Every movie made on the dog or with a dog or a bunch of dogs is absolutely adorable. Few films will make you cry hard and few dog movies will take you on a laughing roller coaster. The best therapeutic method whenever you are feeling low or bored is to watch any of these dog movies.

There are more than hundreds of dog movies exist on various streaming channels. Animated Dog Movies, Movies based on true stories, Biopic movies, etc. It was challenging to pick just the 25 best dog movies out of this list but we have done our best to make this list. How many have you watched from this list and which one is your favorite dog movie?

Best Dog Movies;

1) Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is an American movie released in 2009. Adopted from the 1987 Japanese movie Hachikō Monogatari was based on the true story of a dog named Hachiko.

It is a story of a dog that keeps waiting for the owner unaware of his death. Hachiko keeps waiting until his last breath in front of a station where he last saw his owner leaving for work. This movie will leave you in tears.

2) Marley and Me (2008)

A newly married couple decides to raise a dog as an experiment for raising children. They are trying to adjust to the new city and their new jobs. Their experiment turns troublesome when Marley, the cute labrador pup becomes mischievous. But their life takes a whole new turn by taking Marely into their family.

Marley and Me story is picked from the autobiographical book of the same name by journalist John Grogan. The book was published in 2005, in which John writes his journey with his dog Marley. The best-selling book made David Frankel (Director) bring it on-screen with star actors Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.

3) Beethoven (1992)

Two thieves stole a few puppies from a pet store. From that group, a cute st. bernard puppy escapes and sneaks into the Newton family’s home. The father of the family George Newton doesn’t like this uninvited guest but his wife and kids insist him to keeping the dog. They name it Beethoven. Beethoven instantly becomes part of the family making George jealous. A Series of unexpected turns take place when they take Beethoven to the vet Dr. Herman Varnick. He misguides the family by confirming the wrong medical conditions to Beethoven and uses him for his personal evil experience.

There are 5 Beethoven movies available to watch. The original dog was alive only till the first two movies and after that different dogs were used in the film series.

4) 101 Dalmatians (1996)

101 Dalmatians is the adaptation of the Disney movie of the same name which itself was an adaptation of Dodie Smith’s novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. 102 Dalmatians is the sequel to this movie which was released in 2000.

Roger Dearly and Anita Campbell-Green fall in love because of their Dalmatian puppies. As they get married it becomes easy for Roger’s male Dalmatian and Anita’s Dalmatian to produce more puppies. Yeah! They give birth to tens of puppies after every delivery. But there is a twist. The evil Cruella has her eye on these puppies. She steals all of them! And there is a fight between Roger couple and Cruella to rescue these puppies. 101 Dalmatian movie is filled with cute Dalmatian puppies that you would love to watch!

5) Bolt (2008)

One of Disney’s animated movies based on dogs, Bolt is a comedy adventure film. Bolt, the official hero of this movie believes that he has superpowers. There is a reason behind his belief. The girl (Penny) who adopted him and Bolt, both are a part of a tv show where the role of Bolt is to rescue penny from a villain. The show producers made Bolt believe that everything that was shot is real! After an episode where Penny and her father were kidnapped as per the plot, Bolt thinks that they are really kidnapped! Add he goes to rescue them in real life.

Bolt movie showcases how innocent dogs are. They believe everything without a single thought of doubt about humans.

6) 777 Charlie (2022)

Released recently, 777 Charlie is an Indian movie released in different Indian languages (Kannada, Hindi, Tamil & Telugu). This is a story of a lonely man and his uninvited-living partner Charlie. Dharma (Rakshith Shetty) who spends a lonely and sad life gets stuck with a dog named Charlie. He tries many ways to get rid of the puppy but somehow Charlie ends up at his doorstep. People around his house have restrictions for dogs so he has to hide Charlie. But Charlie is not so easy to hide! Slowly he enters Dharma’s life and becomes an integral part of it.

