The 7 Best Slow Feeder Bowls for Dogs, Tested and Reviewed

Sluggish feeder bowls for canine are designed to extend the time it takes for a canine to eat their meals. “Canine who eat too shortly are inclined to swallow air, which might improve the danger of bloat in some massive canine,” warns Denise Lott, a veterinarian assistant at Howdy Ralphie. “Consuming too shortly may also carry the danger of choking on meals.” Sluggish feeder bowls make use of divots, partitions, and grooves to briefly hinder your canine from their meals. Most work with kibble and moist meals, and so they may also assist with portion management.

Earlier than introducing your canine to a sluggish feeder, you have to be aware of the danger that these merchandise carry, particularly if have a canine with a strong chomp. The grooves that can decelerate their consuming may additionally break off or be chewed off and ingested. By no means go away your canine unsupervised whereas they’re consuming from sluggish feeder, and take the bowl away after mealtime to maintain them from utilizing it has a chew toy. We additionally included extra tips for correct use within the What To Look For part of this story.

Outward Hound makes a big array of sluggish feeder bowls in numerous designs, sizes, and colours. The Enjoyable Feeder Slo Bowl, Sluggish Feeder Canine Bowl is easy one with deep round swirls is a favourite and is my go-to bowl for my private canine. A pup has to take time to select up kibble in all of the grooves and crannies within the maze-like bowl.

The trenches are deep, which makes this much more difficult for canine which have mastered puzzle bowls. It may be irritating for pups new to the slow-feeder problem, however most determine it out pretty shortly. It may be significantly exhausting for tiny pups who may need hassle getting their mouths within the grooves.

This sample is available in two sizes. The mini/medium holds two cups and the common/massive holds 4. Considered one of our tester canine eats 1/2 cup per meal and alternates between the 2 sizes. With the common/massive model, all of the items fall within the grooves and it takes a while to eat them.

The bowl is created from plastic that’s BPA-, PVC-, and phthalate-free. It has a non-skid base however can nonetheless slide round on a hardwood or tile flooring. We suggest maintaining it on a silicone or different mat. It may be cleaned on the highest shelf of the dishwasher. That is the one I like to recommend to new pet homeowners trying to check out a sluggish feeder bowl as a result of it’s so efficient.

Considered one of our testers stated the bowl was extraordinarily efficient. “Our canine often inhales his meals and he undoubtedly has to work to get the items out and it principally tripled his consuming time however relaxation assured he bought each single morsel.”

Deep, difficult grooves

Should you want chrome steel, we like Mr. Peanut’s Stainless Metal Interactive Sluggish Feed Canine Bowl. It’s fabricated from unhazardous supplies and is available in a easy design. It simply has one raised hump in the midst of the bowl, so your canine has to chase the kibble round at mealtime.

The bowl has a non-slip rubber ring across the backside to maintain it from sliding throughout. The bowl is dishwasher protected, however be sure you dry it utterly. It may type small rust spots the place the ring meets the bowl if left moist. It is available in three sizes so you possibly can select based mostly on the scale of your canine and the quantity of meals you give at every meal. Small holds about 1.5 cups of dry meals, medium holds 2 cups, and enormous holds about 3 cups.

The bowl is thicker and sturdier than many different chrome steel bowls. Our tester stated the rubber ring was efficient and the bowl didn’t transfer in any respect when their pup was consuming dinner.

In case your canine is a professional at puzzle bowls and sluggish feeders, this one may be too straightforward. However this design is a superb start line in case your pup has by no means used a sluggish feeder earlier than as a result of it’s not as tough as some others.

Heavy chrome steel

How We Picked

Now we have examined over 60 totally different canine bowls to get hands-on, real-world expertise with actual canine of all sizes and shapes. For sluggish feeders, our testers thought-about elements resembling efficiency, dimension, supplies, ease of use, ease of cleansing, and total look. Every sluggish feeder canine bowl was utilized in an actual residence with not less than one canine for a number of weeks. We additionally thought-about our actual world testing with Snuffle Mats and Canine Toys.

Extra We Suggest

Finest Rubber: Lick mats are a straightforward option to hold your pup entertained. They’re usually flat items of rubber (or silicone) with ridges and shapes. Smear in some peanut butter, yogurt, or moist meals and both feed like that or freeze. Then your canine works exhausting to get into the crannies.

This sluggish feeder from LickiMat is a lick mat in a bowl type. You possibly can unfold some creamy treats within the ridges after which fill it up with kibble or different treats. It’s not as messy as mats will be and the wobbling movement provides an additional problem. It’s created from dishwasher-safe pure rubber and is available in turquoise.

Our tester stated this greater than doubled the time their canine took to eat meals. The bowl wobbles as a canine eats to allow them to’t simply gulp down their meals. Though it’s dishwasher-safe, the tester selected to clean it with a brush in an effort to keep away from the “soapy” dishwasher style that may typically include rubber.

