We’re trying to head off any unforeseen setbacks before they can rear their ugly heads, and one thing we decided to do was switch from a regular bowl to a puzzle bowl (aka “go-slow or slow feed bowl”). We read about them on some of our blog buddies’ sites, who also introduced us to “bloat”, a horrible condition we’d never heard of before.
Daisy doesn’t actually scarf her food, but she does cough sometimes while she’s eating. We didn’t want her doing anything that could jar her little body and maybe cause pain during her recovery, and I’d been considering getting her a puzzle bowl for a while now, so we decided to stop considering it and just get the darned thing.
Kong came through with a BPA-free winner that we found at our local PetSmart.
And they had it in pink for our little girl!! 😀
Deep enough, but not too deep.
Even with all those nooks and narrow passageways, we’ve found it extremely easy to clean because of its polished surface. But the real test was with our little fussbudget, who is quite particular about the vehicle that carries her food.
First, the sniff test – underside.
Sniff testing it right side up.
The flip – just to make sure everything is still okay. Can’t be too careful with the thing that carries your food!
And now for the BIG test – actually putting food in.
Is that my food in the new bowl?? BRING IT!!
After some tentative sniffs…we have lickoff!
Hey, this is fun!
I found more food back here! Wow!
And the thing that thrilled us most – she was voluntarily standing in the crate to eat! Her recovery is going much better than any of us anticipated.
You can see her left leg right there – it’s almost back to normal!
It did take our little adventurer some time to realize there were pieces of kibble in narrow areas and it took even longer for her to figure out how to get them, but that’s partially the point of the thing. Besides the pieces being so spread out, the juices are also spread out, so she can’t lap them up so fast that she gags (which she used to do). Since she’s been using this bowl, we haven’t heard a cough or gag once, and it takes her about three times as long to eat her food. What a brilliant little invention!
We’re part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop!
Everyday Adventures in Havachon Heaven 
What a nice problem to have! You’ve gone from having to hand-feed a few weeks ago to enthusiastic (*standing*) feeding!!! Glad to hear Daisy is progressing well!
Yes – finally it was an easy problem to avoid! We were just looking back at the pictures of the hand feeding, which moved up to a few kibbles at a time in a small bowl. It’s amazing how quickly she’s progressed – we’d never have guessed it! 🙂
OMP that is so cool – nope not for this oinker but maybe for the pooch here. I can see him already playing with it. Thanks! XOXO – Bacon
Daisy really seems to enjoy eating from this bowl, and the fact that she’s no longer coughing while eating tells us it was more of a necessary change than we’d realized. 🙂
Sometimes Houdini snarfs his food down so quickly that he chokes. I think he might benefit from this bowl as well. I’m putting it on mom’s shopping list. I’m sure Houdini will thank me in the long run – snorts. XOXO – Bacon
That sounds like a good idea, it definitely helped Daisy stop coughing. The gravy, which is what she choked on mostly, is spread so thinly around the base that she can only lap up little bits of it at a time, which solved the problem. Daisy really likes it, and it does present a nice little mental challenge for her figuring out how to get kibble out of the smaller nooks!
I ate from a slow feeder bowl for a LONG time after Mom adopted me. I came from a kill shelter and then a foster home where dogs stole my food and bit my head. I ate so fast I vomited – EVERY DAY. The slow feeder helped me a lot, and now I don’t even need it anymore, but sometimes, Mom puts my dinner in it just for fun. Have fun, Daisy!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
I’m so glad the slow feeder bowl helped you, Cupcake! It’s great that you don’t need it anymore but I’m sure you do enjoy using it once in a while! 🙂
Slow-bowls are the best! Our girls don’t seem to be swallowing nearly as much air as they did when they ate out of regular bowls.
They’re such a brilliant idea!
I’ve thought about these bowls, but we feed the honest kitchen. I’m not sure how that would work. Now that Torrey is on activity restrictions I have to keep her occupied somehow, so I may have to look more at this. How do you think it would be with wet food, and not kibble?
My doctor uses the puzzle bowl with wet food for his 4 dogs. He said he just spreads little bits of food all around in all the nooks and it has slowed his dogs’ eating down – they went from 30 second dinners to taking 3-5 minutes to eat. Of course, they’re eating a LOT more than Torrey would – his dogs are all huge!
Puzzle feeders are the best. Great way to burn some physical/mental energy without a pup overexerting themself.
Absolutely, which makes them ideal during strict crate rest!
Hailey loves her slow-bowl. Enjoy.
I’m so glad we got it, for so many reasons. 🙂
I’m so glad you found something that works for her! having to work to get her food will help stimulate her mind as well as slowing her down.
I hope her recovery is going well. Thanks for joining the blog hop~
Thanks Jodi, her recovery is still going beautifully, much better than expected. It’s interesting to watch her deciding where to pick her food from and how to get it out of the narrower areas. 🙂
Poppy would have objected, she doesn’t like eating out of any other dish but her own but not Daisy – she took to the new dish like a duck to water! And it’s already proving it’s worth to her. She is amazing us all with her speedy recovery.
Barb, you couldn’t be more right – we’re as amazed as you are at her recovery…and the surgeon is too! I should have recorded the first time we gave Daisy the puzzle bowl – we all stood around staring at her, holding our breath hoping she’d like it! 🙂
Oh I was hoping they had them for small dogs! I will be investing in one for Bree! Glad to see that Daisy is doing so good and looking wonderful!
