The Best Automatic Dog Feeders of 2019

Discover the Best Automatic Dog Feeders For Your Pet

Work or travel can make specific feeding schedules difficult to maintain for your dog. As pet parents, we want to make sure our dogs are loved and well taken care of, but sometimes you need a little help! We're busy, always on the go, and use our smartphones constantly… so why not use technology to make feeding your dog easier as well? The automated feeders listed below offer convenience and an easy way to reduce everyday stress (for you and your dog!). 

These are some of the top automatic pet feeders, for dogs of all sizes, multipet households and everything inbetween. 

Editor's pick: Automatic Smart Pet Feeder by FEED'EM – 
HD Video Camera, 2-Way Voice Interaction, Battery Backup, Easy WiFi Connection, Smartphone Application

Sponsored

Key Features:

• Automatic Feeding at the exact time you specify
• HD Camera and 2-way audio for seeing and talking to your dog
• Up to 4 custom-scheduled meals a day and portion control
• Free Mobile application
• Feeding options are completely controllable from the app and can be adjusted from anywhere with internet or mobile connection
• Easy to clean
• Battery backup in case of power outage

Overview:

The Smart Pet Feeder by FEED'EM is the perfect solution to making sure your dog doesn’t get lonely while you’re at work, or away for long periods of time.

This feeder has all the features we’re hoping for in a futuristic, automatic dog food dispenser! The Smart Pet Feeder connects to your home wifi, has an HD camera (1028*790p) with a 130 degree-wide angle lens, 2-way audio to hear and speak to your dog, and you can schedule feeding times and portions from a free app on your smartphone. This means your dog’s diet is being controlled, you can see exactly what your dog is up to at home with the wide-lens camera, and you can record your voice for mealtimes, or chat live with your pup!

Schedule up to 4 automatic meals a day with the exact portion-size your dog needs (from 10g to 100g), or use manual feeding through the app. All feeding statistics are in the app and you can access them anywhere 24/7. You’ll also receive a pop-up notification on your smartphone when food will be delivered. The feeder comes with both a power adapter and battery backup in case of power outages, so it will continue to work for up to 10 days on the previously scheduled automatic feeding even if the wifi isn’t working.

There’s 4.5L of storage for dry food in the feeder and both the bowl and the storage container can be removed to easily wash.

Price: $139.00 with Free 3-day shipping to the US & Canada. 

Helpful Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great machine with caring customer service

December 15, 2018 – Verified Purchase

Such a great product, love it!!! It helps a lot during the day time I'm out. You can control the time and portion so that your fluffy friend can have a better diet. And I want to say the customer service is extremely good and helpful. They reply so fast and provide a helpful solution. The most professional and caring customer service I ever met. – Nikki

5.0 out of 5 stars Game changer

January 3, 2019 – Verified Purchase

This item solved a lot of our problems. We have a very high maintenance cat, and we had tried other manual feeders only to have her break into them. This is awesome. Not just a manual feeder but also basically a babysitter for our cat. I've had it for 6 months and no problems. Love how easy it is to use the app! – Danielle

Best Automatic Dog Feeder for Large Dogs: WOpet 7L Automatic Pet Feeder Food Dispenser

Key Features:

• Up to 4 feedings a day, with up to 4.5 cups of dry food per feeding
• Recordable message for your voice to play at mealtimes
• Large storage compartment can hold up to 20 cups of food
• Dishwasher friendly feeding tray

Overview:

WOpet’s Automatic Feeder is our choice for big dogs because the storage compartment can hold a lot of dry food and the auto-feeder can dispense large portions. An LED program panel at the top is used to schedule up to 4 feedings a day and the portion sizes can be customized from 2 teaspoons to 4.5 cups.  The feeder comes with a power adapter and can use batteries for backup in case of power outages. Overall the design is simple and sleek, with a removable storage and food-tray section that are easy to clean.

Since food getting stuck is always a concern, this feeder also has infrared detection to prevent food from spilling or getting stuck. The main caution is to make sure the kibble you’re loading is the correct size (0.2-0.6 inches in diameter) so it fits through the dispenser properly.

Price: $89.95

Helpful Review:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great unit! My big dog loves it!

