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Ginga Nagareboshi Gin is an old classic and the very first anime I saw when I was around 4 years old, which is why I have a soft spot for it no matter how much anime I watch.

The story itself is very simple and easy to follow as a kid, despite the extreme violence and bloody fights.
Sure, it doesn't have the best artstyle but that's because it's so old. And the quality of the sound isn't the best either but as I said, it's an old anime. But the music is absolutely outstanding, it gives you shivers because it's so emotional and so fitting, so ... nowadays whenever I rewatch this anime or hear the soundtracks I'll start crying big waterfalls of tears. I don't only cry because it's nostalgic to hear the music, but also because it has this very special effect on you.

The stories behind the characters, the chemistry between them, are things you don't really think about as a child, but is super obvious to an adult or teenager. When I was a kid I didn't really think about why Gin wanted to kill Akakabuto, because Akakabuto was the main "villain" so to speak, so I didn't think about it. But now that I'm older I know that it was about revenge, and you understand the backstory of each character much better.

Since it's about dogs, which a very few and almost none animes have as main characters, it might turn a lot of people away from it, thinking it's not relatable. But they are dogs with human intelligence, they think like humans and this makes you feel for the different characters much more than you normally would.
At the start of the anime the dogs won't talk and mainly just seem like normal dogs, but a few episodes in they'll start talking and you'll get more into it the more it goes.
Another thing that might turn people away is the brutal training Gohei Takeda (a human bear hunter) forces upon Gin while he's just a puppy, beating him with logs and forcing him to eat bear meat. But if you see past it, you'll find an amazing story that'll stick with you for years.

This anime was around 18-20 years old when I watched it for the first time, and now it's even older, so it might turn a lot of people away but I highly recommend this, because it's not always that newer animes are better than old ones.