Every working pet parent has this type of problem with their fur babies – the meals during long days. Typically, most dogs need to eat twice a day for better digestion and well-being. But how do their owners cope with it when they’re out for work? Well, it depends on many factors such as age, breed, health issues, and the pup’s temper.
Some dogs are fed only once a day and feel okay. Those are healthy adult large breed canines, as a rule. Small and medium-sized dogs have faster metabolism; thus, they require to get meals more often. If you own a puppy or a senior dog, it is vital to schedule their several meals by a certain time and to serve them limited portions.
I won’t tell fairytales here about leaving the daily diet available for a pup in hopes that she or he will gradually eat it during the day. It just won’t work for a dog! Unless you offer something your pup doesn’t like at all.
Luckily, there is a way to solve this problem for many working pet parents and their dogs. If you have to leave your pup at home, check out the automatic dog feeder. It’s designed to help you to meet a proper feeding schedule for your dog and prevent hunger.
What Types of Automatic Dog Feeders Are There?
There are different devices for pets available on the market with various features. Which of them would be better for your dog? Let’s look at them in detail.
All feeders for dogs can be divided into two basic types: gravity food dispensers and electronic ones. Both have a range of pros and cons that can be considerable for one’s needs. You should know about them to make the right choice.
Gravity Feeders
Gravity dog feeders are based on a simple mechanism of dispensing food into the bowl as soon as it’s empty. You can guess from the name that the moving power for these devices is gravity. What can be wrong with it?
- The food can’t be divided into portions; hence your dog can overeating easily.
- You can’t schedule meals, which is not good for pups with health issues.
This type of dog food dispensers can be good enough for some dog owners, especially if they often forget to feed their dogs. Gravity feeders have several more positive points:
- They are cheaper than automatic ones.
- This type is easier to set up and handle.
Although these feeders can do the job, you won’t be able to schedule several portions for your pet if you plan to be absent for a certain time. As it was said, it is not appropriate for pets with special needs.
Electronic Feeders
Electronic dog food dispensers are more advanced devices than gravity ones. Automatic feeders can provide your pup meals almost like you do. Check out their advantages:
- Programming can allow you to set the exact amount of dog food for a meal to prevent overeating.
- Scheduling is the best-wanted feature of electronic food dispensers.
- Different designs to choose from.
Despite all the obvious benefits, there are some negatives points of this type:
- They need electricity to work.
- Setting up these devices can be difficult.
- Feeding your pup through the device only is not good for your bond.
Still, if you live a busy life outside, you need to arrange to feed your pets a healthy way. Consider buying the proper model of automatic feeder to be confident about it.
Devices that allow precise portions are great helpers for parents of obese dogs. You can’t give your pup unlimited access to food because your Fido will eat until he can and then again and again. This practice leads to overeating and obesity.