Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowl – Medium 2‑Cup Capacity, Slow Feeding, Small to Medium Dogs & Cats, Non-Slip, Turquoise, Drop Pattern

Why it's worth it

A deep drop-pattern maze that holds two cups and goes straight in the dishwasher. It's the most effective slowdown you can get for a small or medium dog without committing to hand-washing or a nightly setup routine.

The maze is genuinely hard to beat, and that's the whole point. Outward Hound calls this its slowest level, built for very fast eaters, and the drop-pattern channels back that up. Your dog can't scoop. It has to work each channel separately, tongue first, which is what turns a twenty-second meal into a few minutes. Published reviews of this bowl consistently land on the same result: meals take substantially longer, across a range of dogs.

Two cups is the right size for the dogs most likely to need one. That covers a full meal for most dogs up to roughly forty pounds — beagles, cockers, border collies, the mid-size mutts that make up most households. Outward Hound also sells this pattern in other sizes and three difficulty levels, so if your dog is smaller or newer to the idea, you can step down rather than starting at the hardest setting.

From our review of 8 slow feeder dog bowls, by James Bennett, Associate Editor

What we like

• +The maze is genuinely hard to beat, and that's the whole point
• +Two cups is the right size for the dogs most likely to need one
• +It's top-rack dishwasher-safe, which matters more than it sounds
• +The materials check the boxes you'd want checked

What to know

• –It's plastic, so chewers will eventually destroy it
• –Wet food is a hassle in those deep channels
• –Fast learners work out the pattern