apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What a GREAT idea! How about a smaller version for our feline friends?

(And this proves, yet again, that we need a pet-focused page on this site.)

I've looked at bowls like this in Fosters and Smith. They looked really appealing, since my Marley-a-like-lab tends to wolf his food in about 3 seconds.

My free alternative was to raid my 5 year olds rock collections. Right now I've got one good fist-sized rock in the middle of his bowl and it has helped a lot.

Plus it is so much easier to clean then all the nubbs above(I know it says dishwasher safe, but all the crevices look like they'd need to wiped out first).

hmr: at the cat shelter I volunteer at, the vet tech puts an empty can in the bowl. The cat has to eat around the can, which slows his or her down.

Thanks, gquaker. That honestly never would have occured to me. Guess who's in for a big surprise tonight...

I have a pug and that looks more like a starve-to-death-slowly bowl. He can barely fit his smushed face into the bowl I use, much less navigate bumps. But it is a pretty color!

I also wish they made this in smaller sizes for my little dogs.
I'd be very concerned they'd eat the rocks I put in their bowls--I've seen them eat very strange things! And I believe they think anything in a dog bowl is fair game--even if a challange!

But one of our dogs has acid reflux and you'd think she'd learn by now that if she didn't scarf up her food she probably wouldn't throw up occassionally after eating! Only that 6-cup capacity is way too big when my dogs get about 1/2 cup food at a time! Great idea though!

We have this bowl for our vacuumhound, which comes in three different sizes. It worked for about a week but he has now learned how to eat around the pegs. Not sure what to do now... I've been told to just drop a few pieces into his bowl at a time but that can be very time consuming, especially when he eats 3 cups of food a day!

Greyrussian--thanks for the link! Nice to know the company has a metal version, as I thought these bowls were awesome, minus the plastic!

I used to work at a 'doggie hotel' and some owners whose dogs were potential bloaters (boxers, etc) put rocks in the bowls. Not little ones of course, but ones that were heavy enough and too big so the dog can't swallow. They were probably around the size of an orange.

We're in a recession! No need to buy fancy-dancy bowls and other miscellaneous items when you can come up with creative solutions.

Thanks so much, Faith, for such a nice write-up! And thanks everyone for your thoughtful comments and feedback. A few responses if helpful:

1. Different sized bowls are on the horizon. That said, the less food you put in relative to the size, the more effective we believe the bowl is. Our girl, for example, eats one cup at a sitting. It certainly should be effective for your cat, it's just largish - but stay tuned!
2. The protrusions here are gradual and spaced well away from each other / the sides so it's easy to clean - that's different from other bowls out there - as is the fact that it's non-skid
3. Metal would be GREAT! but with most metals it's not physically possible with this type of design - most metals simply don't stretch and bend in this way. (but ours is a very nice heavy, thick, high-quality polypropylene that's independently tested to be FDA compliant for food safety so we think it's the next best thing)

We used to put toys in our dogs' bowls. In fact, that concept inspired this bowl - but we believe this version is safer and more hygienic.

Thanks so much for the comments - what a hoot to be on the site.

Best,
Sabra
www.greedypup.com

I haven't tried this, but I heard someone recommend putting a softball in the dog bowl. I imagine this would be for larger breed dogs.

Great idea as I too have a lab that inhales her meals like a hoover. But, I also like the much cheaper idea of a large rock too. I'll give the freebie version a try first. Thanks!

We just put a tennis ball in our dog's bowl. He'd happily munch away and then (in that endearing dog tendency) get a startled look on his face with an "OMG! I found a ball!" expression.

I love this - will definitely have to check it out. I don't know why it is that our cockapoo inhales food as if he hasn't eaten for a week, but hopefully this will help him slow down a bit. thanks!

tabitha
http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

How exactly is this not just a knockoff of the Brake Fast bowl?

Well, not to knock the product, but this idea has been around for a while. For cats, you can use giant marbles (big enough that they won't eat them), and for dogs you can use clean rocks, or like posters above suggested, cans or balls.

These have been around for a while, but this is a nice model. My only concern is that it is plastic... ok for a dog but I'd never use a plastic food bowl for a cat, causes acne

I bought two of these for my dog, who the kennel refers to as a "Snarf N Barf." Sadly, it didn't help at all. I ended up sending them back. We're back to tossing small amounts in the bowl.

My aunt mixes water with her lab's dry food, which seems to slow her down.

another thing that i've done for my dog, is use those treat balls where you put in a bunch of treats in and your dog has to roll around the ball to make the treats fall out. my dog has the tendency to eat all her food late at night while we're sleeping and we wake up to vomit on our bedroom floor because she inhales her food. it's nice for people who prefer to free feed because i just measure the amount of food she should eat for the day and put it in the treat ball. it keeps her entertained all day and paces her eating. plus it's adorable to watch her get mad and growl at her treat ball when she's having trouble getting the food out. she figures it out again after a few seconds so no worries about her starving!

http://labmade.etsy.com