Slow Feeder Plate Orange

Every slow feeder is an argument about the same problem: a dog that inhales dinner in eleven seconds. The usual answer is a maze the dog has to chase its food around, and the people behind this one think that answer is wrong — that a dog which can neither see nor reach its dinner gets frustrated rather than slowed down.

So this is a plate rather than a bowl. The larger flat surface means the whole meal stays in plain sight and nothing has to be hunted for; the measure is spread out into lots of small shallow pockets, which turns one meal into a run of mini meals eaten one at a time. The clever part is what happens when the dog tries to cheat: go for two pockets at once and the food simply falls out of the open mouth, so the shape does the slowing rather than an obstacle course. It measures 35 x 26cm, is made from non-toxic food grade PP, and is stated as suitable for meals up to 2 cups or 500ml.

• 35 x 26cm plate rather than a bowl
• Meal spread into many small shallow pockets, all of it in plain sight
• Holds up to 2 cups, or 500ml
• Made from non-toxic food grade PP
• Designed so a dog going at two pockets at once drops the food

500ml is the ceiling, and on a big dog that is the whole question. Check what your dog's actual meal measures before ordering, because a large dog on a full portion may need two sittings or two plates. Nothing supplied to us says whether it is dishwasher safe, whether the underside grips a hard floor, or whether it works with wet food as well as dry — and a wide, light plate with shallow pockets is exactly the shape that travels across a kitchen when pushed. Worth saying too that no feeder fixes every fast eater: a dog gulping because there is another dog in the room needs the room changed, not the plate.

Who it's for: owners of a dry-fed gulper, dogs who have already been given a maze bowl and made their feelings about it clear, and anyone who wants something that washes up like a plate rather than like a puzzle.