August 19, 2018 – Verified Purchase

Love this feeder! There’s only a couple little “quirks” to know before you purchase though.. 1) it’s programmed in military time (24:00)… know the conversion. Lol ! 2) the meal serving measurements are a bit difficult. With trial and error, i learned! I’ll make it easy for you as another reviewer did-each “serving” is TINY. 12 servings equals about 2 cups of food. I’m using the larger auger as I have a big dog that eats bigger kibble. He gets 6 “servings” at 6:30am, 8 servings at noon and 12 servings at dinner time around 6:30pm. 3) when recording your voice – the tiny pinhole next to the “MIC” button IS the microphone- try not to cover it with your finger while pressing to record or you’ll be very muffled. 4) if you’re using the cable to plug it into the wall-the wall plug the unit comes with sticks out from the wall pretty far. I swapped out the one it comes with and use my iPhone wall cube instead. Overall, I love this unit! It’s helping to keep my Blackmouth Cur’s weight where it needs to be. He’s no longer gorging himself on one big bowl of food once or twice a day-he now gets smaller portions throughout the day. A great buy! –CC’s Mom

Best Dog Food Dispenser for Wet Food: Cat Mate C20 2 Bowl Pet Feeder with Ice Pack

Key Features:

• Good for small/medium dogs or cats
• Schedules one or two meals with simple flap opening
• Space below feeder bowl for an ice pack to keep wet food from spoiling

Overview:

Automatic feeders for wet food are tricky because the wet food needs to stay cold to keep it from going bad and potentially making your dog ill. We recommend Cat Mate’s automatic feeder for wet food because there are only two sections for feeding, which means there’s less time that food will be sitting out of the fridge. The food bowls are dishwasher friendly and each bowl can hold up to 1 pound (450 grams) of food. The ice pack section in the bottom is also great idea to keep your dog’s food fresh if you’re away for longer periods during the day.

If you have a very aggressive dog or a cat who’ll try to get into the dog’s food, this feeder might not be the best option since the flaps have been reviewed to come open with brute dog force.

Price: $69.99 on Amazon

Helpful Review:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ice Pak is the greatest!

August 22 – Verified Purchase

The Cat Mate C-20 Automatic Pet Feeder is the best. I have two of them, one for my cat and one for my small dog. I refridgerate their wet food so I can leave the food with the ice pak up to eight hours. I know the wet food won't go bad by the time I change it for the next day.Remember, cats eat at Sunrise and Sunset. Of course I leave the hard food out in the Van Ness Auto Feeder on a counter so the dog won't eat it and cats like to jump anyway. I leave water in the VanNess Auto Water Feeder for both of them and water in a dish in another room on a table. And last but not least my cat has two litter pans, but one is an Automatic Litter Pan Cleaner. She loves it! — Oreo Eimer

Best Automatic Dog Feeder for Multiple Pets: SureFeed – Microchip Pet Feeder

Key Features:

• Microchip operated pet feeder that only opens when the correct pet comes to eat
• Great for a multi-pet household or pet on a prescription diet
• For small dogs or cats

Overview:

This feeder is meant for a multi-pet household where a dog or cat is on a special diet and needs to be fed prescription food, without others stealing their meals. The feeder flap opens by either registering the RFID collar tag that comes with the feeder, or your pet’s microchip ID. This means that it’s usable by either a microchipped pet, or one that wears a collar with the RFID tag. The flap opens when the correct pet comes to eat and then closes when the pet leaves, so it’s a great design for dogs (or cats) that like to graze. The design is simple and useful for reducing mealtime stress.

Price: $149.99

Helpful Review:

5.0 out of 5 stars  Great product; Fantastic Customer Service!

