Every single day we feed our dogs the nutrients they need (and hopefully enjoy!). As adorable as all our pups are, they are not stuffed animals. They are living, breathing organisms with the ability to think and problem solve, the need to engage and burn energy, and even the drive to work. By providing them their food in a regular bowl, we are giving away opportunities to meet those needs. This is why I am so enthusiastic about ditching the bowl!
Any family can make ditching the bowl a possibility. Yes, even those with multiple dogs, resource guarders, or no extra time. I am blessed with like-minded friends and live in a household with all three of those restraints, so I’ve gathered plenty of hints and tricks!
1. Please feed dogs separately.
For safety reasons, I do NOT recommend feeding two or more dogs together. I personally utilize crates, separate rooms (even the bathroom depending on the situation!), and outdoors.
2. Utilize bowl-replacements!
It takes the same amount of time out of your day to fill up a bowl as it does to fill up a slow feeder bowl, a food dispensing toy, or a snuffle mat. Each of these items can be given in the pup’s crate or separate rooms for multiple dog households. Check out the resources page if you need recommendations on food-dispensing toys!
3. Switch it up!
You do not have to feed each dog the same way each meal time. There are lots of options! Rotate through different toys or feeding devices – instead of buying multiple of the same toy, you can buy many different ones! Spend one-on-one time working with one dog while the others are in separate areas eating from toys. Play a game with one dog while another is in the yard eating kibble scattered outside. There are countless possible combinations, depending on what works best for your home!
4. Meal Prep!
If you have more free time one day of the week than others, put aside some time to prepare frozen kongs or other toys to use throughout the week. Every weekend, I fill up kongs and freeze them. I also love prepping these toys with kibble because they stand up flat and stack easily in a box!
5. Supervise when introducing new toys.
It’s important to watch your dogs play with new food dispensing toys and to teach them to use them safely. For example, the kong gyro is one of Kizmo’s absolute favorite toys. It is a toy that is NOT meant for chewing. I had to encourage him to move it around with his nose or paws rather than try to chew it open.
6. Separate Feeding Toys.
Do not leave food dispensing toys out around the house like you would with normal toys. I recommend having a separate bin or storage area that they cannot easily access. (I have bins on top of my crates.) This keeps the toys interesting as well as preventing any chewing or resource guarding during non-meal times.
Ditching the bowl looks different to each family. The only rule is to not feed out of a regular bowl! Don’t let restraints such as having multiple dogs or not enough time stop you from using meal times to provide easy enrichment for your pup. Contact us if you need more tips to help your family say goodbye to the food dish for good!
