sounds, which lets her find a lost pup and reunite it with its mother. The friends turn the discovery into a new game called Hear and Seek, and Paxton makes his own cone so he can play too.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E05 Story A

Pretzel and the Puppies

Welcome Waggin'

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

A new dog named Gus Growler moves to the town of Montgomery with a long list of things to buy but keeps getting lost. The Doxy puppies and their parents, dad Pretzel and mom Greta the mayor, first tell him directions and then give him a tour, but he gets lost both times. Finally the pups draw him a colorful map, and with it Gus finds the kibble market, the bed shop, and the post office. The pups hang the map outside City Hall so it can help other new dogs in town.

Pretzel and the Puppies
S01 E05 Story B

Pretzel and the Puppies

Groom Games

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

At Gigi's grooming palace, a group of puppies get their fur trimmed before heading out to play fetch with the Red Zoomer ball. One puppy, Dil, is too excited to hold still, so his fur keeps covering his eyes and he cannot be groomed or see. His friends invent stay-still games, a balance game, Pippa Says, drawing, and pretending to be a statue, to help him calm down. Once Dil holds still, Gigi finishes the trim, he can see again, and everyone goes to the park to play.

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From this series Pretzel and the Puppies
By age 3 years
By platform Apple TV+

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