I am a pet lover, and always want to ensure that my pets have what they need to make their lives (and their feeding) a little easier. I currently own a German shepherd and a cat. (yes they live together and get along great, who would have thought?)
When we got our German shepherd puppy, I had originally bought your standard type of feeding bowls. The BIG stainless steal type. Knowing how a German Shepherd will eat as they grow, I knew I needed a larger set of bowls. We were currently taking care of my husband’s sisters dog which was an adult dog, and because he was living with us, she sent his feeding bowls with him. She had the Petmate Le Bistro Feeder for Cody. It’s a fairly good size one. It holds 10 pounds of dog food. We do not however use the water feeders. But instead just the usual water bowls.
We soon found that the puppy was eating the adult dog food from the Le Bistro feeder, and thought, okay he’s eating from there, then we don’t need to set out his usual bowls.
Our puppy loved being able to go and just help himself when he felt hungry. A year later Cody went to live with his mom again…. But she decided that because our dog was using the same feeder she would leave hers here for our dog. That was a great deal… We didn’t have to buy one, and our Shepherd ate fine from it. We have never ever had a problem with the feeder.
What is the Petmate Le Bistro Feeder all about?
First of all, it is a dog food serving dish, BUT it also stores the dog food, I’m sure you can see that from the picture. But what I like best about this feeder is that you can fill it. And then don’t worry about feeding the dog at all. The food storage part of the feeder is clear, so you can see when the food level is getting low, and then you just refill it…. Depending on how much your dog eats, will tell you how often you must refill your feeder. Like I said before, ours holds 10 pounds of food. I would estimate that we fill it once a week or so.
To Fill the Le Bistro Feeder
To fill the feeder all you have to do is simply remove the snap on plastic lid from the top, and pour the dog food into it. Snap the lid on again, and you’re all set for a while. The food will then fill up the bowl part that your pet eats from, and also fill up the reserve.
As the food bowl empties, more food just drops down and refills the bowl. I have seen the bowl be empty though, and the food just doesn’t fill the bowl again. It seems as though the slant that brings the food into the bowl isn’t made exactly right or something, and the food doesn’t always refill in the dish. You may have to give it a nudge or shake it a little bit, or sometimes I just sort of kick the bowl a little and the food will then drop down into the bowl. But the best part is, watching my dog nudge it himself. He walks into the kitchen and nudges the top of the feeder with his nose, and the food comes down… it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen. Because he will do that, but yet, he is not wanting to eat, but I think he must want to know that food is there when he’s ready for it. Crazy Dog!!!
Cleaning your feeder
Obviously with your pet eating out of this thing every day, it tends to get a little dirty and nasty looking, and it doesn’t always look so clean, so you may want to wash the bowl and the storage part of it every now and then. When you are ready to clean this unit it’s very very simple to do. The clear food storage area comes off of the base which is the bowl, and of course as I said before the lid on the top just pops off as well. You can wash all three pieces separately in a sink full of hot soapy water…. Like you would wash any other dish. I have also put mine in the dishwasher, I don’t know if they recommend doing that, but I have done it once….. It came out like new…. You just need to make sure you allow proper drying time.
If you don’t let it completely air dry before filling with food again, I think you can figure out what happens. The crumbs or whatever it may be gets stuck to the wet spots that are still there, and it cakes on making a mess all over again. Soooo, if you give it the proper drying time, and then refill you are good to go, and your pooch will be happy and go right for their food again.
My Thoughts
My thoughts on this feeder are great… I would recommend it to any pet owner. Although I am not sure I would really want this sort of thing for the giving of water. I had something similar for my cat at one time, but didn’t care for it. Not because it didn’t work, because it DID work, and worked very well. But I don’t know about you… but when you drink water, wouldn’t you rather have fresh water? Or would you want water that has sat out for a day or two??? I also found that the bowl part gets this nasty film in the bottom of it… YUCK…. I just would much rather stick with filling a pets water bowl with fresh water, no matter how many times a day you have to fill it… so that is why I don’t care for the water feeder…. It’s just NOT what I think my pets would enjoy.
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