The 7 Best Slow Feeder Bowls for Dogs, Tested and Reviewed

Slow feeder bowls for dogs are designed to increase the time it takes for a dog to eat their food. “Dogs who eat too quickly tend to swallow air, which can increase the risk of bloat in some large dogs,” warns Denise Lott, a veterinarian assistant at Hello Ralphie. “Eating too quickly can also carry the risk of choking on food.” Slow feeder bowls make use of divots, walls, and grooves to temporarily obstruct your dog from their food. Most work with kibble and wet food, and they can also help with portion control.

Before introducing your dog to a slow feeder, you should be mindful of the risk that these products carry, especially if have a dog with a powerful chomp. The grooves that will slow down their eating could also break off or be chewed off and ingested. Never leave your dog unsupervised while they are eating from slow feeder, and take the bowl away after mealtime to keep them from using it has a chew toy. We also included more guidelines for proper use in the What To Look For section of this story.

Our Favorite Slow Feeder

Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowl, Slow Feeder Dog Bowl

$22 $15 at Amazon $15 at Chewy $15 at Target

Outward Hound makes a large array of slow feeder bowls in different designs, sizes, and colors. The Fun Feeder Slo Bowl, Slow Feeder Dog Bowl is simple one with deep circular swirls is a favorite and is my go-to bowl for my personal dog. A pup has to take time to pick up kibble in all the grooves and crannies in the maze-like bowl.

The trenches are deep, which makes this even more challenging for dogs that have mastered puzzle bowls. It can be frustrating for pups new to the slow-feeder challenge, but most figure it out fairly quickly. It can be particularly hard for tiny pups who might have trouble getting their mouths in the grooves.

This pattern comes in two sizes. The mini/medium holds two cups and the regular/large holds four. One of our tester dogs eats 1/2 cup per meal and alternates between the two sizes. With the regular/large version, all the 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 but can still slide around on a hardwood or tile floor. We recommend keeping it on a silicone or other mat. It can be cleaned on the top shelf of the dishwasher. This is the one I recommend to new pet owners looking to try out a slow feeder bowl because it’s so effective.

One of our testers said the bowl was extremely effective. “Our dog usually inhales his food and he definitely has to work to get the pieces out and it basically tripled his eating time but rest assured he got every single morsel.”

Deep, challenging grooves

Best Stainless Steel

Mr. Peanut's Stainless Steel Interactive Slow Feed Dog Bowl

$10 at Amazon View on Mrpeanutspetcarriers.com

If you prefer stainless steel, we like Mr. Peanut’s Stainless Steel Interactive Slow Feed Dog Bowl. It’s made of nontoxic materials and comes in a simple design. It just has one raised hump in the middle of the bowl, so your dog has to chase the kibble around at mealtime.

The bowl has a non-slip rubber ring around the bottom to keep it from sliding all over. The bowl is dishwasher safe, but be sure to dry it completely. It can form small rust spots where the ring meets the bowl if left wet. It comes in three sizes so you can choose based on the size of your dog and the amount of food you give at each meal. Small holds about 1.5 cups of dry food, medium holds 2 cups, and large holds about 3 cups.

The bowl is thicker and sturdier than many other stainless steel bowls. Our tester said the rubber ring was effective and the bowl didn’t move at all when their pup was eating dinner.

If your dog is a pro at puzzle bowls and slow feeders, this one might be too easy. But this design is a great starting point if your pup has never used a slow feeder before because it’s not as difficult as some others.

Heavy stainless steel

How We Picked

We have tested over 60 different dog bowls to get hands-on, real-world experience with real dogs of all shapes and sizes. For slow feeders, our testers considered factors such as performance, size, materials, ease of use, ease of cleaning, and overall appearance. Each slow feeder dog bowl was used in a real home with at least one dog for several weeks. We also considered our real world testing with Snuffle Mats and Dog Toys.

More We Recommend

LickiMat Wobble Slow Feeder Bowl

$17 at Amazon $17 at Chewy View on Kingdukes.com

Best Rubber: Lick mats are an easy way to keep your pup entertained. They are typically flat pieces of rubber (or silicone) with ridges and shapes. Smear in some peanut butter, yogurt, or wet food and either feed like that or freeze. Then your dog works hard to get into the crannies.

This slow feeder from LickiMat is a lick mat in a bowl form. You can spread some creamy treats in the ridges and then fill it up with kibble or other treats. It’s not as messy as mats can be and the wobbling motion offers an extra challenge. It’s made from dishwasher-safe natural rubber and comes in turquoise.

Our tester said this more than doubled the time their dog took to eat meals. The bowl wobbles as a dog eats so they can’t just gulp down their food. Although it’s dishwasher-safe, the tester chose to scrub it with a brush in order to avoid the “soapy” dishwasher taste that can sometimes come with rubber.

