Animagic Tickle Tum Tilly Review

 To my kids I am sometimes known as a mean mum because as of yet I haven't allowed them to have any pets. Between the cost of them and the 5th child husband, I just don't have the money spare. So when I was offered the chance to review Animagic's Tickle Tum Tilly (£14.99), I thought it might make a good substitute to the real thing and of course the fact that I didn't actually have to feed her appealed ;)

Tilly is a puppy who apparently loves to have her tummy tickled. Aimed at children aged 3 and upwards, this loveable animal can bark all be it quietly, move her legs and wag her tail when supplied with the correct AAA batteries which I have to add are included, one less expense for us parents!!

My youngest took a shine to her instantly. Her white and grey fur is wonderfully soft and with her pink collar and blue eyes, she certainly appeals to younger children.

Tilly can work in two ways. You can lie her on her back and tickle her tummy. This causes her to get excited and move her legs around. And if you lay Tilly on her tummy and stroke her back she will respond by wagging her tail and barking happily.

The movements fascinated my children and they started involving the puppy in their make believe games, a lovely thing to watch. They actually changed her name to Sparkle.

My children range from age 2 right up to age 9 and they all enjoyed certain aspects of playing with the puppy.

For a child I can see the appeal and my children certainly had fun interacting with Tilly but from an adult perspective I have a few issues : 

* The puppy even though it has soft fur isn't that nice to cuddle because you can feel the plastic motor and batter compartment underneath, it could do with perhaps more stuffing to make it more cuddly.

* Sometimes it took a while for Tilly to respond when being tickled on her tummy, seemed like you had to hit an exact spot for it work continually.

* The movements that Tilly did have seemed limited and a bit clunky, talking old school robotic.

* When the puppy is moving, the motor noise is quite loud, almost drowning out the sound of the barks.

* The toy itself is packaged up to be aimed more at girls which I think is a shame as surely a puppy should be made to appeal to all children?

Overall Tilly is a good toy, good not great. The real question is would I spend money on it? Honestly for all the flaws I pointed out, I would still purchase it as I know my kids would get enjoyment out of playing with it, they've already being eyeing up the Glowing Kitty to be friends with Tilly. And I suppose you get what you pay for as £14.99 seems relatively inexpensive compared to a lot of similar toys on the market. It would however still be nice if improvements were made.

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Disclaimer : I was sent this item FOC for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.