"Penalties" are issued for puppies relieving themselves on the field. Timeouts are called if the water bowl needs to be refilled, or if the puppies begin to fight (a behavior called "unnecessary rrruff-ness"). The show uses puns to mimic the rules of professional football, including paws interference (pass interference), ruff sides (offsides), and dog-collar tackle (horse-collar tackle). Unique "penalties" called may also include howling, illegal bathing (playing in the water bowl), napping on the field, premature watering of the lawn (urination), "excessive fertilization" (defecation), "neutral bone infraction" (neutral zone infraction), and "ineligible retriever downfield" (ineligible receiver downfield). Three special "penalty calls" were introduced in 2015: "Terrorizing the ref" (for a puppy who acts aggressively toward the referee), "paws interference" (for when a puppy blocks another) and "Pancaking" (for when a tired puppy sprawls on the floor instead of playing).