<P> On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on 133 reviews, and an average rating of 4.7 / 10 . The site's critical consensus reads, "A Dog's Purpose offers an awkward blend of sugary sentiment and canine suffering that tugs at animal - loving audiences' heartstrings with shameless abandon ." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 43 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale . </P> <P> A Dog's Purpose was released on digital HD on April 18, 2017, and was followed by a release on Blu - ray and DVD on May 2, 2017, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment . The film topped the home video sales chart for the week ending on May 7, 2017 . </P> <P> On January 18, 2017, a video surfaced on TMZ showing footage taken from the set of the film, which shows a German Shepherd named Hercules being dragged and dipped into rushing water while visibly resisting . After a cut in the video, the next clip shows the dog being submerged in the water at the other end of the tank while a voice on set can be heard shouting "CUT IT!", and various people are then seen rushing towards the dog . The American Humane Association, which ensures that animals are not harmed in entertainment productions, announced that its representative on set had been suspended over the incident, and that the incident was under further investigation . PETA called for a boycott of the film . Actor Josh Gad, who voices the dog in the movie, was not on set during the making of the film, but stated that he was "shaken and sad to see any animal put in a situation against its will". Director Lasse Hallström stated on Twitter that he "did not witness" the actions in the video, and was "very disturbed" by the footage . Due to the release of the video, Universal Pictures cancelled the film's scheduled January 19 Los Angeles premiere . </P> <P> Amblin Entertainment released a statement in regards to the incident, saying that "on the day of the shoot, Hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape so the Amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot", and that "Hercules is happy and healthy". On February 4, 2017, the American Humane Association reported that an independent third - party animal - cruelty expert had concluded that safety measures on the set of the film were in place and the video had been deliberately edited to mislead the public . </P>

Dogs in the movie a dog's purpose