A seemingly excited robot dog acted like a real pooch while playing with a balloon.

The animatronic, wearing a pink rabbit-ear headband, demonstrated its agility skills in front of children in Hubei, China, on November 3.

Footage shows the machine standing upright before purposefully dropping down and using its limbs to get back up, eliciting awe from the onlookers.

Human and animal robots are being developed in several countries, but China and the United States are leading the 'tech arms race'.

A military-style robot dog was even seen protecting President-Elect Donald Trump in Florida earlier this month.

While in Texas, Elon Musk's Tesla hopes to have its version of a human-robot called Optimus available for sale in 2026.

Musk - who had a prominent role in the recent US election victory of Donald Trump - recently presented Optimus, describing it as a multi-functional assistant that could handle household chores, play with children, and assist with various repetitive tasks.