it's a ball. Although it has mechanical parts to allow it to shake, bounce, and roll. It is still a ball in the end, which is a good thing. The mechanical side may not be that interesting to your dog. My dogs kept barking at it whenever it rolls, bounced, or wiggled, on its on. It took them a while to even want to touch it. It can almost become a chore which defeats its purpose of self-managing to keep your dog busy. The charger situation needs work. It will get stuck into the ball and if you pull to hard you will unseat the device inside that makes it roll, bounce, etc. Then it will be a nightmare trying to get it back on the track. The remote again is extra work. It should be a set and go, keep your dog busy toy. It doesn't hold charge I would say for more than 20min. My dogs preferred it the most when it did nothing but be a ball.