A flea infestation hits the dalmatian household.
This episode features examples of:
- Artistic License – Biology: This episode gets a lot of things about fleas wrong for the sake of the story.
- Chekhov's Gun: The true source of the flea infestation isn't the dumpster the puppies were playing in, it's the miniature asteroid Dylan carries around on his collar for the majority of the episode. But, when Dylan realizes who it was who gave him the Asteroid, he uses the mattress to launch himself at Clarissa, covered in fleas.
- Comical Overreacting: The puppies, Dylan in particular, consider a flea infestation to be worse than the end of the world and spend the whole episode treating it like a zombie apocalypse scenario.
- Dramatic Thunder: Parodied. Dante achieves this effect for his doom predictions by repeatedly turning the lights on and off.
- Foreshadowing:
- Diesel, the first to be infected by the fleas, starts playing with Dylan's miniature asteroid before he's revealed to be infected. It eventually turns out the source of the flea infestation is said asteroid.
- When Dylan is wearing the miniature asteroid, those he hugs are usually the next ones infected, such as Triple-D, Dante and Dorothy.
- When Dolly goes out to get Dorothy, Clarissa mockingly asks them if they have something "bugging" them. We later find out she's the one who caused the infestation by giving Dylan his infected miniature asteroid.
- Gross-Up Close-Up: The selfie of Dawkins's nostril he accidentally opens as the group is looking for information about fleas.
- Michael Jackson's Thriller Parody: Dylan does one to attract the fleas to him, as they're attracted to movement.
- Once More, with Clarity: Once it's revealed that Dylan's asteroid pendant caused the flea infection, we get a quick series of flashbacks revealing how different characters got infected by coming into contact with it.
- Patient Zero: Diesel is the first one to get fleas, due to being the first to play with the asteroid. Later when Dylan takes the flea horde to himself, Diesel's the first to become uninfected.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Dylan gives one to Clarissa when he launches himself at her after infecting himself with fleas. Subverted since no one actually dies, but the puppies consider a flea infestation to be a Fate Worse than Death.Dylan: No one, and I mean no one, messes with my family!
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: As part of the zombie apocalypse parody, the flea-infected puppies are depicted with red eyes.
- Typhoid Mary: Non-lethal example. The flea infestation turns out to originate from the miniature asteroid Dylan was carrying around all episode. The reason he wasn't infected himself is because he's too clean to make an appetizing host.
- Zombie Apocalypse: Parodied. The household getting infected by fleas is treated as one.
