Puzzle feeders for 3 dogs at different levels

Three dogs at different puzzle levels eating together is genuinely one of the trickier feeding setups — the advanced dog hoovers their bowl and moves straight onto the slow dog's feeder before they've barely started. Puzzle feeders do two really useful things here: they slow fast eaters (which cuts bloat risk and helps digestion) and give each dog mental work to do, but the difficulty gap between your three is the real challenge to solve. To point you in the right direction: what breeds and rough ages are the three dogs, are you mainly trying to prevent stealing or is enrichment also a goal, and how would you rate each dog's persistence when something is tricky?

That's a classic combination — the collie is your real headache because once they're done, nothing on the table is safe. Before I suggest anything, one quick question: are you feeding them in the same room, or could you separate them at mealtimes? The reason I ask is that even the best feeders can't fully solve a determined border collie who has physically finished eating and is standing next to a spaniel's bowl.

That's workable. The strategy I'd use is this: give the collie the hardest feeder you can find to genuinely occupy them for the full mealtime, give the lab a medium-difficulty feeder that matches their food motivation, and give the spaniel something easy enough that they stay engaged and finish quickly — a short mealtime for the spaniel actually helps here, because the less time their bowl is in play, the less opportunity for stealing. For the collie specifically, the one feeder that consistently holds clever dogs for 10-15 minutes is the Bob-A-Lot by StarMark. It's a weighted wobble feeder where kibble dispenses through a small hole, but you can adjust the difficulty via two separate openings — set it to hardest and a border collie has to knock it at precise angles, which takes real sustained effort. For the lab, a Nina Ottosson Dog Brick (level 2) is ideal — lots of sniffing and sliding, satisfies that food-obsessed brain without being so hard they cheat. And for the spaniel, a LickiMat Wobble or a simple slow feeder bowl keeps them engaged without the frustration risk. My primary recommendation for your specific problem is the StarMark Bob-A-Lot for the collie — it's the difference-maker in your setup.

They do get faster over time, yes — that's just what border collies do. The Bob-A-Lot has an advantage here because you can tighten the lower opening down, and at its smallest setting most dogs take quite a while even with practice. You can also wet the kibble slightly so it clumps a little inside, which slows dispensing without adding any calories. Realistically, you're looking at 8-12 minutes even for a collie who knows the game well, which should be enough for the spaniel to finish. If after a month or two they're cracking it under five minutes, the Kong Wobbler is a similar style but with a different motion that resets the learning curve. Think of it as your next upgrade when the time comes.

Go for the large — border collies are tall enough that the small version gets batted around awkwardly and they get frustrated for the wrong reasons. The large sits more stably, rocks with more resistance, and holds enough kibble for a full meal so you're not refilling mid-session. It's widely available on Amazon UK, usually around £15-18. Good choice pairing it with the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick for the lab — between those two you should get a much calmer mealtime.