FOOD BOWLS & FEEDER

Gobbling food is common among Labradors. Yes, it is can be witnessed in many other dog breeds too. Another interesting study I read was that Labs don’t feel full. It has been found that, some Labradors are missing part of gene that helps control their hunger. LOL! Yes, I know what you are thinking. They are hungry all the time and beg for more food.  So, any food they get, they just want to gobble it before it is taken away from them.

There are various types of food bowls and ways to reduce the speed and prevent the puppy from getting a bloat due to this fast eating manner.

Here are a few, that I use for Troy!

1.    Treat Dispenser- Wobblers are the best ways to get the food kibble one at a time. It is hollow in shape and dismantles into two parts which his easy for filling with food. It takes a little while for the puppy to figure out how to get the food out. But they are very intelligent and do everything they can to get some food. They are made available in a lot of brands

2.    Puzzles – You can find a lot of such puzzle bowls to help your puppy work hard in finding the hidden treats

3.    Slow feeder bowl in the form of a maze – This is a common food bowl found in all pet stores and online. It does make them push the food around the bowl a little longer and then eventually get them.

4.    Bones and Kongs – These empty hollow bones and kongs are helpful if you decide to freeze them. The times when you decide to prepare and cook your own dog recipe, it will be easier to fill them with it and freeze them for a while and then give it to the pup so they take their time licking their way off the food from the bone. These empty hollow bones can be used to fill in peanut butter and freeze them for later too.

5.    Travel Bowls – Likewise you have such bowls at home, having a foldable one that’s easy to use for on the go is a good choice too.

6.    Automatic Feeder – Yes, I am sure you have heard of that by now and wondering if it might help you to have such control of feeding with an app on phone, which means you can feed your puppy from wherever you are. I got one of these for Troy as well. From my experience, we began using it right when he was 8weeks old. However, he loved it and assumed it to be some magic since food came dropping at unexpected times. All he would do is, dig the pet feeder wondering he might get some food from it. Yes, he’s the funny knuckle head. But the drawback I found was that, it didn’t help our relationship very well. The essential motivator for a puppy to behave and learn good acts are the use of treats and food. It was too early in our relationship with Troy and he did assume it was the feeder that satisfies his basic need for food. With such behavioral changes in him, I wished I didn’t use it that early. Hence, we had to keep it away within 10days of use. But soon after he was a year old, we began using it again as and when we needed it. These automatic feeders, make your work so easy specially if you are away from home in the day and need to feed the puppy in between. It’s a lot of money and my suggestion is to well establish your relationship with the puppy before getting one.

You thought food bowls were easy, didn’t you? (Laughs…)