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AVSAB BLOG

March 24, 2014

by Cheryl Kolus DVM

Category: General Behavior

Slo-Bowl by Kyjen Product Review

I had the opportunity recently to try out a new product, the Slo-Bowl, for my 11-year-old, 60-lb golden retriever. The Slo-Bowl is a dog food bowl designed to slow the dog's eating, and it truly works!

The Slo-Bowl is made by Kyjen, a company based in Colorado. Kyjen also makes the Outward Hound travel gear and some fun-looking dog puzzle toys.

The Slo-Bowl comes in four different configurations (http://shop.kyjen.com/slo-bowls/); the one my dog tried is called the Drop. For most of my dog's life, I've fed him out of push-around food toys. Recently, he had some health issues that decreased his appetite, and I returned to feeding in a bowl because I didn't want anything to get in the way of his eating. I did, however, put a large tennis ball and two empty yogurt cups in the bowl among his kibble, because I still didn't want him to gobble his food (once he started feeling better). This slowed him down a little; I'm guessing it took him 2-3 minutes to eat 1.5 cups of food.

Then the Slo-Bowl arrived. The bowl is very well made of durable plastic (BPA- and phthalate-free), and comes with a non-slip bottom. It's also dishwasher safe (in the top rack; though I put in the bottom rack and it came out just fine). And the best part is, it took my dog 7 minutes and 15 seconds to finish his food, and he seemed to enjoy eating from it!

With my dog's appetite back, I've started feeding his dinner in his old food toys (e.g., Kong Wobbler and Molecuball), but I still use the Slo-Bowl for his breakfast. It still makes him work, and it's easier for me to just drop the kibble into it as I'm getting ready for work in the morning. He's been eating from it for a couple weeks now, and he hasn't gotten any faster!

The box claims that feeding from the Slo-Bowl helps prevent obesity, regurgitation and bloat; this may or may not be true, and I suggested that the company add "might" in front of these claims. For overweight dogs, my preference would still be to recommend a toy that makes the dog move around, which the Slo-Bowl doesn't. But for simply slowing down a gobbler and adding some enrichment to the dog's life, the Slo-Bowl is a great product. It's also a good alternative to other food toys for owners who perhaps have multiple dogs or don't want the noise or potential scratches on wood floors that might occur with some food toys.

I can see why the Slo-Bowl made Dr. Marty Becker's Top 10 Best New Pet Products list for 2014, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to clients.



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