Bowl and lick mat combined

OurMiaou Silicone Snuffle Mat for Dogs

$14 $13 at Amazon

Best Snuffle Mat: Snuffle mats are a great way to entertain your pup while slowing them down at dinnertime. However, they can be hard to clean. Some, you can throw in the washing machine, but others require handwashing. That’s why we like the OurMiaou Silicone Snuffle Mat. There’s no fabric that can tear or get filthy.

The mat has lots of silicone leaves and you can tuck kibble underneath and on top of them. Wet food and spreads like peanut butter or yogurt are even more challenging. Our tester’s dog has chewed up fleece mats before so they liked this one better because it appeared virtually indestructible. Although the mat has dozens of suction cups on the bottom to keep it from sliding, the cups work better on the kitchen counter (where you don’t want them to stick) than on a hardwood floor.

Easy to clean

Leashboss Tilted Flat Face Slow Feeder

$16 $15 at Amazon $15 at Chewy

Best For Short Snouts: Flat-faced breeds like pugs and bulldogs can have trouble reaching their mouths into some bowls, particularly those that are very deep. This slow feeder from Leashboss is designed particularly for short-snouted breeds. The feeder is tilted and has shallow grooves so pups won’t get frustrated trying to eat food around obstacles.

The bowl is made from BPA, PVC, and phthalate-free plastic and can be washed in the top rack of the dishwasher or easily washed by hand. It has non-skid rubber feet to keep it from sliding but our tester said their dogs pushed it across the floor while eating. It comes in two colors – blue and gray – and also has a handle on the side which makes it easier to pick up.

Designed for flat-faced breeds

Frisco Vending Machine Snuffle Mat

$21 at Chewy

Best Nosework Mat: One of our testers calls this the Cadillac of snuffle mats. The Frisco Vending Machine Snuffle Mat has at least 15 different places to hide treats and kibble – even more if you get creative with where you place it. You need to make sure you have room when you unfurl it. The snuffle mat measures about 2’ x 3’ so it has a fairly large footprint. That makes it challenging for a dog that has to sniff all the spots to get rewards. One tester’s dog was so obsessed that she would actually sit by the mat and whine, hoping it was snuffle mat time.

The bottom of the mat is slick and the attached suction cups aren’t very helpful. Consider using it on a rug or on carpeting so it won’t slip around. It’s machine washable on a delicate cycle and seems to hold up pretty well with use and washing.

At least 15 hiding places

Biubiucat Elevated Slow Feeder Bowl

$28 at Amazon

Best for Small Dogs: The Biubiucat Elevated Slow Feeder Bowl is an elevated stand with two bowls – one puzzle bowl for food and a plain bowl for water. The stand and bowls are sleek and minimalistic. Designed for cats, it’s also suggested for small dogs. The bowls are wide and shallow and easily held 1/4 cup of dry food that our tester tried. Each bowl is supposed to hold 8 ounces, or 1 cup of food or water.

The height of the stand is adjustable to a point, which should be helpful for small and short pets. The ridges are pretty basic so the slow feeder won’t help all that much if your dog is a pro at puzzle bowls. If your pup is new to the challenging food games, this is a good place to start. The bowls pop out for easy cleaning, but they should be handwashed.

Holds both food and water

Other Products We Tested

In addition to our recommendations, we also evaluated these products:

Frisco Silicone Slow Feeder Mat with Stainless Steel Bowl: This silicone mat has a slow feeder bowl and a stainless steel water bowl. It seems like a great idea, but our tester found that water sloshed all over because the whole mat moved when their dog was working to get the kibble out of the puzzle bowl. The silicone bowl is relatively flimsy and the stainless steel bowl is lightweight. It’s a good idea, but not our favorite.

MateeyLife Slow Feeder: This bowl has a raised maze that forces dogs to slow down as they pick up their kibble. Although it advertises an anti-slip design, our tester said the bowl was so lightweight that their pup moved it around a lot when they were eating. It might be a better fit for smaller dogs who don’t eat a lot at mealtime.

Y YHY Slow Feeder, Elevated Food Bowl Tilted Design: This small bowl is elevated and slightly angled to make it easier for pets to eat. It holds less than 1 cup of food and our tester pup kept pushing kibble out of the bowl. It seems like this would be a much better fit for cats or very small dogs, but we were not overly impressed with the design or capacity.

Why Trust The Spruce Pets?

Mary Jo DiLonardo, a dog products reviewer for The Spruce Pets, updated this article. The proud mom of a rescue dog, she has fostered close to 80 dogs and puppies. She always feeds her own dog and her foster pups with slow feeders or snuffle mats. She has tried lots of different bowls and is always looking for the most durable and effective pet products. For more than 25 years, she has covered a wide range of topics focused on nature, pets, science, and anything that helps make the world a better place.

A previous version of this roundup was written by Steven Rowe, a writer with a rescue beagle who has a tendency to eat too fast. His dog has tried out several of the bowls on this list.