MOUNTAIN RAISED FEEDER
Observations/Problem
A friend of mine had recently gotten two dogs and I was over when they were feeding them dinner. Each dog had to be given food on opposite ends of the room. They were trying to steal food from each others dishes.
Similarly another friend who had a dog and a cat also had trouble with feeding. Their dog had a raised feeder so the cat could not take the food. As well the cat had a water dish for themself that dog would mainly drink from, causing it to always be out of water.
It seemed that people who have multiple pets have trouble during feeding time, prompting me to look into it more.
Interviews
I spoke with a few members of two-pet households, and asked them what their current set-up is for feeding and water bowls.
Most had three bowl for all of their pets. One for each to eat from and one communal water dish.
"I feed one dog in their cage and the other in the open..."
"They share a water dish in the kitchen..."
"We have a water fountain for the pets..."
"Currently the cat has an automatic feeder and the pup uses a milk crate as a raised feeder. "
A raised dish improves posture and causes less stress on your pet's back and joints
Multiple heights discourages other pets from eating each other's food
Reduces floor space used and allows for cleaning underneath
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I explored a few ideas for the pets but landed on a two bowl holder. One with the bowl for water lower so that all pets would be able to drink from it. At first I thought about using more of a traditional design with metal legs that would be some how adjustable on the joints but believed that would be to unreliable. I wanted to consider shipping and manufacturing while exploring ideas and was inspired by topography maps and a combination of crustations and spider as a way to support the structure and bowls.
Modeling
I decided to go with CNCing the model. This would allow the design to be flat packed.
As well as it would allow for high customization for height based of the pets that were using it. Essentially allowing for customizable height as needed for each pet order based of a pets shoulder height.
CNC to Flat Pack
Using Vector files generated from the model assembly. I was able to generated files able to be cut from 1in Baltic Birch plywood.
The design it-self is made to fit together with no hardware. A dab of glue to help permanently lock the structure together and a pressure fit itself would help hold it while the glue would dry. The two dish mounts lock underneath for both structural support and aesthetics.
All of this works very well to make the design an excellent option for flat pack shipping.
The finish was done using yakisugi method, burning the outside until slightly charred and then applying a oil finish. This creates a durable nontoxic, food safe and water proof finish for the pets.
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User Testing and Feedback
I had a few of the familys that were having trouble test the product with their own pets.
- The cat and dog combo were a resounding success helping the animals quarrel less. As well as diminishing the attempts to steal from each others bowls.
- The two dogs had less success as having them next to one another still caused to many issues. The different heights did help them focus their own food and less on the other dog.
I think with some of these observations, I can do another iteration where the mountains could attach or detach. Allowing 3 separate dishes to be conjoined or split apart depending on the pets house holds needs.