The Dog House – Dog or Alive

This fun, dog-themed slot is a rootin’ tootin’ Wild West-themed installment in Pragmatic Play’s The Dog House slot series. Released in March 2024, it quickly became a feature in many a crypto casinos’ Top Rated lists, riding the Dog House wave that has been sweeping slot enthusiasts since the first The Dog House came out in 2019.

The Dog House – Dog or Alive At a Glance

• Reel Layout: This game features a traditional 5x3 reel setup, making it easy to follow with simple winning patterns.
• RTP: With an RTP of 96.52%, players have a fair chance of steady returns while enjoying the game.
• Volatility: Classified as a high-volatility slot, this game can provide substantial wins, though they may be spaced out.
• Max Win: Offers an impressive max win potential of up to 10,000x your initial bet.
• Paylines: There are 20 paylines and wins are formed when three or more matching symbols align in adjacent patterns.

The two games offer largely the same gameplay experience. You can read all about it in detail in our review of the original The Dog House. Although The Dog House (TDH) and The Dog House - Dog or Alive (TDH-DOA) share numerous things, there are some marked differences. With this newer iteration of the game, Pragmatic Play kept what we loved in the first game and improved on the things that it was lacking on.

Theme and Symbols

The first and most obvious difference lies in the visuals of the game. Where The Dog House (TDH) was set in a sunny and whimsical suburb with luscious, green backyards, The Dog House - Dog or Alive (TDH-DOA) is set in a tough, desert town landscape that looks right out of a spaghetti western.

The adorable pups have put on their best cowboy hats and neckerchiefs to protect themselves from the elements of this dusty landscape, with the Rottweiler - our top dog, if you like - sporting a sheriff’s hat and cigar. The rest of the symbols have also been modified to reflect the Wild West theme, with bullet holes on the dog bone and the low-paying symbols textured like planks.

A sheriff-style badge acts as the WILD, substituting for other symbols except the Bonus and appearing on reels 2, 3, and 4. Just like in the original game, when a wild lands, it comes with a random multiplier of either x2 or x3. Represented by a safe, the Bonus symbol can appear on reels 1, 3, and 5, and landing three of these will trigger the game’s free spins round. This symbol also works exactly like in TDH.

The games have the same reel layout and symbol model. The payout style is also the same, maintaining the same 20 paylines

and a similar free spins round Let’s look at the Free Spins more closely, as there is one important difference there.

TDH-DOA keeps TDH’s sticky wilds and random number of spins awarded through a separate minigame, with one modification: when you hit 3, 6 and 9 WILDs you are not only awarded 3 additional Free Spins, but the value of all the WILD multipliers on the reels becomes doubled!

Unlike in the original TDH, this version offers you the option to buy into the Free Spins round for 100x your total bet.

Statistics and Payouts

One of the things we weren’t too crazy about with TDH was the limited maximum win - only reaching a x6,750 your bet. TDH-DOA has amended this with a generous max win of x10,000 your bet.

Regarding RTP, TDH-DOA has a similar Return to Player with the original game, at 96.52% and 96.51% respectively. Buying the Free Spins in TDH-DOA slightly raises the RTP to 96.54%, but make sure you double check it on the casino you are playing at, as different platforms may have different versions of the game.

Lastly, the betting limits have been revamped, with TDH-DOA allowing bets from 0.20 USDT all the way up to 240 USDT, where TDH only allows up to 100 USDT.

The Dog House – Dog or Alive is an entertaining slot that delivers a satisfying mix of Western adventure, playful dog characters, and solid payout potential, all in a familiar gameplay environment. It’s an attractive choice for both casual and serious crypto slot enthusiasts, and the free spins and sticky wilds provide ample opportunities for substantial wins. It’s a great addition to any online or crypto casino and is especially suited for those who enjoy a risk-reward balance with high volatility.

If you want to know more about the other slots in this series, check out our reviews to find out more about gameplay, payouts and more:

• The Dog House – Muttley Crew
• The Dog House – Megaways

Frequently Asked Questions About The Dog House – Dog or Alive