Thursday, November 19, 2015

Slow-Feeding Dog Bowl Review

Daisy is a bit suspicious of her new  Outward Hound Fun Feeder slow-feeding dog bowl.
Daisy is a bit suspicious of her new
Outward Hound Fun Feeder slow-feeding dog bowl.
Is your dog a chow hound, determined to set speed records every time he eats his meals? Or perhaps you have a dog (possibly a large breed) that has problems with bloat or regurgitation.

If so, then your precious pet could use a slow-feeding dog bowl such as this one that we recently bought for our Labrador Retriever, Daisy. Here's my review of the Outward Hound Fun Feeder.

Daisy is a sweet girl, always curious, never wanting to miss anything that the humans in our family are doing, especially when it involves food. She's a begger who loves people food (and yes, I take full responsibility for that, but we're doing better). Her habit is to rush through eating her dog food so she can spend the majority of the dinner hour at my feet, waiting for me to cave in and share what's on my plate.

Fortunately, Daisy doesn't have a problem with bloat, but many dogs are prone to the condition. Bloat happens when dogs gulp their food, filling their stomachs with air and food, causing the stomach to twist or rotate. Bloat is a serious problem and can cause death, so it's important to take measures to slow your dog's input of food. Regurgitation, when food backs up into the esophagus and into (and out of) the mouth can be caused by medical issues, but eating too much, too fast is a common cause as well.

(Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article.)

The ridges and valleys pattern in the Outward Hound Fun Feeder separates the food into small sections that require the dog to slow down when eating.
The ridges and valleys of the Fun Feeder bowl
forces the dog to eat more slowly as he
accesses small quantities of food at a time.
If your dog suffers from bloat or frequently regurgitates her food, a slow-feed dog bowl can be very helpful. How does it work? Look at the pictures I've included with this review. The ridges and valleys pattern in the Outward Hound Fun Feeder separates the food into small sections that require the dog to slow down and find the food, reaching into the narrow sections to eat just a few pieces at a time. In fact, the product information claims that your dog will eat up to 10 times slower with this bowl and, after using it with Daisy for a couple of weeks now, I have no doubt that that's an accurate figure.

Now when Daisy eats, she actually works her way around the bowl, slowly seeking out each section and each individual morsel of food. In our case, if I feed her at the same time I feed our family, we can eat in peace while she's peacefully eating. Plus, since digestion has already started, she's satisfied and feels full sooner which cuts down on the begging (yay!). Since the food is able to travel to the stomach a little at a time, the bowl certainly helps with prevention of the bloat or regurg problem.

Daisy works her way around the Fun Feeder as she slowly eats her dog food.
Daisy slowly works her way around the bowl,
eating just a few morsels at a time.
Interestingly, Daisy seems to find the Fun Feeder entertaining. She tends to be wary of new things, and she did eye the bowl suspiciously at first, but when we tried it out with a small amount of food it didn't take long before she figured out exactly what she had to do to eat.

Another thought we had going into this dog-feeding experiment was that she might just use her big paws to tip the bowl and pour the food out onto the floor. Nope, didn't happen. This well-designed, well-made bowl has a non-skid rubber base plus it's heavy enough that I think even a much bigger dog would have a hard time tipping it over.

The bowl holds 4 cups of food (Daisy's daily ration is about 3 cups). The Fun Feeder is also available in a 2 cup capacity size for use with smaller dogs. Besides the flower-looking design (perfect for our Daisy) there's also a swirly and a maze design if you'd like to change up the food dispensing from time to time or for multi-dog homes.

I should add that the bowl is top-rack dishwasher safe, made from BPA, PVC and phthalate-free plastic. Designed in Colorado USA, manufactured in China. Available in three colors and two sizes.

Bottom line, Daisy and I award this slow-feeding dog bowl 5 stars. It works perfectly to slow her eating and she actually enjoys using it. Little does she know, it's good for her digestive tract, too. I hope your chow hound likes her new bowl, too.

UPDATE: It turns out that many dogs gulp their water, too, often leading to annoying hiccups or (worse) regurgitation of both food and water. By request, I've added a link below for a very well-reviewed anti-gulping bowl, also available in several sizes and colors. 

QUICK LINKS: 
eBay has excellent prices on slow feeder dog bowls
Outward Hound's Fun Feeder from Amazon
Anti-Gulping Bowl (to slow down drinking or eating)

~ Susan Deppner
Read more of my reviews

P.S. A slow-feed dog bowl is a great gift idea for any dog owner! 


Thank you for pinning and sharing with other dog owners.
Is your dog determined to set speed records at dinnertime? Does he have problems with bloat or regurgitation? Then try a slow-feeding dog bowl. Here's my review of the Outward Hound Fun Feeder.




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


19 comments:

  1. I was thinking pretty much through the entire article about how appropriate the flower design is for your Daisy. I haven't seen these bowls, so I very much appreciate the review of the slow feeding dog bowl. Sometimes it seems like our puppies are racing to see how fast they can eat to make us refill their bowls.

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    Replies
    1. I know, that flower design left no question of which bowl for us to choose! :) I know that some people who have multiple dogs have an issue with one dog speed-eating so he/she can help finish food from the next dog's bowl! This would really help in a situation like that and might even help when dogs have to be fed separately. How wonderful to be able to eliminate that situation! Thanks for adding that point, Cynthia!

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  2. I think this is a wonderful idea especially for dogs prone to the conditions you mentioned and really for any dog to slow them down and make dinner time last a little longer. Also wondering if dog rescue centres would make use of these if they were gifted.

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    Replies
    1. I love your idea of gifting a dog rescue organization, or even just a local shelter, with a slow-feed bowl! That is such an excellent thought and I hope people will follow through on it. Thanks so much, Jasmine!

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  3. I'm wondering if the smaller one would work for a cat. Our cat eats entirely too fast and will then regurgitate it back up in just minutes after having eaten. So, we have been doling out just a few pieces of food at a time to prevent having to clean it up. I have to feed her several times a day this way...the bowl even though designed for dogs just might work for her or any cat, too.

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    Replies
    1. I think it would work for a cat, Bev, and what a great idea! Please let me know if you try it and how it works out.

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  4. Our last two cats were shelter cats and tended to over eat after we got them. We purchased a reduced feeding bowl for cats and that really helped. Once their weight got under control, we were then able to use just a regular bowl for them and they do well with that now. This looks like an interesting concept for the dogs.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much for that information, Art! I'm so glad the subject of slow feeders for cats came up since I hadn't even thought of that. Glad it worked for you!

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  5. Daisy was such a good host for this review. Really neat product.

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    Replies
    1. LOL Thank you, Fay! Daisy's pretty cooperative about helping me when I work. :)

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  6. This is a terrific idea, I know a few people who could use one of these!

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    1. Thanks, Barbara! I hope you'll share this with those friends who could use the information.

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  7. I don't currently have any pets, but there is a time when I would have found this very handy.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting, Barbara. It seems that eating too fast is a problem a lot of pets, both present and from the past, have had.

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  8. This is a very clever idea and the perfect way to slow your pets eating down to avoid problems.

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    Replies
    1. I think it's clever too, Elf, and I'm so glad that someone invented a bowl that really helps dog (and cat) owners. Thanks for your comment about Daisy, too. She's pretty much the center of our attention around here these days now that the kids are grown. She makes a pretty good model, too.

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  9. I love your old puppy. Such a sweetie.

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