At least it doesn't leave dead batteries all over the house

The Age | Is it wrong to kick a robotic dog?
When pet Lila wasn't getting as much playtime as the other two animals in her Plymouth, Massachusetts, home, owner Genie Boutchia felt guilty.

Then when a potential new owner came calling with $US850 ($A1120) in hand, Boutchia felt even guiltier. She changed her mind and deemed Lila not for sale.

Such feelings of moral responsibility might seem normal, even admirable, in a dog owner. But Lila is not a real dog. She's a robot.

And like tens of thousands like her in homes from Houston to Hong Kong, she's provoking fresh questions about who deserves moral treatment and respect.

How should people treat creatures that seem ever more emotional with each step forward in robotic technology, but who really have no feelings?

"Intellectually, you realise they don't have feelings, but you do imbue them with personality over time, so you are protective of them," Boutchia says.

"You feel guilty when you play with the other two dogs (which, as newer models, are more apparently emotive), even though you know Lila could not care less."

Trouble is, Lila seems to care, and her newer kin seem to care even more.