★★★★★ 3
Good contruction but needs a couple revisions
Size: Small, Number of Items: 1
Searching for an interactive toy to feed my beagle his meals from, I first tried the
. It split open too easily in rough play and only had the capacity to hold half of a meal.
Next I tried
for it's larger capacity but it broke at the lid (to Premier's credit they replaced it but I feared it would simply break again).
Now on to the Bob-A-Lot. This is a heavy, well made product. I was surprised by the weight. My dog can pick it up but can't carry it for very long. I feel it's not going to break like the others did. That said, the extra weight makes it a noisy toy especially on hard wood floors.
The small Bob-A-Lot holds a little over 1 cup of food (large holds 3 cups) but there is a caveat. This is the capacity of the lower chamber. There is actually a separate chamber in the top of the toy that only holds about quarter cup. As a result I have to shake and shake the toy myself to get the food to drop into the lower chamber to load in a complete meal. It's either that or insert food 1 piece of kibble at a time. I wish this toy screwed apart like the IQ Treat Ball or Tug-A-Jug. Despite it's appearance, it does NOT screw apart in the middle.
Also slightly annoying is the bottom door doesn't stay fixed into position well. The IQ Treat Ball smartly has several positions for the door to stay locked in. The Bob-A-Lot door is fully adjustable but has often come open more than I want during feeding. As a result the kibble will spill out faster which ruins the challenge. I inquired to Starmark support and they suggested that I use a bit of cardboard or some such to try and jam the door into a specific position. This right here tells me that some additional design could be used.
I'd say that the Bob-A-Lot was designed with dogs in mind but not humans. It's a chore to load in the food. And then the door opens too much giving the dog an easy meal. I might even guess that it takes less time for my dog to empty it than it takes for me to fill it. Overall it's the best option I've found but I'm still searching for the perfect combination of all 3 of the toys.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2011
