Outward Hound Slow Feeder Review: The Bowls That Slowed Down My Lab Mixes
I have had five dogs over the years that were either pure Labrador Retrievers or Lab mixes, and every one of them ate like a pig.
That is not a scientific statement about the breed. It is a very consistent observation from my house. The bowls became one part of a broader dog routine that also includes watching which chew bones the dogs actually choose and using crates that have lasted for years.
Some of mine would eat so fast that they started making snorting sounds while trying to swallow everything at once. That is what eventually sent me looking for a bowl that could force a little patience into dinner.
The Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowls worked.
My short version: I bought these for two of my Lab mixes because normal bowls let them inhale their food. The maze-style bowls genuinely slowed them down. I recommend them for dogs that eat faster than their bodies seem prepared to handle. My main complaint is cleanup: all those grooves can be a pain in the neck.
My Outward Hound slow-feeder experience at a glance
- Why I bought them: Two Lab mixes were eating far too quickly from regular bowls
- Did they slow the dogs down: Yes
- Would I recommend them: Yes
- Main drawback: The maze grooves take more effort to clean than a regular bowl
- Amazon history: Large/Regular purple bowl in 2023; Medium/Mini purple bowl in 2025
Why I went looking for a slow feeder
A normal dog bowl is almost too efficient for a dog that believes the point of dinner is to make it disappear before anyone notices.
My Lab mixes would gulp food so quickly that I could hear snorting and see that they were trying to swallow faster than was comfortable.
I wanted something that would physically slow down the process without requiring me to hand-feed every meal or stand there playing traffic cop over the bowl.
The maze really did slow them down
The Outward Hound bowl uses raised ridges and maze-like channels so the dog cannot simply bury its face in a pile of kibble and vacuum everything straight down.
Outward Hound currently markets the Fun Feeder line around the same idea and says the designs can make dogs take significantly longer to eat. I did not time my dogs with a stopwatch, so I am not going to repeat a marketing number as if I measured it myself.
What I can say is that the difference was obvious. My dogs ate more slowly.
I have seen the same Lab appetite again and again
I have had five pure or mixed Labs over the years, and the enthusiasm around food has been remarkably consistent.
The two dogs I bought these bowls for are not the only dogs in the world that eat too fast, obviously. But if you have a Lab or another dog that treats dinner as a competitive event, you probably know the behavior I mean.
These bowls turned dinner from a straight gulp into something the dog had to work around.
The downside: those grooves need cleaning
The maze that slows the dog down is also the thing that makes the bowl more annoying to clean.
I normally try to spray the bowls out thoroughly after use. That is what I do, not a cleaning instruction I am asking anybody else to follow.
The useful part is that Outward Hound currently says its Fun Feeder bowls are top-rack dishwasher safe. That is worth knowing because a regular open bowl is much easier to wipe out by hand than a maze full of corners.
Size matters more than I originally thought
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My Amazon history shows that I bought a Large/Regular purple Fun Feeder in 2023 and a Medium/Mini purple one in 2025.
Outward Hound currently sells the line in multiple sizes and maze patterns. I would pay attention to both the amount of food you normally serve and the size of the dog’s muzzle rather than simply buying the biggest bowl.
I am not going to tell you which current pattern is universally best because I have not bought and tested every version.
What I would tell another dog owner
If your dog eats at a normal pace, this may just be extra dishwashing for no reason.
If your dog turns every meal into a speed event, I think the concept is excellent. In my house, the bowls did exactly the thing I bought them to do: they slowed down two dogs that were eating far too quickly.
I also appreciate that the solution is passive. I put the food in the bowl and the shape of the bowl does the work.
Would I buy the Outward Hound slow feeder again?
Yes.
They are not exciting pieces of technology. They are oddly shaped dog bowls. But they solved a real problem in my house, and that is usually the kind of purchase I end up liking the most.
Outward Hound Fun Feeder FAQ
Do Outward Hound slow feeders actually slow dogs down?
They slowed my two Lab mixes down noticeably. I did not time meals or calculate a percentage, so I would describe the result simply: the dogs could no longer gulp the meal from an open bowl at the same speed.
Are slow-feeder bowls good for Labradors?
They have been useful with my Lab mixes, and I have owned five pure or mixed Labs over the years that all showed a lot of enthusiasm for food. That is personal experience, not a claim that every Labrador needs one.
Are Outward Hound slow feeders hard to clean?
They are more annoying to clean than a regular bowl because food can get into the maze grooves. Outward Hound currently says the Fun Feeder bowls are top-rack dishwasher safe.
Which sizes did you buy?
My Amazon history shows a Large/Regular purple Fun Feeder purchased in 2023 and a Medium/Mini purple version purchased in 2025.
Would you recommend one for a dog that inhales food?
Yes. That is exactly why I bought mine, and they genuinely slowed my dogs down.
Pet-health note: This article describes what I observed with my own dogs. If your dog coughs, chokes, regurgitates, has abdominal swelling, or has another feeding or digestive concern, ask your veterinarian rather than treating a bowl as medical care.