Now, this isn’t to say we are opposed to ceramic slow-feed bowls. If a better performing ceramic slow feeder is released in the future, I’ll declare it the winner of this category. The Petrageous Slow-Feed Bowl had a raised paw print design that allowed kibble to fall between the gaps, slowing down feeding. However, the imprint sat low in the bowl and could be covered with a single cup of kibble. Any additional cups saw it function as a standard dog bowl.

My only concern is that Mr. Peanut’s only offers two sizes – medium and large. While the medium size still slowed down small dogs, I cannot help but feel that a smaller size would work better.Ethical Pets had an interesting idea. Their Animal Instincts Slow-Feed Bowl features an opening, just like a snail shell. Dogs can worm food around with their nose, and it pops out the side. Unfortunately, this worked better in theory than practice. The high ridges were only suitable for pointier-nosed pups, and the bowl was a no-go for wet food. The bowl also had a sliding problem with the non-skid base failing to hold the bowl in place while our dogs feasted. It turned out that a slow-feed bowl was as much puzzle as she could handle – it honestly added 30 minutes to her feeding time. The best-performing ceramic slow feeder, the Magisso Happy Pet Project Ceramic Bowl, was unsuited for wider snouts and flat faces. The sizing also ran small making this bowl unsuitable for larger dogs.

First, ceramic slow feeders are much more expensive than their plastic or metal counterparts. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am happy to pay more for a product that performs. But the ceramic slow-feed dog bowls I tested did anything but. Every ceramic bowl was flawed. No dogs were overfed or starved during our testing process. But rather, they seemed to enjoy the entire process.The slow-feeder bowls that extended our dogs’ eating by the largest amount of time were the winners. The filter is a little confusing – the water doesn’t actually flow thru filter, but rather around it. It doesn’t seem to actually filter the water, but definitely needs replacement and can get moldy. The documentation from UPSKY suggests that you replace the filter every 2-3 months. It is worth mentioning that no bowl could be called spill-proof when used on grass. Because grass has a certain amount of give, larger dogs could squeeze a paw or nose under the bowl and flip it. An anti gulp dog bowl uses smart inserts in the bowl meaning your dog has to work around them to reach their food, extending their meal times and keeping their tail wagging. They work perfectly with wet or dry food and are tough enough to cope with those jaws that don't know when to stop at the bottom of the bowl.

However, stainless steel slow feeders offered a noticeable improvement in feeding time. From our testing, our number one slow-feed dog bowl tripled the time it took for dogs to finish their meal compared to a regular dog bowl.The pattern on the purple bowl featured lower ridges and shallow valleys and was the only style that every dog we tested with could comfortably and confidently eat from. The only downside to stainless steel slow feeders is that metal is harder to work with than plastic, which means the patterns found on these slow feeders are much simpler than those made from plastic. Stainless steel bowls are the most durable and easy to clean. They don’t harbor bacteria and are dishwasher safe. Make sure the materials are food-grade and discard them if they develop rust. Slow feeders come in a ridiculous amount of shapes, sizes and colors. They come with prongs, wedges, valleys and mazes. They come in jumbo, extra small and every size in between. There are flat-feeder mats and feeders with high sides. They come in plastic, stainless steel or ceramic. The options are seemingly endless.

Does your dog suffer from a medical condition such as arthritis or spinal issues? An elevated dog bowl may provide much-needed relief because your dog will no longer need to bend down as far to reach his food.Now that we had our pile of slow-feeder dog bowls, it was time to compare them to each other, to determine which was truly the best. The Dogit Go Slow Bowl comes in a single design, available in four different sizes ranging from extra small to large. The Animal Planet Maze Feeder is somewhat of a hidden gem. No consumer or storekeeper we interviewed was aware of the product. This pattern comes in two sizes. The mini/medium holds two cups and the regular/large holds four. One of our test dogs eats 1/2 cup per meal and uses the regular/large size. That means all pieces fall in the grooves and it takes some time to eat them. The bowl is made from plastic that is BPA, PVC, and phthalate free. It has a non-skid base and can be cleaned on the top shelf of the dishwasher.