Review for Programmable Automatic Dog Feeders

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

It does what I expected, auto feed seven cats.

Timer instructions were not easy to follow, but I finally mastered the timer. It does work great, and you regulate the amount of food and when to feed, by the time set to turn on and time set to turn off.

The feeder discharge door photo in the instructions were different than those on the feeder, suggesting I received the wrong feeder. The door design does not discharge food properly and jams. If unlatched (at bottom of door) it will allow the door to swing up, and properly discharge food without jamming. Had I not discovered this, I would have sent the unit back. I found nothing in the instructions addressing this. It has worked flawlessly for about two weeks after releasing the door latch.

I would have given five stars, with better (clearer) instructions on the timer, and trouble shooting guide for feeder discharge.

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

My dog is on a diet and it was great while I was out of town two days. He received his measured amount of food from the feeder during my absence. I will also use the feeder when I have to work late so he will receive his dinner on time. The timer is complicated but I figured it out after a couple of trys (read the instructions!) I like the timer because you can feed once, twice, or many times a day.

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

I have a cat that would eat until she passed out if I let her. She used to wake me up in the middle of the night to feed her. I hated giving into her, but it was the only way I could get any sleep.

I purchased the small one for her and this thing made my life so much better. She now lays in front of it and waits instead of bothering me. I've found that she was able to stick her tiny little paw up in a small opening to get extra food to come out, but all she was doing was robbing from her next feeding. Eventually, I just put tape over the opening and now she paws at it but doesn't succeed at knocking any food out.

Mine did not come with a manual, but I was able to find it online. I feared programming after reading complaints from others, but it turned out it was extremely easy. I've had this product for about 6 months now with no problems and I highly recommend it.

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

I use it to feed my ouside cats when I am away. Racoons are able to unscrew lid to get to food. I would like to see container made out of glass instead of plastic to prevent invasive animals from getting into it, and a locking lid. I would not recommend using it as I have without securing it.

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

I use this for my large lab. First try, he knocked it over and ate 10lbs of food. UGH. I now have it attached to the house under my eave and it works wonderfully. He has food for a week or more if needed and it keeps him from being bored. I set it to feed for 1 minute several times daily so he watches for it. Since its up high, the food falls all over and he gets to search and have play time while eating.

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

More and more vets emphasize the need to feed only the proper amount of food, the correct number of times a day, to help prevent pet obesity and diabetes. OK, but who is able to stay home and measure out food multiple times a day? This pet feeder is like a pet care assistant, helping you keep your pet happy and healthy, without a lot of extra hassle. Just program it, keep the food bin topped up and you’re set!

Comments about AUTO PET FEEDER LRG:

Pros:
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- Works as Advertised: Once you get it set up and programmed correctly, the feeder works as expected
- Good Length Power Cord: The power cord that's included is a good length so you don't need to place the feeder in front of an A/C outlet

Cons:
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- Difficult to Program: The timer that's included with the feeder is difficult to program. The instructions are useful but left a lot of unanswered questions I had to discover through trial and error. The instructions could be improved.
- Unpredictable amount of food: I can run the feeder for a fixed amount of time several iterations and the amount of food that comes out can vary each time.
- Works better with larger food granules: We use ours with cat food and the granules are on the smaller side. Because the cat granules are small, I can make more food come out of the feeder just by shaking it (but the cat doesn't know this yet)
- Need to fill the feeder with extra food even for short term use: Because the feeder relies on food falling into the chamber, you need to keep a lot of food in the storage bin so that there is food that falls into the bottom chamber where the corkscrew spins to send food out to the tray. We end up having to put more food into the storage bin so enough is available to fall into the bottom chamber.
- No way to dump food from storage bin: After putting more food than necessary into the storage bin (see point above) it becomes necessary to dump the food out of the storage bin and there is no easy way to dump any food out of the pet feeder. You can turn it upside down but there is a grating that makes it hard to dump any extra food in the bin.