Dinner in the Slow Lane

I’m limping along on an old computer this week, so my digital consumption has significantly slowed down. Digital gorging is no good for me, but I’ve recently been a bit more concerned about Eko’s food gorging. Every morning Eko gets breakfast from his Kong wobbler. It’s a fun challenge for him and it significantly extends meal time. Until this past week I fed Eko dinner out of a regular bowl, but for some reason he now seems to vacuum the food faster than ever before. Speed eating is never good for dogs, especially larger pups like Eko who are at risk of bloat. I wanted to slow Eko down and add some variety to his routine so I recently purchased a Slo-bowl.

The slobowl (~$13 on Amazon) uses a simple series of ridges to prevent Eko’s usual face-smashing eating style from working

By distributing the kibble between the ridges, the slobowl prevents big gulps and promotes smaller mouthfuls

“Hey Will, this bowl may prevent fast eating, but you prevent ANY eating with all your photos. Can a guy have his dinner now, or what?”

The wobbler is great for breakfast when my downstairs neighbors are out of the house, but I think they would quickly want to strangle me if I let Eko smash the wobbler on their ceiling during dinner. The slobowl offers a quieter alternative for slowing Eko down. I worried Eko might just flip the thing over, but he was too focused on eating to consider that option. The skids on the bottom of the bowl also help keep the bowl in place.

To get at the kibble Eko has to work for it. It’s not as fun as the wobbler, but I like that it’s a different sort of challenge. Luckily the slo(bber)-bowl is easily washed

There is no learning curve and I was happy to see that Eko was not frustrated or upset by the bowl. He was diligent and happy to work for every last kibble

I have only had the slobowl for a week but I consider it a great investment. Eko will continue to use the wobbler for breakfast and the slobowl for dinner.

If your pup is a fast eater, I highly recommend checking out any number of toys/puzzles/bowls designed to slow them down. These options all provide for a healthier and more engaging meal time. Eko is undoubtedly more content after meals now, so as an added bonus, you’ll no longer have your dog vacuum their meal and then immediately look to you for more.