For a dog that lives outdoors, what usually works best is an outdoor programmable feeder: it gives the serving on time, keeps the dry food sealed and stands up to rain. A self-feed hopper only suits a dog that doesn't overeat, and an app-controlled or camera feeder is designed for indoors. We're writing this from the workshop, knowing full well that we make one of the three.
How do a self-feed hopper, an app-controlled feeder and a programmable one differ?
- The self-feed hopper is a container that keeps releasing dry food into a bowl as the dog eats. The dog eats whenever it wants and as much as it wants.
- The app-controlled feeder is a small motorised dispenser you program from your phone, almost always over wifi and sometimes with a camera.
- The outdoor programmable feeder releases a serving at each time you set on its own timer, with no phone, and keeps the rest of the dry food sealed in the hopper.
The table sums up what really differs between the three types of feeder.
| Self-feed hopper | App-controlled feeder | Outdoor programmable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides the serving | The dog | You, from your phone | You, on the timer |
| Food within reach of mice and birds | All day, in the bowl | Little, as it usually goes indoors | Only the serving that has just dropped |
| What it needs to work | Nothing | Socket or batteries, and wifi for the app | Socket or battery |
| Where it's designed to go | Indoors or outdoors | Indoors | Outdoors, all year round |
| See the dog from your phone | No | Yes, if it has a camera | No |
Does a self-feed hopper make a dog overeat?
It depends on the dog, and you don't know until it shows in its weight. The nutrition guidelines of the WSAVA, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, put it this way: some dogs maintain good body condition when fed free choice, and others need meals in measured amounts. The same guidelines call for measuring the food even when it's left out free choice.
With a self-feed hopper, the dog decides the serving. A dog that regulates itself comes to no harm. A greedy dog, though, can eat as much as it wants from the hopper, which isn't the same as what it needs. If you already use a hopper, keep an eye on the dog's weight and body condition with your vet: it's the only way to know whether that particular dog regulates itself.
What happens with an open hopper if there are several dogs?
With food always out, there's no way of knowing how much each dog eats, and some dogs guard their food from other dogs, as a Texas A&M AgriLife factsheet on guardian dogs notes. The WSAVA guidelines include reducing competition for food among the management changes they propose.
With servings at set times, on the other hand, you can see who eats and who's left watching. The double version of a Producan feeder dispenses the same serving at once through two outlets on opposite sides of the hopper, but it doesn't give each dog a different serving. How to organise meals for several dogs is covered separately.
Does a self-feed hopper attract mice?
A bowl of dry food out at all hours is easy food for mice, rats and birds. That's why the CDC, the US public health agency, advises in its rodent control guidance putting pet food away once pets have finished and not leaving food or water bowls out overnight.
A programmable feeder doesn't leave the dry food out in the open: the serving drops on time and the rest stays inside the sealed hopper. Whatever the dog doesn't finish does stay in the bowl, so it's best to set servings it will eat in one go. How to store dry food in damp and heat is explained separately.
Is an app-controlled or camera feeder any good for a dog that lives outdoors?
Hardly ever. An app-controlled feeder needs wifi that reaches where the dog eats, power nearby and a sheltered spot. If its product page doesn't state a numbered IP rating, the unit isn't designed for rain. Its hopper is usually small, and the guide to choosing an automatic dog feeder works out how many days each size lasts.
An app-controlled feeder makes sense indoors, with a small or medium dog and someone who wants to watch it from their phone. That's not what we do: a Producan feeder has no app, no wifi and no camera, and it's set on the unit's own panel.
When is an outdoor programmable feeder the right choice?
When the dog lives outdoors and someone has to decide how much it eats even when they're not there. A programmable feeder splits the daily serving into the feeds you set, and a Producan feeder's timer allows up to 30 feeds a day. How many times a day a dog should eat is explained separately.
What it doesn't do, put plainly: a Producan feeder doesn't dispense to the gram, because it releases the serving by opening time and doesn't weigh it. If your dog needs an exact serving on the vet's instructions, you want an auger dispenser. The gravity feed versus auger comparison explains why.
Nor does it do the job of whoever checks on the dog. Why an automatic dog feeder doesn't replace a person is covered separately.
If the dog lives in a yard or on a smallholding with a socket nearby, the Producan P1 runs on 220 V. If there's no power where the feeder is going, the Producan P3 has an internal 12 V battery and lasts around 3 months with 4 feeds a day. Both have the same galvanised steel hopper: 40 L, around 15 kg of dry food, with IP65 protection.