Mrs. Van Huego is leaving Fred in the care of Mr. Grout while she goes off to a party. Slimer then shows up and he and Fred have fun in the hallway together, but then Mr. Grout shows up with Bruiser the guard dog. Grout explains that he hired Bruiser to keep Fred in his room because he was sick of searching for him. Bruiser barks so loudly his voice pushes Fred back into the room, then he locks the door.
When Grout leaves, Slimer tries to scare Bruiser but it doesn't work, and Bruiser barks so loud he sends Slimer flying through the keyhole and into the room. Slimer heats up a can of dog food and uses it to distract Bruiser, then tries to lock him in the kitchen, but Bruiser finishes the can of dog food and comes back too quickly.
Slimer slams Bruiser's nose in the door, but he breaks it down and chases after Slimer. He gets Bruiser stuck into the painting on the wall, then rendezvous's with Fred, but Bruiser escapes and chases after them both. They get into the elevator and escape into a kitchen, but Bruiser ends up there too.
He starts chasing Fred, but Slimer steals Grout's whistle and blows it. He commands Bruiser to exercise, backflip, kickflip, and finally go home, which he does (knocking over Grout in the process). Then, Slimer and Fred go to the barbecue.
This short provides examples of
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: At the barbecue, Fred wears a bandanna.
- Balloon Belly: Downplayed when Fred eats some of the giant pile of food. He only looks slightly chubbier, and it goes away the moment he changes position.
- Blowing a Raspberry: Fred blows a raspberry at Mr. Grout.
- Covered in Gunge: When Slimer flies over Grout, the latter ends up coated in ectoplasm.
- Delicious Distraction: Slimer tries to distract Bruiser with dog food.
- Ectoplasm: Slimer leaves slime all over Grout.
- Extreme Omnivore: When eating the dog food, Bruiser eats the can as well.
- Faking the Dead: One of Bruiser's tricks is to play dead.
- Food End: The short ends with Slimer and Fred (plus the Ghostbusters) at a barbecue.
- Forgot About His Powers: Despite being able to be intangible, Slimer allows Bruiser to pull on his nose.
- Fur Is Clothing:
- When Bruiser barks so loudly he blows Fred's fur off, we see that he's wearing underwear underneath it.
- Bruiser threatens Slimer by pulling up his "sleeve", i.e. the fur on his arm/foreleg.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Mrs. Van Huego puts a coat on Fred.
- Hammerspace: When Bruiser plays dead, he holds up a lily out of nowhere.
- Immune to Jump Scares: Slimer tries to scare Bruiser by jumping behind him, yelling, and making a face but it doesn't work.
- Loud Gulp: Fred gulps upon meeting Bruiser.
- Nasal Trauma: Bruiser pulls on Slimer's nose, then Slimer ties Bruiser's nose into a bow.
- Offscreen Crash: When Bruiser barks so loudly he pushes Fred back, we see him slide into the room and then hear a crash from in the room.
- Pet Dress-Up: Mrs. Van Huego dresses Fred in a coat and bow.
- Rhyming Title: Cruisin' for a Bruisin'.
- Slapstick: Grout gets knocked over by Bruiser.
