The player must avoid drawing the dog into the surrounding holes by carefully drawing each line. Any shape may be drawn as long as it is completed in a single stroke. These artistic lines should incorporate the dog's protection without falling into the bees' attack. It's possible to draw a circle around the bees or draw a picture of a long car blocking the abyss. Avoid the bee swarm and don't fall into the abyss. To earn a star, stay inside the yellow lines on this line graph. To see how many stars a level has, follow the orange line next to the yellow lines.

Players need to brush the puppy in each puzzle to complete it. Players are timed as they complete each puzzle; solving these puzzles requires no creativity or repetition. There are hundreds of puzzles waiting for players to put a pen to solve. Bees exit the hive when the upper right corner’s blue numerical displays decrease to 0. If one of your arched lines intersects a dog, be prepared to dodge bees as they fly out of the hive. Additionally, some arched lines may already have covered the dog in your drawing before you started. Bees swarm their targets so quickly that they cause roads to rise up to channel them. If a bee flies near, your dog will be stung and possibly develop an allergic reaction.

In order to keep the challenge changing, the levels incorporate different obstacles and terrain. If a puppy falls off a small air plane, it can cause instant death. Alternatively, they may land on a watery or sandy surface. On grass, they may encounter water holes or deep channels. Additional torches and spears sit at the bottom. When the dog soars through the air, quiver and bow stick out from below. Crates of brown wood are used to line the walls so that both falling bees and flying swarms don’t collide with the lines. A single bee stuck in a crate will die when the crate cracks open.

In Save the puppy, the puppy is only shown with one head. However, its unique expression changes through many emotions. At first glance, it appears calm and content. He fearfully glares at you with tear-filled eyes. His ears are pressed tightly shut and his body trembles. Passing the game screen brings a sly, happy dog face into view. Should a bee sting him, he will displayed red pustules on his head. His wry grin and jaunty attitude express different emotions inexplicably. The dog’s changing expressions suggest bipolar disorder. Once the player completes all the tests, a green checkmark appears on the screen. Additional accessories for your pup can be purchased from the in-game store with gold coins. These include a headband or bow tied around his neck. Additional Emotes are also available for purchase with the bone icon above. Players can view video hints by accessing related information through the light bulb. Accessing this option will allow them to skip turns when the game is too difficult. Downloading the Save the puppy mod will help players rescue a puppy from wasps.