[timber]

Does anyone use this slow feeder bowl for their dog(s)?

Which design do you think would be best to slow down a large breed dog?

 

[ChessaQ]

I use the flower for Chess and it's the only slow bowl that has worked! All the others she's learned how to cheat. She was pretty mad at first and glared at me, but now she's used to it.

 

[Sabina88]

I dont have any first hand experience with slow feed bowls. But I think it comes down to trial and error, some designs/styles work better at slowing some dogs down while others dont really make a effect on the eating speed of some dogs.
I would get one and give it a try, if it doesn't really slow them down, then I would look into other styles.

 

[timber]

I use the flower for Chess and it's the only slow bowl that has worked! All the others she's learned how to cheat. She was pretty mad at first and glared at me, but now she's used to it.

I was leaning towards the flower one too. I'll give it a try. Hopefully it works.

 

[supaflyskye]

The flower one looks good. My parents have a somewhat similar one (though not quite as intricate, not in a flower pattern, but same general design, not a circular pattern) for their dog and it works well. I used to use a metal one w/ the circle in the middle for my dog and it did not work at all. My dog does not need a slow feed bowl at all though, she needs to eat faster to be honest, she just went through a phase when she was young where she would wolf it down so I used the slow feed bowl for quite a while, even after she had stopped wolfing down her food as the bowl did not really slow her down. I use a regular metal one now though.

 

[Concordium]

It really depends on your dog. My dog used to eat his entire bowl in 2 bites. But he has since slowed down. However, we recently got a new puppy who wants to get some extra food. So my dog has started eating faster again. The bowl we use for him is a slow feed bowl that is not as intricate as the ones you posted. The reason for this is because he does not need to slow down a lot. Just a little bit. So the one I have uses three raised surfaces that looks kind of like columns. If your dog eats his food in only a couple of bites then this bowl won't do you any good as it only offers a small amount of effectiveness. It works for my dog since I don't need to reduce his eating speed by very much. But if your dog eats extremely fast then you'll need something more like what you posted. It all depends on the dog. My ultimate advice, trial and error.

 

[jclark343]

I have the teal one for my 45lb Aussie and it's really helped bring him right on down. He went from eating in less than a minute to taking about 5 minutes to eat. I am very pleased with it.

 

[StormyPeak]

I should get something like that for HaHa...he tends to bolt his food down and he also has a tendency towards bloat...which can kill him.

But.. does it really make a difference with dry kibble if it's eaten in 1 minute or 5 minutes? Does making it harder to get to make the dog actually chew it rather than just swallow most of it whole? It still sits in the tummy for some time so that's why I wonder if the 4 minutes is a big deal... I would be more curious as to if the dogs chew their food more before swallowing.

I often presoak HaHa's dry food, so it doesn't swell in his belly and cause more gas that way. Does anyone know if soggy dog food can get licked clean from those kinds of bowls...or am I going to be cleaning a dog bowl more often if I got one like that. ???

Jaya also eats pretty fast...but she never seems to have tummy troubles from doing so.

Stormy

 

[timber]

I believe bloat is mostly attributed to an excess of swallowed air which can get stuck in the GI, which can then lead to a twisted stomach. Timber eats his food in about 30 seconds (I timed him), and Tynan eats in well under a minute too. I recently lost my dog to bloat and am terrified of it happening to one of the others as well. I'm hoping to be able to buy the flower bowl this month.

How soggy do you make Haha's food? I would guess that if the kibble is soft but still intact, he would be able to get it out of the bowl.

 

[StormyPeak]

I believe bloat is mostly attributed to an excess of swallowed air which can get stuck in the GI, which can then lead to a twisted stomach. Timber eats his food in about 30 seconds (I timed him), and Tynan eats in well under a minute too. I recently lost my dog to bloat and am terrified of it happening to one of the others as well. I'm hoping to be able to buy the flower bowl this month.

How soggy do you make Haha's food? I would guess that if the kibble is soft but still intact, he would be able to get it out of the bowl.

I'm so sorry you lost a dog to bloat. : (

The kibble for HaHa... it varies on how soggy it is, sometimes on purpose, I make it very soggy. This is done usually if he's had a minor tummy upset from the previous meal. I keep Gas-x on hand and he gets one if I see any signs of swallowing or pacing after a meal. He always, with or without the help of Gas-x, has a good burp shortly after eating. If he doesn't, that's when I get the pill out. Jaya, never seems to have issues with needing to burp after chowing down.

Usually though, I don't soak it into a mush...and sometimes I'll toss in a small amount of dry so there's both types in the meal...soft and crunchy...in case he actually happens to chew upon occasion.

Also...for those who have bigger dogs... what keeps the dog from just pawing at the bowl and dumping the food. Are they just hard to tip, or is it just a case that most dog's wouldn't think it out and do it. HaHa paws at almost everything...so I could see him getting flustered and doing that to a bowl he couldn't get food out of quickly enough.

Stormy

 

[timber]

The flower slow feeder bowl arrived today!! It works fantastic!! I 100% recommend this bowl for any dog that eats way too fast.

It took Timber close to 5 minutes to eat his dinner and Tynan just over 5 minutes to eat his dinner as opposed to 30 seconds. I am very happy with this purchase. I wish I would have bought it a long time ago for Dallas, maybe he would still be alive today.