Find a suitable food bowl for the dog.
From the classic ceramic food bowl to variants made of stainless steel to the food bar – the selection of eating utensils for the dog is huge. Of course, the different offerings come with advantages and disadvantages. What these are and how to find a suitable food bowl for your dog, you will learn here.
No dog household without a food bowl! Strictly speaking, a four-legged friend needs at least two bowls – one for food and one for water. But what is there to consider when it comes to bowls?
One thing is sure: Not only the model’s appearance is decisive. There are many other criteria to consider when choosing the right product.
How big should the food bowl for the dog be?
Before it comes to choosing the color or design of a food bowl, you should make sure that the size of the eating utensil fits the size of your dog.
The bowl should match the amount of food your four-legged friend eats. It is always recommended to include a little more space. In this way, your dog will not spill so much.
Find a food bowl for the dog: Which material?
When choosing a food bowl, the most crucial thing is functional. This includes sufficient stability, which depends on the material of the eating utensil. When selecting the material, you need to decide which solution is the most practical. Each material offers advantages but also disadvantages.
Plastic, ceramic, or stainless steel, after all?
Plastic food bowls, for example, are inexpensive, but they are usually relatively light and more likely to tip over. Some dog owners also reject plastic bowls because they may emit harmful substances.
On the other hand, the situation is different with feeding bowls made of ceramic. They are high quality and coated on the inside. Compared to products made of plastic, ceramic bowls are more expensive, but they are also heavier. This makes them exceptionally stable.
As another variant, there are stainless steel feeding bowls. These are hygienic and very robust. However, they can rattle and are not relatively as cheap as the representatives made of plastic.
Food bowl for the dog: What else to consider?
When it comes to bowls for fur noses, especially non-slip edges are recommended. Nubs made of rubber, for example, prevent the eating utensils from rattling on hard floors and sliding on smooth surfaces. In this way, the dog does not push the food bowl across the room during the meal.
Alternatively, feeding bowl mats also prove practical: On the one hand, the carpet does not slide on the floor, and on the other hand, the bowl does not slide on the mat.
If your four-legged friend has long ears, you should buy a food bowl with a high rim and a narrow diameter. Thus, the long ears of your dog will not immediately hang in the food.
Feeding bars and feeding stations as an alternative to the feeding bowl
A food bar is handy if you have two dogs of different sizes or a growing dog. Two food bowls of different heights can be attached to a metal frame. This allows the dogs to eat from a comfortable height for them.
A feeding station or automatic feeder, on the other hand, is advantageous if your four-legged friend tends to gobble. The machine allocates only individual chunks of food to force the dog to eat slowly.