Thank you Marty! I’m sure Bree will love her puzzle bowl. 🙂
It is on it’s way!
It’s so great to see Daisy doing so well! We use slow feeder bowls for all the dogs, but I’ve never seen that one. It looks great!
Thanks Jan! It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been a relatively short time since Daisy was in such a delicate state and we didn’t know what would happen. I’m so glad we’re past that!
What a great bowl and good healing. Lulu loves her slow bowl.
We’re so happy with both! 🙂
What an excellent idea! Daisy will get some PT while she eats. Thanks for joining the hop.
PS Brown dawgs say they cannot imagine any dog being fussy over what kind of bowl brings their food….lol.
Haha We couldn’t believe it either – we had gotten Daisy a foldable travel bowl for when we took her on trips with us, but she absolutely refused to eat from it. We had to take pieces of kibble out and hand feed them to her. I still can’t figure out what turned her off so much, but she always sniffs the bowl we bring her before she’ll eat, even if it’s the bowl she’s used to. Go figure!
Our buddies Will, Eko and Penny have a bowl similar to this one, I must get one for Dakota! DakotasDen
I’m sure Dakota will love it! Daisy seems to enjoy deciding where she’ll take her next bite from. 🙂
OMD, GURL! I’ve been checkin’ in with your progress and how well you (and your peeps!) did with your surgery, and I am sooooooooo happy you are doin’ FABulously!!! (Ma puter died, and til she gets a new one bloggin’ is kinda tough, so I”ve been readin’, butts commenting is hard)
Nows, I loves your new bowl!! Ma wishes that I would eats from a bowl, butts a bowl is just not my thingie! Really…ever since I was a wee lass, I’ve knocked my bowl over, and ate off the floor! Well, until Ma finally gots the message and put my kibbles on a ‘kibble rug’ so I don’t make such a mess! ☺ Anyhu, she did gets one of these, butts I knocked that over too…☺
Wells, I am so very happy you are doin’ betters gurl! You look FABulous, and I am so happy to see your progress! Sendin’ lots of POTP and healin’ vibes and AireZens your way!!
Kisses,
Ruby ♥
Thank you Ruby! I do believe your AireZens helped me improve so fast! 😀 Hmmm, I never thought of knocking my bowl over…maybe when I get out of this crate I’ll try that too. 😉 I do like my puzzle bowl, though, it gives me so many choices of where to eat from that I spend time between bites sniffing here and there until I find the perfect group of kibbles!
Great to know the bowl works for Daisy and that she’s recovering so well!
Thank you – we’re SO happy! 😀
As you should be after everyone’s hard work and loving care
OK, Daisy, but taking really ALL precautions should mean that your pawrents have their dinner by playing this: http://www.web-games-online.com/mastermind/. One white key peg = 1 spoon of soup; one black key peg = one swallow of pasta, etc.
LOL!
Daisy really does look strong and healthy! It must be so delightful to watch her regain her confidence. I’ve never seen a puzzle bowl like this, but I agree with you that it’s an amazing invention. Brilliant really! Our dog is really picky and it can take her all day to eat her food. No exaggeration. But my son’s dog inhales in about 15 seconds. I’m going to show this to him and see if Obi could use a little belated Christmas present. 🙂
Yes, we marvel every day at Daisy’s progress! We’re so beyond thrilled. 😀 It’s so funny to hear how differently dogs can eat. We always hear that their inner wild dog drives them to down their food as fast as possible, yet there are those like your dog that can take their time and eat more sensibly. It’s interesting. I hope Obi does end up using a puzzle bowl, the thought of bloat is just so scary.
I need a smaller one of those for my cat, Joanie. I put a golf ball in her bowl to slow her down for now.
Thanks for your kind comments about our beloved Stuart. They really help.
I’m so glad – we think of you often and continue to send you healing thoughts. Stuart’s passing still makes me so sad.
Sweet Daisy we are so happy to hear that you are doing better. Good for you sweet girl getting right to eating from that cool new bowl. You are still just as adorable as ever. We are still keeping you in our thoughts and prayers. Hugs and nose kisses for you and some big hugs for your sweet mom. Love you all, Mags, Chancy and Pooh
Thank you so much Maggie! Mom thinks of you a lot and often wonders how you’re doing. She always says she wishes she could help ease your pain, you’ve been through so much. We pray for you always.
You and your mom are just so sweet and special. I am doing okay but sure do miss my Shug. Thank you so much for your prayers they are much appreciated and felt. Hugs
Those bowls are such a great idea, I had one when I was a pup
They’re really a brilliant idea, Misaki. I never realized how much I’d like eating from one!
So happy to know that she is getting better 🙂
We’ve been away so long and wonder about her. Hope you’ll 100% recover soon, Dear daisy (hug)
Thank you Novroz, and it’s good to see you again!
“We have lickoff!” That’s adorable. I had to use a slow feeder for one of my dogs for a long time. Without it, he ate his food so fast, it made him sick. He eventually graduated from it, but it was a lifesaver, I’m sure.
–Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats
Oh wow, that must have been scary! It’s a good thing you switched bowls, you avoided a potentially serious situation.
That pink looks good enough to eat along with the food.
LOL Don’t give Daisy any ideas! 😉