Delayed for years and panned by critics, the series — made without participation from Bird — is considered one of the worst animated television series of all time; one critic called it "one of the biggest fiascos in television animation history, on both a creative and commercial level, in spite (but, in many ways, because) of the high-powered talent behind the project".

In the final and longest segment, a couple of burglars (voiced by Marshall Efron and Stanley Ralph Ross) break into the house while the family is out seeing a movie.

The burglars hit the house yet again and flee from the now-aggressive dog, but return to their hideout to discover him still clamped to one thief's arm with his teeth.

A police officer (voiced by Jack Angel) investigating the robberies raids the house and is immediately attacked by the dog.

In a final gag, the father, locked out of the house, sneaks into the backyard, where he's attacked by the dog, duly defending the property.

[7] The first half of the special was later attached to the theatrical release of another Spielberg-produced project, The Land Before Time, because of the film's short length of just over an hour.

[11][12] Frederick Coffin was originally cast as the voice of Skip Binsford, but Spielberg decided to replace him with Martin Mull, after animation was completed on the first three episodes.

[12] Despite the Amazing Stories short airing two months before the launch of the new Fox network and the original The Simpsons shorts as part of The Tracy Ullman Show, Family Dog eventually was lumped into a category of failed primetime animated series produced for the "Big Three" networks to compete with The Simpsons, alongside ABC's Capitol Critters and CBS's own Fish Police.

[15] When the show debuted, it was roundly panned for its crude scripts and cheap production values, both of drastically lesser quality than the episode which had spawned the series.