We at Womypetdidthat.com, are all about the love and affection dogs can give. Fuzzy paw shakes; wet noses; enthusiastic greetings when you arrive home; boundless desire for play or walks; their desire to safeguard you and your home in return for daily meals, neck scritches and occasional car rides; and the uniqueness of each canine’s personality are only some aspects of dogs we find endearing and irreplaceable.
But what if you love pets yet can’t have one where you live or you don’t have time to take care of a real pet? Or, what about those who suffer from dementia or other illnesses who can’t care for a real pet but can benefit from interactions with a somewhat lifelike creature?
Whatever the reason, according to a recently released market report, robot dogs are rising in popularity.
According to Global Robotic Pet Dogs Market: Overview, “They (robot dogs) are designed in a way that they can mimic most of the activities that live dogs do. This will lead to the expansion of the global robotic pet dogs’ market at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of almost 21% during the forecast period.”
Curious about some of the different options available? We decided to look into some robot dogs currently on the market:
Joy for all:
First up is Hasbro’s Ageless Innovation, Joy for All interactive golden puppy (retail $119.99). The video below shows the pup being petted and then interacting with some somewhat confused real dogs. According to the Joyforall.com website, “JOY FOR ALL Companion Pets are designed to bring comfort, companionship, and fun to elder loved ones.”
Walkalots:
Up next are the Walkalots dogs from Hasbro’s furReal collection. These toys are relatively inexpensive. We found them for $20 and under on Amazon. You can see a short review of these large-eyed, pint-sized pups in the video below:
AIBO:
The most dog-like robot dog we came across, even if it doesn’t have fur, is AIBO. It’s also the most expensive, with a pricetag of $2,899. And, if you have any money left over, you can purchase bones or ball-like toys, which AIBO can fetch.
You can find out more about AIBO in this CNET report:
Zoomer:
SpinMaster has a variety of robot dogs available under the Zoomer name. The Zoomer Playful Pup, for kids 5 and up, is, like AIBO, sans fur. Also, like AIBO, Zoomer has some very doglike qualities, which you can view in the video below. Unlike AIBO, Zoomer is relatively inexpensive. We found him for $57.76 on Amazon.
TEKNO:
Tekno Robotics offers robotic pets of all types, including, apparently a scorpion. Their Tekno dog is available for $35.99 on Amazon, which seems pretty reasonable given everything it can do based on its description on the Tekno Robotics website:
“Tekno 4.0 is a life-like robotic puppy that responds to your voice, hand gestures, lights, and sounds! Tekno barks, cries, pants, and has expressive eyes, just like a real puppy! Using hand gesture technology, you can command your puppy to stop, sit, and even do a back flip! With over 100 physical and interactive play features, Tekno will excite and inspire children of all ages.”
Here’s a video from the company itself showing Tekno in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNciGiQMvlE
Primary source for this article: “The global robotic pet dogs’ market at a CAGR of almost 21% during the forecast period “
Featured image from: Spin Master Press Release