Anyone got a Kyjen Slo-Bowl?

[TooOldForGlitter]

Thinking of getting one of these for Bob, he is a bit of a wolfer when it comes to his dinner and these bowls get quite good reviews.

Has anyone used/got one and can give me their opinion of it?

[fluffysticks]

I've got one and it does slow my lab down a bit. I have a few different slow feeders and find the best one to be a 'green interactive feeder' which looks like thick blades of grass, this slows him down more than any of the other ones. We've also got a Buster dog maze slow feeder which again I think is better than the Kyjen slo bowl. I think it depends on the shape of the dogs face as a dog with a long pointed face would be able to get into the gaps easier iykwim. Fluffy dog is a lab.

[moosemama]

I have a Green Feeder for Pip and it's been brilliant. It takes him between 10-15 minutes to eat a full meal in it, as opposed to 30 seconds to inhale the lot if it's given to him in a bowl.

I do agree that he probably finds it easier than a flat or short-nosed breed would to get the food out, due to his pointy snoot, but it still really slows him down.

I fill it with kibble, making sure the majority of it goes in the deepest part, where it's harder for him to reach it, but ensuring it's spread all the way across the whole feeder, so he has to work his way all around.

Recently I've started jamming fish-skin fingers and/or raw carrot between the prongs too, as that slows him down even more because he has to prise them out.

[TooOldForGlitter]

Argh, can't decide now. Was looking at the green feeder first and then saw the link to these bowls.

Bob is a pointy so he has the snout advantage!

Do you both find that it offers mental stimulation as well?

[moosemama]

I think it did provide mental stimulation when he first had it, but now he's just used to it and has developed his own system for emptying it. He starts off eating from one side and gradually works his way all around, so he ends up standing the opposite way around to how he started, iyswim. I think really wedging the odd bigger treat in tightly there makes him have to stop and think though.

To be honest, kong wobblers and treat balls probably offer more mental stimulation, although my none-too-bright older lad has the kong wobbler sussed - he just holds it down with one paw once the hole's in the right position, then wiggles it until all the kibble has fallen out.

[fluffysticks]

I agree with moosemama that my dog is used to it now but it still takes longer than eating it from an ordinary bowl. I use the different bowls to make it interesting for him and he also has a treat dispensing ball and a kong wobbler. I also feed some of his kibble by hand or hide it around the kitchen, just to tire him out!

[TooOldForGlitter]

If i'm honest I was mainly looking to buy something like this in the hope of it being a good mental game for him. He does inhale his food but I have just started feeding him in increments to slow him down. I was hoping to find something to make him think. He's a greyhound and he was certainly last in the que when brains were being handed out He will play with his toys very occasionally and he is responsive when we clicker train but after 3 or 4 minutes he's done. I was thinking of getting one of these feeders and using it a couple of times a week as more of a game/challenge, than an actual feeding decision.

[moosemama]

Believe me, my beautiful Lurcherboy is far from blessed in the brains department. It takes him forever for the penny to drop when clicker training and it took him about 6 months to work out how to get the food out of a kong.

Google or look on the Dog Games website for Sprinkles. That's mentally stimulating and tiring, without having to purchase anything specific.

[FiveHoursSleep]

I have a pointy and it still takes her 3+ minutes vs 30 seconds to eat her food from the Green Bowl.
We have one for each dog and a pink one for the cats- would recommend!

[Beholdtheflorist]

We have a Kyjen for our Rottie cross pup. He's gone from demolishing his food in about 12 seconds to taking 10 minutes. He also uses his paws to help the food on the way if it gets stuck in a harder place to reach so I reckon it's helped with his problem solving skills too but I might just be anthropomorphising his behaviour (is that even a a word?)

It definitely slows him down wolfing wise though.

[YourBubzYourRulzHun]

I have a dog games slo bowl from Pets At Home for my lab, it really slows him down and he has to chase the kibble round. I also bought him a Kong Wobbler which works well but I was using it for every meal in the summer and he developed a sore nose from pushing it round the garden. I panicked he had mange until I watched him with the Wobbler and made the connection!