Hasbro Fur Real Ricky the Trick Lovin’ Pup

(Hasbro $129.99)

Fur Real pets have been around for a while and we have often found their pups to be likable alternatives for kids who might not otherwise be able to have a dog. They are generally fuzzy and cute and Ricky is no exception. He’s silky grey with white muzzle and perky ears that add sweetness to his cute face. You can see from the image with children, that he's a good sized pooch. He does a trick with a toy bone that he can flip from the top of his snout into his mouth. He shakes paws and gives friendly licks with his pink tongue. Talk to him and he responds with happy sounding barking. But then Ricky does one more trick. Feed him one of his doggie treats, little kibble like pellets, and he not only eats them, but pat hi back and moments later he poops. Now, as a reviewer of current products, I can tell you, poop is big in toyland this year. There’s a game where the object is not to step in it and another Russian Roulette style game where the object is not to be the one who catches a poop that flies out of a toy toilet. But, with regard to Ricky’s poops—how do you feel about the fact that the kibbles he poops are then meant to be fed to him again. Sure, it’s a pretend toy and it’s true that what goes in one end comes out the other…but we just wonder... is this taking recycling one step too far? We’ll leave that to you. 4+