PetSafe Smart Feed Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder - Smartphone - Wi-Fi Enabled for iPhone and Android Smartphones

PROBLEM: My large breed dog will throw up bile if she gets overly hungry. At first, I'd feed her 3 times a day + 2 snacks between dinner and breakfast. Then I started giving her a Pepcid. These worked but I didn't want to keep her on them long term. SOLUTION: I bought one of these pet feeders and it's the best thing ever! She gets a total of 3 1/2 C a day and I feed her breakfast and dinner with all her good stuff (pumpkin, vegi's, kibble, salmon oil, etc) and now between dinner and breakfast, I give her either 2 or 3 extra meals with the feeder, automatically programmed. So her total food intake is 3 1/2 C kibble. The machine works really well, measures accurately when dispensing. I can set multiple feeding times and just about any amount dispensed. The set up was easy. There is a daily log in the app that shows when the dispenser operated. I started using on the 8th and it has every day, not sure how many it will log- maybe a month's worth? My only CON: is it has a battery back up but it requires it to be plugged in because it will drain the batteries. It isn't designed to run on batteries, only for emergencies like power outages. PRO: I can now sleep through the night and sleep in without a 100# puppy looking at me at 6 a.m. for food. I'd recommend this feeder to anyone and everyone. If you are hesitating because of the cost, it is worth it. I drug my heels a little but decided to go for it and I'm so glad I did. There are cheaper feeders but this one is a nice one and it holds a good amount of food in the hopper and it works well. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!

First and foremost, please note that the double-chute splitter attachment (shown in my pictures) is NOT included with this feeder. It's a third-party aftermarket product. See further down in my review for more about this.As for the PetSafe Wi-Fi feeder itself (PFD00-15788), I'm very impressed with it so far. Although it's a bit pricey, the peace of mind to have wi-fi connectivity is more than worth it for me. The number one thing that concerns me with automatic feeders is the possibility of failure or malfunction, resulting in the pet(s) going unfed and not knowing about it. While I always have someone checking on my pets daily during an extended absence, being able to confirm the pets are getting their food and the feeder is functioning properly is so great. In addition, the battery backup (4 D batteries - not included) is another key feature to ensure feeding happens even if the power goes out. Also, being able to feed them remotely ad-hoc if needed via the mobile app is wonderful. If I get stuck at work longer than expected or want to stay at a dinner party longer than planned, I can simply use the mobile app to feed them on their regular schedule. No more feeling guilty about them having to wait longer for their meals.Set up of the feeder is so easy. Just unbox it, plug it in, download the mobile app, and follow the instructions. It's that easy. Takes 10 minutes max. Also, make sure to wash the food tub as well before filling with food. Setting up the feeding schedule (feeding time and amount) in the mobile app is super-easy and straightforward. The feeder is sleek and simple to use with only a power on/ off switch (bottom of unit) and a feed button (top of unit) - all other functions are controlled through the mobile app only. I was a bit concerned that my cats might figure out how to push that feeder button on the top to get food. But, to my surprise, the app has a "Child Lock" setting that disables this button completely! But, let's suppose you don't disable the feeding button on the unit. What's so cool about this feeder is that when that button is pressed, the feeder will tell you about it! The app will notify you "Your pet has been fed!" along with the amount fed and the time. If your pet is the one that pushed the button, you can just disable it via the mobile app from wherever you are (and then revise the schedule to skip or delay the next feeding accordingly). A fantastic feature PetSafe!One other note regarding the mobile app. There's a feeding history log that shows all the feedings that have occurred, listed by date and time, along with the amount of each feeding and whether the feeding was scheduled ("Scheduled Meal") or ad-hoc ("Your pet has been fed!" - either by button on machine or via app).Finally, just a bit about the aftermarket 3D printed double-chute splitter I bought from a third-party seller. It's AWESOME and I'm so pleased with it that I can't believe PetSafe didn't make an accessory like this themselves. It fits the feeder so well that it's just like an OEM accessory and it installs in just a few seconds. If you have 2 cats, this turns the single feeder into a double feeder which eliminates the need for two separate feeders (just double the feeding amount so each bowl gets a single portion). My main concern was that all (or most) of the food would go to just a single bowl but this splitter does a pretty decent job of evenly splitting the food between two bowls. I'm just a consumer and have absolutely no stake in the game by promoting their product but when something works and fits this well, it should be noted. It's on Amazon here if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077VKZL78

Do not trust this product to feed your pet. As I read the other negative reviews, a clear pattern emerges: this product can be great for a bit... and “a bit” is a different amount of time for each person. Mine worked like a charm for 13 months, and then while out of town for a week, it simply quit. Batteries are full, cord is plugged in... it just stopped feeding.We had two friends go by on different days of our vacation to try and troubleshoot. After going through the setup and sync process, they would get a single feeding out of it and then as soon as they left it reverted back to failure.We keep a camera on it to verify whether or not it’s working, so it was easy to identify the failures. The 2nd friend left a huge bowl of food out as a backup... lucky for the pets, this kept them from going hungry.Once home from vacation, I’ve spent hours troubleshooting it, trying different WiFi signals, even different WiFi routers... ones that are realiavly providing signals to other smart devices in our home. No other smart device is losing signal, and even if the WiFi was the problem, this feeder is designed to default to the scheduled feedings if disconnected... but that doesn’t happen. It just doesn’t give anything.I know how to set this product up and get it working because it worked “for a bit”, but now it’s given up the ghost, despite no apparent issue. Light on the button still works, no damage to the unit, I can get it to work for a single feeding, the button itself works for a manual feed... but it no longer feeds on a schedule, nor does it default to the schedule when it indicates “offline”, rendering it not only useless, but dangerous to the hungry pets. If we hadn’t had a camera trained on this, we never would have known they weren’t being fed until we returned from vacation. Thank goodness we had friends willing to help.I feel terrible for recommending this to a friend just one week before mine went out. I’ll be spreading the word to avoid this product to others.In sum: DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS UNATTENDED WHILE TRUSTING THIS FEEDER.