You know how your child is always going on and on and on about wanting a dog? But you know they'll leave it in a cage, won't feed it, and then it'll be all dead, just like the last one. Well, Hasbro have thought up something to the relief of dogs everywhere: Cookie!
Cookie is 'just like a real dog'. Well she is in some ways. She certainly sheds fur all over the place, but unlike a real dog she doesn't need feeding and (much to the relief of parents) comes with an 'off' switch.
What I like about CP is that Hasbro haven't tried to make it do too much. The instruction booklet is a page long and really doesn't need to be read at all. CP is basically just a cuddly toy with a bit of tech thrown in to make it bark and move its head about.
CP is supposed to respond to noise, which she does when it feels like it (just like a real dog!). It may be because I was playing with her outside where there was some background noise, low batteries, or it may be because this function simply doesn't work too well.
Speaking of batteries, the included ones didn't last very long and soon I was hunting about the house for 4 x C batteries to replace them with. The short life is probably because Cookie's sensors work even when in the box, which meant shestarting barking at me every time I went near (the reason I actually got the dog out of the box to test when I did was so I could locate the 'off' switch).
The 'eating' action works very well. Stick something in Cookie's mouth and she'll start making chomping noises.
Equally good is the 'go to sleep'. Put your hand on her head for a second and she's soon snoring, before finally going silent.
Cookie doesn't walk, which I kind of expected her to. This isn't a bad thing though as a walking action would probably have been terrible and would have made the dog a lot less cuddly. She is incredibly soft and a child could take her to bed with them if they wanted.
White with a pink collar is probably appealing to girls, but I can see CP getting grubby very quickly and she's going to a right pain to clean once he is. You can't just throw her in the washing machine. Well, I guess you could but...
In summary: a good, if pricey, cuddly toy.
Or it could be a robot send back from the future to eliminate humanity...
Hmm, maybe that's why some boys are scared silly by Cookie...
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An update...
After I played about testing Cookie in the garden, I went to the park to film the bits for the video. Obviously I got there early, in the hope to get it all done unseen, however while I was there a woman arrived with her granddaughter and asked if it was okay for the little girl to play on the swings now.
Slightly embarrassed, I explained I was reviewing the toy for Toys R Us and then attempted to demonstrate the dog.
Just like a real dog, it failed to perform on cue.
I shrugged, put it down to the batteries (they were only the trial ones that the toy came with) and headed home. A couple of days later I gave the dog to my friend who was going to pass it on to her niece. She takes up the story...
I gave Cookie some extra food (battery flavour) but she wasn't having any of it. I contacted the vets (Hasbro) who told me to send her back. They called today and confirmed she has been put down. They are sending a replacement in a few days.
Can't fault their customer service. Shouldn't speak bad of the dead but Cookie isn't looking like very good value.Maybe Cookie was a defective dog, maybe she was literally scared to death of going on the swing.
Or maybe one of the Conners tracked her down and eliminated her before she could do the same to mankind...
Other Toyology reviews can by found in the Toys R Us Toy Box on Facebook.
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