Dog Pound

Dog catchers don't normally get much attention for what they do. But Rival Gaming is paying homage to these animal control agents with Dog Pound slots. Does this 5-reel, 15-payline slot offer enough reasons to dive into the world of dog catching? Find out as we cover Dog Pound's symbols, bonuses, theme, and how to play.

Symbols and Theme

Dog Pound opens with a video clip that takes place in a dark alley. You'll see sets of eyes hiding in the alley, before the dog catcher rolls in to nab these loose animals. The blue and light-grey reels don't add much to the atmosphere. But we do like the barking dog sounds while you play, along with the tennis balls that mark the paylines.

Symbols include the pink poodle (jackpot), brown dog (scatter), bulldog (wild), dog catcher, tennis balls, dog bones, dog food, Doberman Pinscher, St. Bernard, Dalmatian, old dog, and sleeping dog. The bulldog wild symbol substitutes for other icons to form wins and offers a 2x multiplier on wins. The bulldog is also the highest-paying symbol, delivering 10,000 coins for 5 symbols.

The one downside to Dog Pound is that its graphics are merely average. We've reviewed plenty of Rival slots, and this isn't their best effort in the graphics department. Nevertheless, you can at least differentiate the dogs from each other. And you get to see a fun scene where the dog catcher chases a dog while you're looking at the pay table.

Dog Pound Special Features and Bonuses

This game offers free spins and scatter payouts. The brown dog delivers scatter prizes worth a multiple of your triggering bet. You'll receive 2x (2 symbols), 5x (3 symbols), 20x (4 symbols), or 500x (5 symbols) your triggering wager for the brown dog.

The free spins icon triggers the bonus whenever it lands 3 or more times anywhere on the reels. You'll receive 15 free games along with a 3x multiplier. The latter is nice because you can really enhance your payouts when combined with a wild bulldog (6x total multiplier).

Betting Options

You can adjust the coin size from $0.01 to $1.00, paylines from 1-15, and coins per line from 1-10. All of these can be changed with buttons underneath the reels, while you can also adjust paylines with the tennis ball icons on the sides.

The Bet Max and Auto buttons are available during real money play. Bet Max turns coins per line and paylines (but not coin size) to their highest values. Auto keeps the reels spinning automatically with your selected betting preferences for a specified number of turns.

Final Thoughts on Dog Pound Slots

Dog Pound starts off on the right foot with an entertaining intro video that shows what this game is all about. However, we aren't impressed with what we see on the reels from a visual perspective. It'd also be nice if this slot offered a second screen bonus round.

Nevertheless, you can at least look forward to a couple decent features in scatter payouts and free spins. And dog lovers will appreciate how several different breeds are found on the reels. This isn't the best online slot we've ever played. But Dog Pound is worth a few spins for those who like dogs and/or want to experience the unique dog-catching theme.