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Welcome Waggin'

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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

Stimulating

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Welcome Waggin'

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2

Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 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 pu...

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https://slowscreen.com/en/series/pretzel-and-the-puppies/s1/e5a-welcome-waggin

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/pretzel-and-the-puppies/s1/e5a-welcome-waggin

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 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 pu...

Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2
Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2

slowscreen.com

Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 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 pu...

Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2
slowscreen.com

Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Subject Pretzel and the Puppies: Welcome Waggin' | Good, co-watching from age 2

Good · Co-watching from age 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 pu...

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/pretzel-and-the-puppies/s1/e5a-welcome-waggin

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This program is stimulating. It actively demands attention and can feel intense. For the recommended age, this may be on the more intense side. The pacing is fast. Images follow each other quickly, leaving little time to pause and take in what is happening. The sound is clearly present and regularly draws attention. The visuals are calm and well-organized.
The episode follows one clear thread from start to finish: a new neighbor named Gus needs help finding everything on his shopping list. Events build in a logical order, each attempt leading sensibly to the next, so a child can easily follow what is happening and why. Cause and effect stay visible, as when simply telling Gus the directions leaves him lost and the pups realize they need a different approach. The many new places that get named add a little density, but the single goal keeps the story easy to track.
Feelings stay gentle and well regulated all the way through. Gus is a little worried about being lost, but the pups reassure him at once with lines like 'Don't worry, Gus. We'll help you,' and every small wobble settles quickly. The tone between characters is warm and consistent: everyone is patient, encouraging, and kind, even during the running joke where Gus keeps muddling the puppies' names. There is nothing frightening or emotionally sharp for a child to absorb here.
This episode shows a real problem-solving process. The pups do not get it right the first time: they try telling Gus where to go, then giving him a tour, and only after both fail do they invent a map he can carry with him. They take the initiative themselves and reason out loud about why each new idea might work, which models trying again after something does not succeed. The final solution comes together in clear, visible steps as they draw each landmark onto the page.
The language is clear and built on concrete words a young child can picture: kibble, a dog bed, a map, packages, the post office. Speech is easy to understand and words are used consistently, and much of the talk does real work by giving directions and describing places. The playful name mix-ups, where Gus guesses 'Pippi, Patton, Polly,' are good fun but sit a little above the youngest listeners. On the whole the words match this age well, with that small caveat.
The story rests on recognizable everyday situations: welcoming someone new, shopping for what you need, getting lost, and making a map to find your way. Drawing a simple map and helping a neighbor are things a child can copy in real life. The main limit is that the whole world is made of talking dogs running dog shops, which keeps it a step removed from a child's own surroundings. The social side, with a mayor mom, a helpful dad, and a community pulling together, stays close to real family and neighborhood life.

More information

This score shows how inclusively the series portrays diverse people, families and cultures. Scale: Limited → Varied → Rich → Inclusive.
This is a world made up entirely of dogs, where variety shows through different breeds, ages and a mix of male and female characters rather than visible cultural backgrounds or different family forms. What stands out more is how roles play out: the pups share the lead in solving the problem, the parents split home and work between them without falling into fixed patterns, and the new neighbour Gus is welcomed with patience when he struggles. The behaviour on screen feels even-handed, even if the range of people and ways of living a child sees stays narrow. The central story of helping a newcomer find his way models inclusion in a simple, concrete way.
This score shows whether the series stays close to everyday reality or leans into fantasy. Scale: Fantasy → Mixed reality → Realistic.
This episode keeps both feet in everyday life even though every character is a dog. The story is built around recognizable moments: welcoming a new neighbor, shopping for a bed and food, getting lost, and drawing a map to help, with no villain and no magic anywhere. Problems come from a situation rather than a bad character, and the imagined world of dog-run shops and a dog mayor follows steady rules from start to finish. For this age the blend of light imagination and grounded, helpful situations is a comfortable fit.
This score shows how enjoyable the series is for parents watching along. Scale: Tedious → Tolerable → Pleasant → Enjoyable.
This is an easy watch for a co-viewing parent. The production is polished, the warm town is pleasant to look at, and the story carries a real little arc as the pups invent three different ways to help a grumpy new neighbor find his way around. Most of the jokes are pitched at the pups, but the deadpan bulldog and the running gag of him forgetting everyone's name offer the occasional grown-up smile. The bright pup chatter and repeated refrain are the main things likely to wear thin.

Themes

Behaviour

Fast pacing

The puppies speak in rapid, eager, overlapping bursts and the dialogue rarely slows, which is a lot to take in for a three year old.

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.

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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