Locked automatic feeder for Bloodhounds

A Bloodhound who counter-surfs and opens cupboards is a genuine engineering challenge — standard automatic feeders won't last five minutes with a dog like that. The most important things in any feeder are portion accuracy, mechanical reliability, and ease of cleaning, because cheap ones jam, dispense random amounts, and harbour bacteria in crevices you can't reach. For your situation, you've got an additional hard requirement: physical security. Before I point you in the right direction, tell me — is this just for the Bloodhound, roughly how much does he eat per meal, and is the main goal keeping him out of the feeder between scheduled meals, or are you also trying to manage his total daily intake?

Right, so the core need is physical tamper-resistance combined with portion control — those two things together narrow the field significantly. A few quick questions: does he eat wet food, dry kibble, or a mix? And are you mostly at home when he eats, or does he need to self-serve while you're out?

Dry kibble is actually the easier case — it flows cleanly and you get consistent portions. The challenge with large, determined dogs is that most feeders are built for cats or small dogs and will fail mechanically under any real pressure. For your Bloodhound, I'd go with the PetSafe Smart Feed Automatic Pet Feeder for Dogs and Cats — the version with the lockable lid and app control. It handles kibble up to large breed size, dispenses in precise meal portions down to 1/8 cup increments which is exactly what you need for a dog you're managing weight on, and the hopper lid locks with a physical twist-lock that a dog cannot nose or paw open. You control meal times and portion sizes via the app, and it'll send you alerts if a meal is dispensed or if the hopper runs low. The motor is robust enough for large kibble without jamming — that's where cheaper feeders fail. It also slow-feeds by trickling the portion over a few minutes, which is genuinely useful for a Bloodhound at risk of bloat.

Fair challenge to raise — the PetSafe Smart Feed uses a twist-lock on the hopper lid rather than a push-button or simple clip, which removes the lever action a dog exploits with cupboard latches. A dog cannot grip and rotate simultaneously in the way a human hand does. Where I'd add caution: the unit itself is lightweight enough that a determined 45kg Bloodhound could knock it over, so I'd place it in a corner, against a wall, or use the optional wall-mount bracket. The dispensing bowl is separate and open, but by the time kibble is in the bowl it's already portioned — he can eat what's there, he just can't access the reservoir. That's the right separation for your situation.

Yes — the bowl and the dispensing chute both detach and are dishwasher safe, which is the minimum standard I'd hold any feeder to. The hopper itself you wipe down rather than submerge, but for dry kibble that's fine because it's not accumulating wet residue. I'd suggest a full clean every one to two weeks on that schedule. One last practical note: Bloodhounds are scent-driven to a degree most breeds aren't, so even a properly locked feeder will be a constant point of interest for him. Keep the unit clean and don't let stale kibble dust build up on the outside — it'll reduce the obsessive attention somewhat.