February 13, 2019 – Verified Purchase

We have two cats and a dog. The cats ate each other's food, resulting in one fat cat and one skinny cat. The dog also couldn't help herself – cat food is so smelly! These feeders really work! One feeder works based on the included tag we attached to one cat's collar. The other feeder works on the other cat's microchip. We have absolutely no complaints. Each animal only gets the food that belongs to him or her.
One of the feeders stopped recognizing the one cat's microchip, and SureFlap sent us a troubleshooting kit free of charge. When the kit showed the chip reader in the feeder was defective, the company sent us a brand new feeder, also free of charge, and that one works perfectly! We are very grateful for the high level of customer support we experienced with this company. We recommend them and their products! — redruffian007

Best Budget Self-Dispensing Dog Feeder: Self-Dispensing Gravity Pet Feeder and Waterer

Key Features:

• Gravity-dispensing food and water containers with large bowl
• 2.5 gallon capacity for each
• Simple, affordable and easy to clean

Overview:

If you’re looking for something simple to keep food constantly on hand for your pets, the Amazon Budget Gravity Pet Feeder is a great option. Fill the storage bottles with food or water and screw into the base for an ongoing supply during the day without any scheduling or programming. Hand wash the bottles and allow to fully air dry before adding more food into them so mold or mildew doesn’t grow in your dog’s food.

This option is great for pets who can self-regulate their eating habits, but be careful if your dog constantly wants to eat because it can easily lead to obesity.

Price: $29.99 for the Feeder and Waterer.

Helpful Review:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Boxer Babies Love It!

July 4, 2018 – Verified Purchase

I bought this set a few days ago, since the one I had cracked. I had that one for 8+ years. I thought the previous one I had was great, but this one is MUCH better. The water jug actually has a spout on it, to hold the water & the base that holds the water is much larger than my other one. My previous one did not have a spout and the opening was smaller, so some days it was a challenge just to get the jug on the base. I would pray that the water jug got on the base the first try, without any spillage. I didn’t really need the food dispenser, but since it was a set & pretty good deal, I replaced the food dispenser as well. I highly recommend this pet feeder & waterer! I recommend at least the waterer to pet owners. My Boxers drink a lot of water, so this helps out quite a bit. I clean mine out with soap & water twice a week, since I have droolers! I also add ice to the jug. When I first got it, I put ice in the base opening & my puppy was entertained for hours! I don’t recommend that unless, you like cleaning up pools of water! This is a good buy & I highly recommend it! — Wendy

Best Timed Dog Feeder: Healthy Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder from PetSafe

Key Features:

• Program up to 12 meals a day with 1/8 cup to 4 cups per feeding
• Slow Feed Mode available to stop dogs from eating too fast
• Uses conveyor system to accommodate dry and semi-moist foods of varying sizes and shapes
• Dishwasher-safe parts for easy cleaning

Overview:

This automatic feeder has a lot of scheduling options for multiple pet households or pets that need smaller amounts of food more frequently. Their conveyor belt works with most dry and semi-moist foods (not wet food) as the belt scoops food from storage in portions to measure it out. The storage area contains up to 24 cups of food and locks at the top to ensure dog-proofing. The feeder is battery operated but has an option for purchasing a power adapter separately, which is a good option to save on battery power.

When first setting up the feeder, make sure you put food into the conveyor belt as well, otherwise it takes up to 6 scheduled feedings for the belt to actually drop food out. The feeder also comes with a stainless steel bowl.

Price: $134.99 on Amazon

Helpful Review:

5.0 out of 5 stars READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!!

January 17, 2019 – Verified Purchase

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!!

I can’t stress this enough. I made the mistake of skimming the instructions because I was so tired after work, and that was a huge mistake. You have to go step by step. The directions to program really aren’t that bad. They go over everything step by step. Once you get it all set up it’s great!! I previously owned the Petsafe 5 meal feeder and it lasted me years. Because of this I stuck with their brand. It was a lot more money than I wanted to spend, but it’s worth it. I love that i can feed her more often with less portion and not have to remember to fill it up so often. Some have mentioned that their cat doesn’t like the dish that comes with it, but I didn’t have that experience. Mine eats out of it fine. It is a bigger bowl tho and more sized for a dog bowl. I’ll keep it for now tho since she doesn’t seem to mind. Other reviews show other options of bowls if needed. It’s noisy, but not overly loud. I would highly recommend this product!! — Krista

What is your favorite automatic dog feeder?

*We promote only the best information and products for our readers, some of which give Modern Dog a small amount when you purchase. Thank you for your support!