Automatic feeder for overweight Labrador

A Labrador gaining weight at every checkup is a real concern — Labs are famously food-motivated and will overeat given any opportunity, so portion accuracy isn't a nice-to-have here, it's the whole point. Cheap feeders dispense inconsistent amounts, jam unpredictably, and are a nightmare to clean, which just adds stress to what your vet is already flagging. Before I point you toward something specific: how much is your Lab currently eating per day, and do you know the target daily calorie or gram amount your vet has given you to work toward?

That double-feeding problem is extremely common in households with two people, and it's exactly what an automatic feeder solves — once it's dispensed the meal, that's it, no ambiguity. The other thing worth knowing: at 280g split into two, you need a feeder that can reliably dispense 140g of dry kibble to within a few grams, not one that approximates by the scoop. How large is the kibble? Some Labs are on large-breed pieces which can cause issues with smaller dispensing mechanisms.

Perfect — medium kibble flows well through most quality feeders, and the Royal Canin Labrador pieces are a good consistent size. For your situation I'd go with the PetSafe Smart Feed Automatic Pet Feeder. It connects to Wi-Fi and has a proper app where you set meals by gram weight, you can see the feeding history so you know exactly whether a meal went out, and you can both have the app installed — which directly solves the double-feeding issue because you'll each see it's already been done. The hopper holds around 1.4kg of dry food, it's genuinely easy to disassemble and wash, and the dispensing mechanism handles medium kibble reliably. It's not the cheapest feeder out there, but for a dog on a vet-prescribed calorie limit it's worth spending on something accurate. Available on Amazon UK for around £120-£130.

It's accurate to within roughly 5-10% on dry kibble of that size, so you might see 136g-144g rather than exactly 140g — that's typical of any auger-style dispenser and is clinically fine for weight management purposes. Where people run into trouble is with very small or very large kibble, or with wet food, none of which apply to you. One practical tip: weigh out a few test portions manually when you first set it up to confirm the calibration is close, then you can adjust the gram setting slightly if needed. Over a week the cumulative accuracy is good enough that your vet will be able to track a clear trend at the next checkup.

You're in a good position — you have a clear gram target, a consistent kibble, and a straightforward household problem that this feeder will fix. Get both you and your partner set up on the app before the first feed so you each get the confirmation notification. Combined with the calorie reduction, you should see a meaningful difference by the next checkup. Good luck with him.