Slow Feeder Bowl vs Licki Mat: Which Works Better for Fast Eaters?

If your dog inhales a full bowl of food in under thirty seconds, you already know the aftermath: regurgitation on the rug, a bloated belly pressing against your leg all evening, and a dog who is pacing the kitchen two hours before the next meal. Two tools show up everywhere as solutions: the slow feeder bowl and the licki mat. Both work on the same basic idea, that making a dog work for each bite slows the whole eating process down. But they do it in completely different ways, and for most fast eaters, one of them is clearly the better fit.

The short answer: the Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowl is the stronger choice for dogs who eat dry or wet kibble at speed. A LickiMat is genuinely useful too, but it solves a slightly different problem and works best as a supplement rather than a mealtime replacement. I ran both tools through a five-day feeding trial on my Beagle, Gus (22 lbs, three years old, competes with himself to clear the bowl), and borrowed a friend's yellow Lab named Hazel for a side-by-side session. Here is what I found.

	Slow Feeder Bowl	Licki Mat
Price	~$10 (current Amazon price)	~$12-16 depending on size/model
Food Type	Dry kibble, wet food, raw	Wet food, peanut butter, purees only
Mealtime Extension (avg.)	6-9 minutes from 20 seconds	3-5 minutes for equivalent calories
Capacity	2 cups (medium bowl)	No defined capacity; thin spread only
Material	BPA-free plastic, non-slip base	Food-grade silicone, suction cup base
Dishwasher Safe	Yes, top rack	Yes, top rack
Use Case	Primary mealtimes for fast eaters	Treats, enrichment, distraction tasks
Difficulty Level	Moderate (adjustable by food amount)	Low to moderate depending on texture
Best For	Dogs who bolt dry kibble	Anxious dogs needing calm distraction

Where the Outward Hound Fun Feeder Wins

The Fun Feeder's maze of raised ridges and channels is specifically designed around the way a dog eats dry food. Gus normally clears a standard bowl in about eighteen to twenty-two seconds. On the Fun Feeder, his first meal stretched to seven minutes and twenty seconds. By day three, once the novelty wore off, it stabilized around six minutes flat. That is still an eighteen-fold increase in eating time using the same kibble, the same portion, and the same dog. The ridges force him to work side to side and nose down into tight corners rather than scooping food with his tongue and swallowing before he knows what hit him.

The 2-cup capacity matters more than it sounds. A LickiMat can technically hold a full portion of wet food if you spread it thin, but in practice most owners use it for a tablespoon or two of something sticky. The Fun Feeder handles a complete meal, including larger portions for a forty-to-sixty-pound dog, without any workaround. When I tested Hazel the Lab, who gets about two and a half cups per meal, I used the large version of the Fun Feeder and it accommodated her full portion without spilling over the edges. That is a real advantage for bigger dogs.

Where the LickiMat Wins

The LickiMat's flat silicone surface covered in small nubs promotes repetitive licking, which research on canine behavior links to reduced anxiety and cortisol levels. If your goal is calming a dog before a nail trim, during thunderstorms, or at bath time, a LickiMat smeared with a small amount of peanut butter or plain Greek yogurt is genuinely useful. It is also easier on puppies and senior dogs who lack the jaw strength or motivation to work food out of deep maze channels. Licking a flat surface is a lower-frustration task, and for dogs who give up quickly on puzzle feeders, that lower barrier to entry means they actually use it.

The silicone material also makes the LickiMat a better choice for dogs with flat faces (brachycephalic breeds like Bulldogs or Pugs) who struggle to get their nose deep into bowl ridges. The flat profile lets them lick at a comfortable angle without pressing their face into a maze. For that specific use case, the LickiMat is the right call. It just is not a full mealtime replacement for most dogs.

Mealtime Duration: What the Numbers Actually Looked Like

I timed every feeding session for five days. Gus ate the same portion each time: one cup of his regular dry kibble. On the flat stainless bowl he uses normally, average time was 21 seconds. On the Fun Feeder, sessions ran between 5 minutes 48 seconds and 8 minutes 12 seconds across ten feedings, with an average of 6 minutes 31 seconds. On the LickiMat with wet food mixed into the same dry kibble to create a paste, the average was 3 minutes 54 seconds. That is a meaningful improvement over a flat bowl, but it is also not an apples-to-apples comparison because I had to add liquid to make the food stick to the mat. When I tried dry kibble directly on the LickiMat without any wet food mixed in, Gus finished in about 90 seconds because the pieces slid off the nubs too easily.

Dry kibble on a LickiMat slides around and the dog cleans it up fast. The Fun Feeder traps each piece in a channel, and that is the whole game.

Hazel the Lab showed similar results but with a twist: she figured out she could tip the LickiMat and dump the contents onto the floor within about a minute. The suction cups on the LickiMat held on smooth tile but released immediately on a rubber mat or carpet. The Fun Feeder has a rubberized non-slip ring on the bottom that kept it locked in place across all surfaces we tested. For larger, more persistent dogs, that stability difference is worth noting.

Cleanup and Daily Use

Both tools go in the dishwasher on the top rack. The Fun Feeder's maze channels can collect small food particles if you let it sit more than an hour before washing, so I got into the habit of rinsing it immediately after feeding. The LickiMat cleans faster because its flat surface does not have deep corners. If you use wet or raw food in the Fun Feeder, plan on a quick scrub with a bottle brush every couple of days. For dry kibble only, a rinse under hot water gets it clean. Neither tool had any odor retention after two weeks of regular use.

Durability held up on both products across the testing period. The Fun Feeder's plastic did not crack, warp, or discolor. The LickiMat's silicone stayed flexible with no tearing, though I would not leave an aggressive chewer unsupervised with it. Gus is not a chewer, so that was not a concern here, but it is worth checking your dog's habits before buying a silicone mat.

Who Should Buy Which

Get the Outward Hound Fun Feeder if your dog eats dry or mixed kibble at meals and you need to slow down their primary mealtime. It handles full portions, extends eating time reliably, stays put on the floor, and costs less than most alternatives. It is also the right pick if you have a medium or large dog: the maze provides enough resistance to slow down a bigger dog without requiring you to add wet food or prep anything extra. With 4.6 stars across more than 134,000 ratings on Amazon, the pattern of satisfaction from owners is consistent.

Get a LickiMat if you need a calming tool for anxious moments, want to make baths or vet visits less stressful, or have a brachycephalic dog who can not use a deep maze bowl. A lot of owners end up with both, and that is a reasonable call, since they solve related but different problems. If you can only buy one and your main issue is speed eating at mealtimes, the Fun Feeder is the answer.

One last note: if you have already read our full three-month review of the Outward Hound Fun Feeder or our guide on how to stop your dog from gulping food, you know that no single tool eliminates fast eating permanently without some management on your part. Portion size, feeding location, and how often you feed per day all affect how much any slow feeder can do. But of the two products compared here, the Fun Feeder gives you more mealtime control with less prep work.