Self-Feeder For Dogs

Self-Feeder For Dogs LIVESTOCK DOGS Tired of multiple dog dishes twice a day feeding and occasional spills that attracted birds and other pests Jeff Hoard made a self-feeder for his 3 dogs Now his dogs decide when and how much to eat with virtually no waste “I saw a self feeder for dogs at a neighboring farm years ago and finally decided to build one ” says Hoard “I used scrap plywood and a used plastic protein tub ” Hoard cut the plywood to match the top of the tub with a 1-in overhang on the access side He then cut the plywood in half added hinges to the 2 sides and screwed the smaller half to the rim of the tub “The plywood needs to be lightweight 3/8-in is about right ” says Hoard “I added a strip of stiff plastic to the access side and overlapped the fixed side It provides just enough resistance to keep the lid from flipping clear over when dogs get a little overzealous opening the lid ” While the whole project only took about 45 min teaching the dogs to use it took more than a week For the first few days the lid was left open so they learned the food was in the tub Hoard then used a small piece of 4 by 4 to keep the door partly open After a few days he replaced the 4 by 4 with a 2 by 2 A few days later it was removed and the dogs began to push the lid open on their own “Our 3-year old caught on right away soon followed by the 5-year old ” says Hoard “The last dog an 8-year old seemed like a real ‘cement head’ but finally caught on After watching their behavior my wife Karen and I both agreed that the older dog wasn’t dumber than the other two just more stubborn ” Hoard says the food stays much cleaner than in an open dog dish as rodents and birds can’t get to it The feeder holds a lot of dog food so it doesn’t have to be filled as often and the dogs eat a little whenever they are hungry Hoard shares his creative scrounging ideas and projects on his DVD titled Hillbilly Heaven available on his website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup HM Ranch HC 61 Box 6108 Austin Nevada 89310 ph 775 217-9264; www hmranch-hoardmfg com; hmfgranch@gmail com

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