I find it easier to put a pawn on c4 against the Hippo, this means you will always have some kind of viable pawn break later on. In this move order starting with Owen's Defense I would play 3. Bd3 intending to follow up with c4 before playing Nc3. If they play 3...Nf6 you can play Qe2. If they play 3...e6, it's best to play 4. Nf3 because 4. c4 f5 is kind of annoying. It's actually still good for White but it's very sharp and I can't be bothered learning it when Nf3 is just as good.
Hippopotamus
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What should white play? Any pawn push I do seems to be favorable for black.