The interesting part of this movie is that the main character here is Charlie. He faces the challenge of acting and proves that dogs are no less than a man. 777 Charlie makes you emotional, and at the end of the movie, you will realize that dogs are the BEST gifts to humankind.

7) Turner and Hooch (1989)

Turner and Hooch is a Tom Hanks film. While watching this movie you will be in a dilemma about whether to like the handsome Tom Hanks or the cute mischievous Hooch! This movie is a buddy cop comedy movie where Turner is the cop and Hooch is his friend Amos’s dog. When Amos got killed, Hooch is the only witness who ends up with Turner because he has nobody left to take care of him. Hooch turns Turner’s life (& his house!) upside down. Turner who has no affection for dogs ends up having a strong bond with Hooch. They together find the killer of Amos.

This movie has four different dogs playing the Hooch character. Though the film is full of comedy, the climax will make you cry. At the end of the movie, you will be weeping.

8) Homeward Bound (1993)

Homeward Bound is the remake of The Incredible Journey which was released in 1963. This is the story of three dogs taking a journey to their owners. The story is narrated by the American Bulldog Chance’ petted by  Jamie Burnford. Chance has no affection or interest in his owner. He shares his home with other two dogs Shadow (Golden Retriever) and Sassy (a Himalayan Cat). They both are owned by Jamie’s brother Peter and his sister Hope respectively. When the family had to move to SF they leave the dogs with neighbors and because of a small miscommunication, the dogs were left alone by the neighbor. Shadow is in very much love with his owner hence he decides to find his home. Sassy and Chance are not interested to go back but they accompany shadow for the sake of friendship. As they pass the wilderness

During this journey, they pass through mountains, face bears, swim across the rover, encounter mountain lions, and stay hungry for days.. All these incidents unite them and make them believe in the home, especially Chance.

9) Eight Below (2006)

This is a remake of the Japanese film Antarctica. Eight Below is the story of a guide at an Antarctica research base who risks his life and the lives of his colleagues to save his dogs.

National Science Foundation is the research base located in Antarctica guided by Jerry Shephard. Shephard and McClaren mount Melbourne to find a rare meteorite using a dog sled. As they carry on their expedition, a strong storm hits them, and of which they had to come back to the base. As the weather gets worsened all the humans from the base were evacuated and only the dogs were left behind. Even after coming back, Shephard keeps thinking about the dogs and tries to rescue them. After five months he finally gets enough financial grants and approvals to rescue the dogs. Though it was impossible for the dogs to survive such a freezing temperature for months of time, Shephard takes his chance.

10) Max (2015)

Max is an American adventure movie focused on war. In this movie, Max is the real hero. He fights for his owner, he dedicates his entire life to discovering the truth behind his owner’s death.

Kyle Wincott and Max both work in US Marines in Afghanistan. Max is trained and handled by Kyle. One day the weapons seized by the Kyle team go missing. When Kyle investigates the issue he finds out that his friend Tyler had death them illegally. Things lead one to another causing the death of Kyle. Later Kyle’s family adopts Max and Justin, and Kyle’s brother takes care of Max. From Max’s behavior, Justin finds out that there is more to his brother’s death hence he starts an investigation. Max leads him in this investigation helping him to find justice for Kyle’s death.

11) A Dog’s Purpose (2017)

Why only humans should have a purpose in their life? Why not dogs? If yes, What’s a dog’s purpose? This movie is about a dog finding its purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and its owners.

Bailey is the red retriever rescued by Ethan and his mom from the garbage men who try to sell him. Bailey gets loved and cared from Ethan the two develop a strong bond. Bailey grows along with Ethan watching him go to school, fall in love with Hannah, go to college, and break up with Hannah.. He even saves himself and his mother from a deadly fire. Like all good things has to end, Bailey ages out and has to leave Ethan as he passes away from this world. Bailey reincarnates into many other lives but he never finds his purpose. After many years when Bailey has got a new life, he meets his owner Ethan who is in his 60s immediately finds out the purpose of his life.

