Hey Duggee: We Love Animals

Review by eFreeware

Most children's apps try to hold attention with noise and rewards. This one asks a small player to look after something. Hey Duggee: We Love Animals is built around animal care, and its central idea is that a creature needs feeding, water, exercise, a wash, and occasionally a bandage. The child works out which of those is missing and then plays a short game to supply it. That single loop is the whole app, and it is a good one for the age group it targets.

It comes from BBC Studios Distribution, carries a one-off price of $2.99, and is rated for Everyone. There are no ads and no in-app purchases, so the experience is not interrupted by anything trying to sell to you or your child. For parents who have grown tired of free apps that pester, that alone is worth weighing.

Nine animals, five places to visit

The cast is broad for a game of this size. Nine animals can be collected: a penguin, monkey, hedgehog, chicken, cat, frog, bird, rabbit, and mouse. They are spread across five locations, which the developer lists as a park, some woods, the beach, the snow, and a field. Each setting gives the animals something to interact with, from kites and snowmen to sandcastles, balloons, windmills, a paddling pool, sprouting vegetables, and bouncing pumpkins.

The setup is that the Squirrels have been practising animal care, and now it is the player's turn. Duggee is awarding the We Love Animals Badge, which frames the whole thing as a task to complete rather than a sandbox to wander. That framing matters. A child is not simply tapping at random; there is a badge waiting at the end, and each animal is a step toward it.

The animals are not interchangeable set dressing. Each one has needs, and the developer describes a step-by-step guide that shows how to care for them. The player's job is to notice what an animal is missing — food, water, exercise, a wash, or a bandage — and then choose the right activity to fix it. That is a small but real piece of reasoning for a preschooler.

How a round actually plays

The mini games map directly onto the needs. When Enid the cat looks peckish, the feeding game asks the player to pick the correct food from a conveyor belt and give her enough of it. The drinking game has Monkey in need of water, and the player connects pipes to a fountain to get it to him. Washing Mouse means clearing away leaves, covering her in soap, and then popping every bubble. Exercising has Norrie and Tag helping an animal skip. Caring is for Frog, who has taken a scrape and needs bandages placed in the right spots.

What I like about this structure is that the mini game is never arbitrary. It is the answer to a question the child has already been asked: what does this animal need right now? Feeding, drinking, washing, exercising, and caring are the five categories, and each one has its own small mechanic. Pick the right mini game and the animal gets what it needs, which earns the badge. That is a clean cause and effect that young children can follow.

The developer also describes the app as encouraging exploratory and open-ended play. That sits a little oddly next to the step-by-step guide, but the two can coexist: a child can poke around the locations and still be nudged toward the right action when an animal is unhappy. The result is a game that is forgiving without being formless.

What brings a child back

The collection element is the main draw. Nine animals is enough to feel like a set worth completing, and the five locations give each one a distinct backdrop. A child who has cared for the cat in the park still has the penguin in the snow and the frog in the field to look forward to. Watching over a growing group of animals is part of the fun, and that fits the badge-collecting structure.

The mini games themselves are short and varied enough to be replayed. Feeding, pipe-connecting, bubble-popping, skipping, and bandaging are different enough actions that the app does not feel like one task repeated nine times. For a preschooler, that variety is often the difference between a game that gets opened once and one that gets opened on a quiet afternoon.

The app was released in November 2016 and has been updated as recently as October 2025, with the latest change listed simply as minor amends. It has more than 10,000 installs and a 4.1 average from 57 ratings. That is a modest sample, so I would treat the score as a rough signal rather than a definitive one, but it suggests the app does what it sets out to do for the families who have tried it.

The price, the ads, and what that buys

The app costs $2.99 up front. It is ad-free and aimed at young children, which is the main thing the price is buying: an activity a child can be left with without a sales pitch appearing.

Best Interactive was the Children's BAFTA category it took in 2017. That is a genuine marker of quality for a children's title, though it is also several years old. The app does not collect or store personal data from the device, which is the kind of statement parents understandably look for before handing over a phone or tablet.

There is a support address for technical issues, and most problems can be fixed easily. The app is a Scary Beasties production for BBC Worldwide, with animation work from Studio AKA. None of that changes the price, but it does explain why the presentation carries more polish than a typical independent kids' game.

A few things to keep in mind

This is a narrow app by design. It is about caring for animals, and the whole experience is organized around that. A child who wants action, speed, or a story with characters talking will find something quieter here. That is not a flaw, but it is worth being clear about what kind of play this is.

The step-by-step guide is a help, but it also means the app is doing some of the thinking for the player. Whether that is a benefit or a limitation depends on the child. For a first-time player, the guidance keeps frustration low. For a child who has already worked out the pattern, the same guidance may feel redundant.

The install base is small compared with the biggest children's titles, and the rating count is small enough that it should not be treated as a broad verdict. The price is low, but it is still a purchase rather than a free download, so it is worth deciding whether the animal-care theme matches what your child already enjoys before buying.

A calm pick for animal-loving preschoolers

Hey Duggee: We Love Animals is a well-made, focused game for young children who like animals and respond to the idea of looking after them. The nine animals, five locations, and five mini games give it enough variety to justify the $2.99, and the absence of ads and in-app purchases makes it easy to hand over without supervision.

It is not a game for every child. If your child prefers fast action or open-ended building, the structured care loop may not hold them. But for a preschooler who enjoys the Hey Duggee badge format and the idea of feeding, washing, and exercising a menagerie, this is a sensible, low-cost addition to a tablet's home screen.

I would recommend it to parents looking for a quiet, self-contained activity with no ongoing costs. The 4.1 average from a small number of ratings is encouraging without being conclusive, and the recent update suggests the app is still being looked after. At this price, with no ads and no purchases, the risk is low and the fit for the right child is good.

What's new in version 1.5.2

Minor amends