Bowl and lick mat mixed

Finest Snuffle Mat: Snuffle mats are a good way to entertain your pup whereas slowing them down at dinnertime. Nonetheless, they are often exhausting to wash. Some, you possibly can throw within the washer, however others require handwashing. That’s why we just like the OurMiaou Silicone Snuffle Mat. There’s no cloth that may tear or get filthy.

The mat has plenty of silicone leaves and you’ll tuck kibble beneath and on prime of them. Moist meals and spreads like peanut butter or yogurt are much more difficult. Our tester’s canine has chewed up fleece mats earlier than in order that they preferred this one higher as a result of it appeared just about indestructible. Though the mat has dozens of suction cups on the underside to maintain it from sliding, the cups work higher on the kitchen counter (the place you don’t need them to stay) than on a hardwood flooring.

Simple to wash

Finest For Quick Snouts: Flat-faced breeds like pugs and bulldogs can have hassle reaching their mouths into some bowls, significantly these which might be very deep. This sluggish feeder from Leashboss is designed significantly for short-snouted breeds. The feeder is tilted and has shallow grooves so pups received’t get annoyed making an attempt to eat meals round obstacles.

The bowl is created from BPA, PVC, and phthalate-free plastic and will be washed within the prime rack of the dishwasher or simply washed by hand. It has non-skid rubber ft to maintain it from sliding however our tester stated their canine pushed it throughout the ground whereas consuming. It is available in two colours – blue and grey – and in addition has a deal with on the aspect which makes it simpler to select up.

Designed for flat-faced breeds

Finest Nosework Mat: Considered one of our testers calls this the Cadillac of snuffle mats. The Frisco Merchandising Machine Snuffle Mat has not less than 15 totally different locations to cover treats and kibble – much more in case you get inventive with the place you place it. You have to be sure to have room whenever you unfurl it. The snuffle mat measures about 2’ x 3’ so it has a pretty big footprint. That makes it difficult for a canine that has to smell all of the spots to get rewards. One tester’s canine was so obsessed that she would really sit by the mat and whine, hoping it was snuffle mat time.

The underside of the mat is slick and the hooked up suction cups aren’t very useful. Think about using it on a rug or on carpeting so it received’t slip round. It’s mechanically cleanable on a fragile cycle and appears to carry up fairly effectively with use and washing.

At the very least 15 hiding locations

Finest for Small Canine: The Biubiucat Elevated Sluggish Feeder Bowl is an elevated stand with two bowls – one puzzle bowl for meals and a plain bowl for water. The stand and bowls are glossy and minimalistic. Designed for cats, it’s additionally steered for small canine. The bowls are huge and shallow and simply held 1/4 cup of dry meals that our tester tried. Every bowl is meant to carry 8 ounces, or 1 cup of meals or water.

The peak of the stand is adjustable to a degree, which ought to be useful for small and brief pets. The ridges are fairly fundamental so the sluggish feeder received’t assist all that a lot in case your canine is a professional at puzzle bowls. In case your pup is new to the difficult meals video games, this can be a good place to start out. The bowls come out for simple cleansing, however they need to be handwashed.

Holds each meals and water

Different Merchandise We Examined

Along with our suggestions, we additionally evaluated these merchandise:

Frisco Silicone Sluggish Feeder Mat with Stainless Metal Bowl: This silicone mat has a sluggish feeder bowl and a stainless-steel water bowl. It looks as if an awesome concept, however our tester discovered that water sloshed throughout as a result of the entire mat moved when their canine was working to get the kibble out of the puzzle bowl. The silicone bowl is comparatively flimsy and the chrome steel bowl is light-weight. It’s a good suggestion, however not our favourite.

MateeyLife Sluggish Feeder: This bowl has a raised maze that forces canine to decelerate as they decide up their kibble. Though it advertises an anti-slip design, our tester stated the bowl was so light-weight that their pup moved it round loads once they had been consuming. It may be a greater match for smaller canine who don’t eat loads at mealtime.

Y YHY Sluggish Feeder, Elevated Meals Bowl Tilted Design: This small bowl is elevated and barely angled to make it simpler for pets to eat. It holds lower than 1 cup of meals and our tester pup saved pushing kibble out of the bowl. It looks as if this could be a a lot better match for cats or very small canine, however we weren’t overly impressed with the design or capability.

Why Belief The Spruce Pets?

Mary Jo DiLonardo, a canine merchandise reviewer for The Spruce Pets, up to date this text. The proud mother of a rescue canine, she has fostered near 80 canine and puppies. She at all times feeds her personal canine and her foster pups with sluggish feeders or snuffle mats. She has tried plenty of totally different bowls and is at all times on the lookout for probably the most sturdy and efficient pet merchandise. For greater than 25 years, she has coated a variety of subjects targeted on nature, pets, science, and something that helps make the world a greater place.

A earlier model of this roundup was written by Steven Rowe, a author with a rescue beagle who tends to eat too quick. His canine has tried out a number of of the bowls on this listing.