Introduction
Sometimes you run across a product that just calls for you to get. The Petmate Le Bistro automatic feeder is just such a unit. My daughter bought one for her little doxie and once we saw it we had to have them for our dogs. We have two dachshunds that are about the same size so we bought two of them.
Description
Basically the feeder is a combination dog dish and automatic feeder. It runs on 3 D cell batteries that are installed in a battery compartment located in the base of the unit. There is also a power switch beside the battery door so you can insure there will not be an accidental operation of the unit until you are ready. The power switch can also be used to erase the current programming if you want to start the programming from scratch. So far we have had the units for about 6 months and have the same batteries in it. The frequency of feeding and the size of each meal will cause different degrees of battery drain. The manufacturer claims a one year battery life and there is not a power converter available for the unit.
Turning to the business end of the unit, there is an ample clear plastic hopper that will hold roughly a small bag worth of dry food. I recommend adding food when the hopper gets down to about a quarter full to prevent feeding of the food into the base being erratic as the food tends to sink in the middle and create a funnel looking pattern. Alternately you can shake the unit from time to time to level out the food in the hopper. I have heard that pellets food, like Iams, will work better than shaped foods like Little Friskies.
Below the hopper is the feeder which is a paddle wheel where the space between paddles will hold approximately a quarter cup of food. When the paddle wheel turns one division it will dump a quarter cup of food into the dish. A full cup is dispensed with each revolution of the paddle wheel. By the way, only dry food is to be used in the feeder, so if you feed canned or moist food, this feeder is not for you.
On the base of the unit under the hopper is the control panel that is used for programming the unit. It has a clear plastic door over the display and buttons to prevent accidental button pushing by your dogs nose, or children perhaps, when the door is in place. The controls consists of a LED display, three programming buttons and a low voltage indicator that will light when the batteries need changing.
Programming
Basically to program the unit you set the current time, the number of feedings you wish the unit to dispense per day (up to three) and the size of each feeding. Easy, right? Actually it is once you do it the first time successfully. Paying close attention to the instructions here, of course makes the job a breeze.
It is possible to force the feeder to manually dispense food as well, but once you start the feeder it will continue until you stop it, so I don't use that feature. My 2 year old grandson did once as he was able to get the feeder going (those kids are pretty smart) and we wound up with food all over the floor! He loves dog food by the way.
Operation
So far our units have operated flawlessly. The only issues I have is one that is not really a fault of the unit but rather the way we are using them. Try as I might I can not get them synchronized. Normally this would not be an issue, but with 2 dogs... Actually they have worked this out as each has their own dish and generally they won't eat out of the other's dish. The way it worked out the male's unit will drop food first and he will bark and run to the feeder to prevent the female from getting his food. More often than not he will wait the half minute or so until the other feeder drops before he will start eating. Such a gentleman.
The time on the units does drift some as the clocks in them are not very accurate. I set them to feed at 7:00 am and 4:00 pm and they are now feeding about 10 minutes early and I have to reset the time on one or the other from time to time to keep them both feeding within a minute or so of each other. This is a minor annoyance but it is still better than filling the bowls by hand. It would not be a problem with a single feeder other than having to reset the clock from time to time.
Cleaning
Basically the unit can be cleaned with a soft cloth moistened in mild, warm soapy water. The cloth should be wrung out so there is not excessive water applied to the parts. The hopper can be removed for cleaning, if desired. Actually other than the dish area, the unit does not get very dirty and a wiping out of the dish from time to time may be all that is required. After a year or so, I may modify this opinion though.
Conclusion
Overall we have been very happy with these units and it has eliminated the worry of our dogs going hungry if we get stuck somewhere and not at home to feed them. If you use dry food I would recommend this feeder.
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