"firehouse dog" received mainly mixed to negative reviews from film critics. it garnered 38% positive reviews on the film-critic aggregate site rotten tomatoes, and a 43/100 on metacritic. justin chang of "variety" called it, "a likable but ungainly mutt of a movie". ty burr in "the boston globe" found "the human scenes in "firehouse dog" are perfectly acceptable on the level of a heartwarming family b-movie" but "that dog—or, rather, that digitally enhanced replicant—is just plain creepy". while carrie rickey of "the philadelphia inquirer" called it "a touching, family-friendly entertainment about a dog and his boy",