12) A Dog’s Way Home (2019)

A Dog’s Way Home is the story of a cute little dog, Bella who travels all the way through the wilderness of Colorado to meet her owner.

At a construction site, a puppy, kittens, and their mother cat were found by Lucas. He brings the puppy home and names her Bella as he and his mother Terri take care of the dog. Lucas also takes care of the abandoned cats. Because of conflict with Günter he had to send Bella to live with Olivia’s aunt and uncle in New Mexico. Bella misses Lucas hence she decided to go back home. She travels 400 miles to meet her owner, and on the way makes many friends, helps them as little as she can, and finally reunites with Lucas.

13) Hotel For Dogs (2009)

As the name indicates Hotel For Dogs is a movie in which a vacant hotel is turned into a hotel for stray dogs by kids.

Andi, Bruce, and their dog, Friday, are this movie’s main characters. Andi and Bruce are orphaned teens in the care of their foster parents. Since they don’t get enough love and care from their foster parents they keep facing problems. They find an empty hotel for stray dogs where they safely hide all of them. The story continues with the kid’s struggle to hide dogs, animal control drama and eventually everyone realizing why kids are in love with the dogs.

14) Red Dog (2011)

Similar to the story of ‘Hachiko’, Red Dog is a story of a dog who waits for its owner after his death. Red Dog is an Australian comedy movie starring the dog ‘Koko’. The movie starts with a scene of a group of men trying to kill a sick dog. Thomas, a truck driver brings the statue of William Dampier to the town named Dampier. Thomas meets the men related to the Red Dog and listens to the Red dog’s story from them. When Red Dog arrived in the town he became friends with various miners. Later he was mastered by the bus driver John. When John dies, Red Dog waits for him for three days and then wanders around to search for him. He even goes to other countries in search of John. When he finally returns accepting the truth the town decides to have a statue of Red Dog instead of William Dampier.

15) Air Bud (1997)

One of the funniest dog-centric movies where you will see the dog playing basketball. While practicing Basketball, Josh Framm meets an abandoned golden retriever and was surprised to see the dog’s excellent skills at basketball. He happily takes him home! The whole movie runs around the basketball game at the school. Buddy, the dog gets fame as he shows his skills in the field. When he becomes famous, a cunning Norm Snively claims that he is the owner of the Buddy. Since he has all the legal documents, Josh had to send the dog away but soon he realizes how he is attached to the dog. Snively goes to court to reclaim his dog and the judge lets the dog to chose his owner!

16) The Secret Life Of Pets (2016)

As the name suggests this movie shows the imaginary secret world of pets. The movie starts with a dog named ‘Max’ who gets annoyed when his owner brings a stray dog ‘Duke’ home. Once the owner leaves for work, Max prepares a plan to get rid of Duke along with his neighbor friends. However, Max decides to make peace with Duke when he gets to know that there is an enemy with whom they have to fight together. This movie features every kind of animal hence you cannot miss the bundle of cuteness when they all come on the screen.

There are two movies in this series and The Secret Life Of Pets 3 is supposed to be released in 2024.

17) Cats and Dogs (2001)

We all know the rivalry between cats and dogs. In this movie, you will witness the rivalry of cats and dogs where each party uses its own organizations and tactics that mirror those used in human espionage. Cats and Dogs movie is filled with fun and animal drama where it all happens in the backyard while the owners are unaware of this entire drama. Professor Brody is a scientist researching to find a serum for dog allergies in humans. Mr. Tinkles,  A evil snow-white cat wants to possess this serum because he wants to make every human allergic to dogs so that he can take over the world with the army of evil cats. Meanwhile, Lou, adopted by the Brody family tries to be a secret agent and gets into trouble.

Cats and Dogs 3 was released in 2020.

