Life on the Leash

The folks over at DogPause got in touch and asked me to check out their new bowl, which is clinically proven to slow down fast-eating chow hounds. Back in the day, the only way to slow down a voracious eater was to put a large rock in the bowl, which wasn’t a safe or sanitary option. Rapid eating can lead to a host of problems (vomiting, gas, and bloat, to name a few), so we were more than happy to test out this helpful product. Zeke is a speed demon with his regular bowl, and he’s done his fair share of post-meal gagging.

I loved the cheerful colors and cute dog in the middle of the bowl. Zeke was immediately intrigued:

I measured out their standard portion and spread it throughout the “slow zone” sections in the bowl, added a few bananas and a little water (because that’s how we roll), and stood back to watch the magic.

Zeke loved it. It looked like he was trying to “figure out” the bowl, almost like it was one of those treat-dispensing toys he loves to play with. Very cool.

It took him quite a while to work through his entire meal, and once he finished, he kept going back to the bowl to make sure that he hadn’t missed anything.

Sumner is a slow eater to begin with, so his meal lasted and lasted and lasted.

He opted to remove pieces of kibble from the bowl every so often and eat them off the floor.

It looked like a lot of work!

Zeke hovered nearby, ready to help if the meal proved too difficult for Sumner to consume.

The final word on the DogPause Bowl? Two paws up! I liked the sleek design (which is easy to clean), and I liked that Zeke and Sumner had to work a little harder to eat their meals. It seemed like the work element transformed their regular mealtime into a challenging puzzle, which is a good thing for those super-fast eaters. The only possible drawback is that the bowl shape might be difficult for squish-face dogs to navigate … the slow zones are deep and narrow, so the flat-face dogs might not be able to reach all the way down.

That said, I think that the DogPause Bowl is a great way to slow down unhealthy speed-eating!