Family Dog is a platform game for the Super Nintendo, inspired by the animated television series created by Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton. Players control the titular dog through three levels, avoiding hazards like tennis balls and vacuum cleaners set by a mischievous boy. The gameplay features obstacles within the home and challenges at Obedience School, where players must navigate instructors and vicious dogs. Collecting bones grants power-ups, and finding a special ball unlocks a bonus game focused on fetching.
Based on a short-lived animated prime-time television series created by Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton, you play as the title dog through three levels. The young boy in your family likes to target you for his mischief. He sets up volleys of tennis balls and lets loose a vacuum cleaner on you which you must avoid. The cat and other obstacles await you in your house while you collect bones for power.
After all the trouble you cause in the home, you are sent to Obedience School and you have to run a gauntlet of gung-ho instructors and ferocious Dobermans in the heavily-guarded compound. If successful at escaping, you reach a forest filled with wild animals.
You can use flips, spins and barks to make your way through the various obstacles. A special ball when found will trigger a bonus game that will also teach you how to fetch.