Automatic feeder for Chow Chow switching to dry kibble

Switching a 6-year-old Chow Chow from wet pouches to dry kibble is a meaningful change — and it does mean your old feeding setup won't work anymore. With an automatic dry food feeder, the most important things to get right are portion accuracy, mechanical reliability, and ease of cleaning. Cheap feeders jam on larger kibble, drop wildly inconsistent amounts, and the hoppers are often impossible to clean thoroughly, which becomes a real hygiene issue over time. Before I point you to the right feeder, can I ask: is this switch primarily for portion control, a work schedule, or travel? And is it just the one Chow Chow you're feeding?

That makes good sense. Portion control with a consistent two-meal schedule is exactly what an automatic feeder handles well. A couple of things matter specifically for Nala: Chow Chows have quite deep jaws and a tendency to eat quickly, so you want a feeder with a wide, accessible bowl rather than a narrow chute dispenser. You also want one that doesn't let her sniff around or paw at the hopper between meals — some dogs figure out how to nudge more food out. What size kibble has the vet or food brand recommended? Small, medium, or large pieces? That affects which feeders will dispense reliably without jamming.

Medium kibble is the sweet spot for automatic feeders — reliable dispensing, no jamming issues. And if Nala is calm around the feeder, you don't need a lockable or microchip-triggered model, which simplifies things. For exactly what you're describing — two precise meals a day, one calm medium-breed dog, owner away during the day — I'd recommend the PetSafe Smart Feed Automatic Pet Feeder (the 24-cup / 2.8-litre version, available on Amazon UK). Here's why it fits Nala's situation well: it dispenses in precise 1/8-cup increments so you can match the vet's exact recommendation, the hopper and bowl both detach and are dishwasher safe which matters a lot for hygiene when switching from wet food habits, and it has a slow-feed 'meal dispense' option that trickles the kibble out over a few minutes if Nala tends to bolt her food. It connects via Wi-Fi so you can adjust portions or timing from your phone if the vet tweaks her diet plan. It's well-built, genuinely reliable, and widely available on Amazon UK for around £130–£150.

Not at all — the PetSafe app walks you through it in a few steps, and once it's set up you rarely need to touch it. You just set the two meal times and portion sizes once, and it runs on that schedule every day. The main thing to stay on top of is keeping the hopper topped up and giving the bowl and chute a weekly wash — both of which are straightforward because everything removable is dishwasher safe. For Nala's weight management goal, having that consistent, measured routine without any manual involvement on your part is genuinely going to make a difference.

You're welcome — good luck with the transition. One practical tip: introduce the dry kibble gradually over a week or two mixed with her current wet food, even if the feeder is already running, so her digestion adjusts. The feeder itself will handle everything else reliably once it's set up.