18) I am Legend (2007)

This is the story of the last human survivor on earth who fights hard to survive and keep the human race alive. After the hard hit by the deadly virus, Robert Neville, a scientist alone survives in New York City because of his immune blood. His companion is his dog Sam, who lives with his day, noon, and night. Robert Neville has to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his blood but he is running out of time. Because the mutant victims of the plague are waiting to attack him so that they can conquer the entire human race.

Will Smith as Robert Neville is the heart of this movie while the dog Sam is the heartbeat. While shooting this movie, Will was so connected to the dog that he wanted to adopt her.

19) Underdog (2007)

A beagle dog with superpowers that escaped from a mad scientist is now a teen named Jack. Jack is living with his father who is an ex-cop, currently working as a security guard. Jack discovers the dog’s superpowers but keeps it a secret between him and the dog. While the mad scientist is in search of the dog because using his superpowers, he wants to take over the city. Having worked in the police bomb squad Beagle has always had the ability to smell the bombs. How Beagle battles with the mad scientist and proves his skills is the plot of the movie.

20) Marmaduke (2010)

Marmaduke who is known for creating havoc in the family is living with his owners in the suburban area. When they have to move to Orange County, California, Marmaduke is excited to experience this new world. But it is not as easy as Marmaduke thinks. He has to adjust make new friends, deal with the bullies, and find a romantic relationship while maintaining a healthy relationship with his owners. Marmaduke is a fun-filled dog movie with Owen Wilson’s voice as the Marmaduke.

21) The Shaggy Dog (1959)

Produced by Walt Disney, and based on the novel The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten, The Shaggy Dog is a comedy movie featuring the Sheepdog. A man named “Wilby” has the power to change himself into a dog using the inscribed ring which he accidentally finds in the museum. He turns into a dog in unwanted situations causing trouble to himself. This spell can be broken by an act of bravery.

Until the release of this movie, Americans were almost unaware of the English Sheepdog. After the movie’s release, this breed instantly became popular in America.

22) My Dog Skip (2000)

A simple movie with a cute screenplay between a shy boy and his dog. My Dog Skip movie is about a dog named ‘Skip’ and his owner ‘Willie’. Willie is a very shy boy who struggles to make friends. His parents gave him a puppy on his ninth birthday, becoming his sole friend. Unlike Willie, Skip is not shy. In fact, he becomes famous in the community which helps Willie to enrich his life as he grows with the dog.

My Dog Skip is a true story by the late Willie Morris. The movie has some disturbing scenes (death of the pet) hence it may make you sad.

23) Isle of Dogs (2018)

Isle of Dogs is a Japanese movie where a boy is on an expedition to find his beloved dog. In Megasaki city of Japan, dog flu spreads throughout the city making the mayor of the city send every dog to a trash island. A young boy named Atari cannot live without his dog hence he decided to go to the trash island to get his dog back. Five other dogs join him during this journey and they help him to overcome every obstacle they face in between.

The movie is fun to watch with English interpretation/subtitles and suits every generation.

24) Heart Of A Dog (2015)

Heart Of A Dog is a documentary film based on a dog named ‘Lolabelle’. Lolabelle has extraordinary skills in playing piano and finger painting. This is created by Laurie Anderson in remembrance of her dog. She tells a story beginning from her childhood to how to cope with a loss. This documentary can be called a movie because the way it tells a story holds you till the end. Heart Of A Dog is a mixture of sadness and tear-filled happiness.

25) Lassie (2005)

Based on Eric Knight’s 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home is about the profound bond between Joe Carraclough and his dog, Lassie. Carraclough’s family sells their dog Lassie to a local estate owner ‘Duke’ because of financial struggles. Lassie being attached to the young by Joe keeps coming back home. Every time Lase comes home, they return him back to the estate owner. When Duke moves to Scotland Carracloughs thinks that Lassie is permanently gone because of the distance between them. However, Lassie escapes from there and starts an adventure journey to find her way back home. During the journey, she was attacked by the dogcatchers and at one instance circus performer holds her forcefully. Lassie fights hard to find her way.