Is your dog eating too fast?
Does your pupperino vomit or choke after gulping all their food in a few seconds flat?
Did you know that fast eating dogs run the risk of getting GDV (Gastric Dilatation Volvulus), a.k.a. Bloat, which could be life-threatening?
Fear not! The bowls in this review could be the best measure you can take to decrease these scary risks and enjoy a healthy doggie for a long time. Check out our own test with Indy in the short movie below.
Our personal experience with Indy
We didn’t know how dangerous these digestive issues could be for our super-fast-eating dog Indy. It wasn’t until our vet told us in consultation that we realized we had to do something to prevent these issues ASAP.
He told us that dogs could choke, which is obviously life threatening. We also found out that by eating too fast they swallow a large amount of air, increasing the risk of a serious medical condition called Bloat.
Bloat, formally known as Gastric Dilatation Volvulus or GDV, happens when the stomach or intestines expands and may twist within the abdomen. And that is something we wouldn’t wish on any doggie!
Of course, this is also immediately life threatening, and dogs will go into shock very quickly.
For reference, a dog with true GDV will retch and vomit mostly foam, rarely food.
There are other dangerous conditions, like “food bloat”, which is not true GDV. It’s just huge amounts of food eaten too quickly that is sitting in the stomach. This condition does not cause shock.
If there’s even a remote chance your dog appears bloated, you should take them to see a vet immediately.
So after digesting all that (pun intended), and doing a lot of research, we found out the best way to prevent these risks was with a Slow Feeder Dog Bowl, like the one we cover here and tested on Indy.
What is the Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowl – Slow Feeder Dog Bowl?
This is the best bowl for fast eating dogs that we could find. They are simply food bowls you can use instead of a classic dog bowl to slow your doggie down at mealtimes, making it really easy to manage their eating speed.
How does this bowl slow down your dog’s eating?
These bowls have grooves or ridges that work as obstacles, making it difficult for Fido to grab lots of food in one mouthful.
The grooves force doggos to use their tongue to pick up the food and put it in their mouth.
This simple obstacle slows them down from a few seconds for a whole meal to minutes!
In this way, they do not swallow too much food too quickly and reduces the amount of air that goes in together with their food. This prevents GDV in most cases.
Benefits
- Helps prevent GDV, choking and vomiting by slowing down meals up to 10x
- Improves digestion naturally by eating at a healthy pace
- Slower eating = healthier pupper enjoying a longer and better life
- Encourages your dog’s foraging skills to keep their mind active
- It’s food-safe, free of BPA, PVC, lead & phthalate
- Non-slip base to stop sliding and food spillage
- Excellent for dry, wet, or raw food
- Top-rack dishwasher safe
FAQs
Does it work for dogs with short snouts?
Works for both long and short-snouted dogs as they all need to use their tongue to pick up food from the bowl between ridges and grooves. Some designs may work better than others, but it will depend on each dog. Based on customer comments, the orange one is the hardest one for these dogs and the purple one is the shallowest, so it’s easier for them.
Will it slow down my dog eating wet food?
This slow-eating dog bowl works for dry, wet, and raw food. Just make their food go between the ridges and watch them eating in slower motion.
Will my pup flip the bowl and eat off the floor?
Some dogs will do that, but you can outsmart the cheeky devils by placing a ball of blue tack or adhesive putty under the bowl to stick it temporarily to the floor, and so, they may try but give up soon after.
Pros & Cons
What’s to like
- Reduces risk of life-threatening digestive issues
- Saves you $$$ in potential vet bills by decreasing risk of Bloat or GDV
- Most affordable solution for fast-eating dogs
- Improves their digestion naturally by slowing them down at mealtimes, improving their quality of life
- Comes in different sizes to cater for dogs with small to large appetites
- Different designs provide different challenges
- Food-safe BPA, PVC, lead, & phthalate-free polypropylene material
- Easily washed in the top rack of your dishwasher
- 4.5 stars with over 70,000 customer reviews!
What’s not to like
- You may not like plastic bowls. Read on for alternatives to this bowl.
- Some short-snouted dogs could have issues with some designs, but it’s worth sticking with it for their benefit.
- Your furry friend may want to chew on it so in this case it’s best to remove the bowl right after they eat.
This is the simplest and most affordable solution to spare your fast-eating doggie from dangerous digestive issues and save money on related vet bills.
Over 100,000 people gave it 4.5 stars!
Alternatives
- Neater Pet Brands Stainless Steel Metal Slow Feed Bowl (Non-Tip Style). This is a stainless-steel bowl that comes with one single built-in raised obstacle in the middle, so your dog must eat the food that’s around it, making it more difficult to gulp it up all at once. In addition, it has a non-tip and non-slip design, making it harder for your pup to tip it over and eat off the floor.
- LE TAUCI Ceramic Slow Feeder Dog Bowl. This is the same slow feeder bowl type we discussed above in this article but made of ceramic material.
- Nina Ottosson by Outward Hound Dog Treat Puzzle. Treat puzzles slow your dog’s eating but they do not hold large food amounts and take longer to set up. They come in four levels of difficulty and provide a mental challenge to your doggo that’s greater than the slow bowl’s.
Now it’s your turn
This is by far the easiest and most affordable way to prevent life-threatening digestive issues like Bloat, choking as well as vomiting if your dog eats too fast, while saving a fortune in related vet bills.
It helped us with Indy, maybe it will help you and your doggie too.
Try a Slow Feeder now!
I have recently adopted a Bichon Frise, this is for both his company and to ensure I have more gentle exercise walking him for 20 to 30 mins 2 or 3 times a day for my heath and his. This article has given all the help I need to slow his inhaling of food which courses him to cough at each meal time
I have ordered a Decyam Slow Feeder Dog Bowl which is a Fun Puzzle Feeder Non Skid Bloat Stop Feeding Bowl, from Amazon UK. This is bowl has been advised on another UK site for small to medium breeds like Barnaby my Bichon Frise.
That’s great Lynn. Does the new bowl work well with Barnaby?
Hi Lynn,
I’m really glad we could help.
Thank you for the ebook
My dog Kea is a Jack Russell she has Cushions Decease. 12 years old .She was never a fast eater.
We had a visit to the vet for her tummy was large they did testing told us that she was I a bad way.
Now we watch her eating an drinking, so I'm interested in the food bowl to slow her down eating.
Hi Sonena,
I’m really sorry to hear about Kea’s illness. You can easily slow down her eating by using one of the slow bowls we mention in the ebook. They are our favorite. These bowls slowed down our Indy at meal times quite a lot. You can simply buy one from Amazon or, if you’re in the US, also from Chewy, by clicking the orange button in our blog post here.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
All the best,
Alex