No toy replaces a walk, and anything sold on the promise that it does is selling you something. What a self-moving ball can honestly do is fill the flat hour in the middle of a working day, the stretch where the dog has energy, you have a meeting, and the alternative is the skirting board. Motion sensors wake it when the dog nudges it, and it rolls and wobbles off under its own power until it settles again.

Three modes let you change how lively it is, and the ball drops into standby after a burst of activity rather than running itself flat by lunchtime. That standby behaviour is the difference between a toy that lasts an afternoon and one that lasts the week between charges. Charging is over USB-C, so it takes the same cable as most phones rather than yet another odd lead in the drawer. The attached rope turns it back into a two-player toy for tug and fetch when you are free.

• Motion sensors set it rolling and wobbling on its own
• Three play modes
• Built-in barking sound effects
• Attached rope for tug and fetch
• USB-C rechargeable
• Automatic standby between bursts of play

Two things worth knowing. It is built for medium and large dogs, and a determined chewer will get through the outer shell of any battery-powered toy in time, so treat this as a supervised toy rather than something to leave with a dog who destroys things. The barking sounds also carry further than you expect, and some dogs find them agitating rather than fun, so try it while you are in the room.

Who it's for: medium and large dogs with more energy than the working day allows, and owners looking for indoor enrichment between proper walks.