With your pets, it is just as important to have good habits around feeding routines as it is to feed a nutritionally balanced diet.

Wild animals have to work for their food, and it makes sense to do the same for our pets. Designing games and tricks to slow the feeding process keeps feeding time fun and interesting. It also stops them from gorging on their food. There are many ways to achieve this, such as maze bowls.

It is also recommended that dogs are walked or played with before getting food, to take the focus off of feeding time for those very “food-orientated” dogs. These dogs also benefit from being asked to “sit” or “wait” before being allowed to eat.

While most dogs are fine with being fed together, cats are solitary hunters and often prefer to be fed alone. It is common to find that one cat will dominate the food bowl, causing other cats to miss out on their full meal. Also, with separate feeding, cats at different lifestages or with different health problems can be fed different diets.