As I was driving my normal 32 minute route to work this morning, in the black dark, pouring rain (please, oh please, someone make it stop raining) it occurred to me that this was a perfect blogging opportunity. Two things I’m happy about this morning:
- I filled the automatic feeder Sunday, so I didn’t have to go outside in the cold this morning to fill a dog food bowl.
- I know I don’t have to spend my day worrying whether the food left in the bowl will be good and soggy by the time I get home at the end of the day.
OK, so I know I’m partial – but it’s legitimate partiality. The automatic feeder really is a great alternative to filling up a traditional dog food bowl. I talked myself into it – I’ll go ahead and recommend it (highly).
Here’s what I’ve done with my automatic feeder:
It’s mounted to the wall of my covered porch. I have the 25 pound feeder (the medium feeder) – which holds approximately 50 cups of dry dog food. My dog eats about 4 cups per day, so I put fresh food in the automatic feeder about once every eight to ten days. Much easier than filling up a dog food bowl every morning – especially considering my tendency to get to work right in the nick of time. Been there?
Since it’s constructed of galvanized steel, it doesn’t require weekly cleaning like a plastic dog food bowl would, but I choose to clean it every few weeks. I just wash it down with dishwashing soap and rinse with the water hose. Very easy maintenance – another thing I like. I also like that I don’t have to look for the crazy bowl every night when I get home. I haven’t had this problem per se, but my friend has. I’m not sure if it’s a game, or out of frustration, but until recently there was a scavenger hunt at the end of every day – trying to figure out where the dog food bowl ended up. Always found – not always in one piece (another good reason for a metal feeder).
Now, don’t get me wrong, just because I don’t spend time filling up the dog food bowl every morning, doesn’t mean I don’t spend time with my dog. I do. In fact, I probably get to spend more time, since by the time I’m up and ready to play, he’s already finished eating. A big change from the days of getting jumped on every morning while he impatiently waited for me to fill his bowl (another story, another day).