Puppy Grows and Knows Your Name? Bisciut My Lovin' Pup?

[alphamommy]

DD8 desperately wants a dog. We used to have one, but he passed away 4 years ago, and I have developed allergies to the point that I just can't have a real dog anymore.

She found something called "Puppy Grows and Knows Your Name" in the Sears Wish Book, and is very interested in it. I've done a little research on it, and the reviews I've read are either very positive, or completely negative. It apparently has to plug into a USB port, but the cable is not included.

I don't really want to spend close to $60 on something that she'll only play with for a couple of days.

There's another stuffed dog that she found called "Biscuit", who is much more expensive ($150-$200, depending on the store), but obeys several simple commands (sit, sit up, etc.). Again, I hate to spend this much money on something like this.

Does anyone out there have any experience with either of these toys?

Thanks!

[pink]

I don't have any experience with those toys in particular but I feel that all toys similar to those lose their appeal very quickly.

I remember the Furby craze. They were fun to play with for Christmas day and after that they malfunctioned and then ended up in the basement somewhere.

If you daughter really wanted it then I would go with the cheaper one and just make sure it has a warranty so that if you get one that's defective, you can return it for another. :mickey:

[kakn7294]

I don't have any experience with either of these specific toys, but we have Butterscotch, the pony by the same company as Biscuit. My DD's loved Butterscotch at first and played with her for months on end but now they hardly ever play with her. My oldest DD is 13 and mostly beyond toys. Butterscotch is capable of responding to their voices by turning her head in that direction, "eating", making little horsey noises, and can be "ridden", meaning she makes an almost undetectible up and down motion while hoof noises are played. Biscuit sounds more interactive and interesting even than Butterscotch although I have to admit that I still find Butterscotch fascinating. I often find myself talking to her as if she's a real animal - she seems so realistic sometimes. :blush:

[dfamasb]

I "played" with a Biscuit on display at a local Toys R Us store and have to admit it was pretty neat. BUT...I don't know how long the appeal would last. It doesn't walk or anything so you can sit with the dog while it sits up, lays down, shakes paw and speaks. I can only imagine this being cute for so long, but I'm a grown-up so who knows with a child?!

[eeyorelover63]

my younger cousins have the Puppy Grows one and they are 3 and 5 years old they really enjoy playing with these

[BrerGnat]

I am curious about "Biscuit" too, although since it's a relatively new toy, there's probably not that much feedback on it yet.

My sons (4.5 and 2.5 y/o) went CRAZY over Biscuit when we saw it at Costco a few weeks ago. We will NOT be getting a real dog anytime soon, and I think my 4 year old, especially, would LOVE Biscuit. He's autistic, and toys that foster pretend play are very good for him, developmentally. The fact that Biscuit sort of seems real (at least to him) is very appealing to me. I think he actually thought he WAS real. ;)

I know my older son would LOVE to have a real dog, but it's just not something we can do at this point, or even several years down the road, so I think Biscuit might be a good alternative for him. We currently have the Fur Real Friends Duck, and he and his little brother love that thing. They "feed" him his milk bottle and love how he quacks and moves. We've had it for almost a year now and they still play with it daily, so I'm sure they'd play with the dog too.

There is a smaller dog by Fur Real that looks like a beagle, but all it does is roll over, and it's not nearly as fascinating as Biscuit. I have to admit, Biscuit is pretty cool. He reminds me of Rover in the CoP. :mickey: