Coastal Pet Bergan Cafe K9 Food Storage - Beige and Navy - 5 gal/25 lbs

The Bergan K9 Cafe had been a Godsend to our household! We live in a mountain setting with 3 large dogs and 4 free range cats.We (I) gave this unit a whirl along with an excellent doggie/kitty door when I decided to retire at being a constant waiter/doorman/maitre d for all of our animals. We have had the same unit for over 10 years and it still is in tact with few minor *rub* patterns (wall, etc.). When first brought into the household, the dogs had only a few evenings of rank of hierarchy to be settled and things went fine after that. We have a separate food dish for the cats but all the critters share the same water reserve on the Bergan unit. The cats did not protest long and quickly adapted to the unit (observing the water disappear into the unit is an amazing thing). This is by far one of the best purchases ever made for the critters. Trust me when I say this thing can take a beating.I do NOT recommend this unit for tiny dogs for the mere fact it holds too much food and the food could possibly sit and rot before it is all eaten. Also too much water would remain stagnant for a long period of time with a small dog. I WOULD recommend the unit for a new pup that is going to grow quickly~ it certainly will last the lifetime of the dog.I do NOT recommend this unit for outdoor use as mice or ants could possibly get into the unit and love it for constant food/water. It could also possibly get wet and ruin the food.The water reserve is fine for us~ I have figured out a few tricks over the years to make filling it easier. We use the unit indoors in a mudroom so to keep water for 7 critters is a daily chore. To fill one must either A) fill reserve with hose or in bathtub or B) put something small under the dish part of the unit and fill with a pitcher. Filling with a pitcher makes it much easier if you have problems with lifting/bending. Also, once the unit is filled with water remove the *small something* and either A) put under the filling area and slightly loosen screw cap or B) remove altogether. I usually only fill the unit about 1/2 way and then partially unscrew the water cap so the reserve will get air for constant flow of water... then I just use a pitcher to refill.Cleaning the unit is fairly simple. Just wipe it down with a hot dishrag and sterilize to your choosing. You might want to also clean area with a vinegar/water solution around the source as insects might like the constant source of water. Because our dogs are both indoor and outdoor, the feeder section gets quite dirty and needs to be wiped down more than usual. For the water reserve one thing to note is if you are filling it with a pitcher it still needs to be separately cleaned from the standing unit. Also clean the water reserve once in a while with a capful of bleach or other sanitizer to be certain bacteria is not growing in the reserve.We also dry feed our dogs so I have no use for the front flap except for times when we are gone and take the critters with us. Then I put back on the flap to avoid any issues with mice. It works out better this way for the different sized dogs. It really is not needed otherwise.If you do not want to scrub the floor all the time around the unit I would suggest to put the unit on a rubber mat. We have one hound dog that slops water everywhere and it can get quite messy quickly.The price for the unit on Amazon is not the best price out there~ do some research~ for brick and mortar places usually AH (with the helpful hardware man) has the unit stocked. For online places use your head in a google search and compare shipping, etc. Do not buy the unit with out the water reserve unless you plan to mount it on the wall. It might work out fine but it seems to me it could be top heavy and tip over without it.I am only purchasing another one because we are getting one for our 5th wheel and I hate dragging this thing back and forth to different places. It fits perfectly in our kitchen 5th wheel area and it is easy to dump out the water for when we are on the move. Also no need to find a place to store extra dog food when in the 5er, all the food is in the bin :)No more tripping over food dishes! No more spilling water bowls! WHOO HOO!

I have used these food dispensers for years both inside and out to feed pets and feral cats and animals. They are exceptionally strong and durable.

I have a rescue dog, and she was used to eating, well, gobbling, whenever there was anything remotely edible, to be sure she got her share. She is part Beagle, too, so she is always hunting for food, so between the survival habit she'd developed and her nature of constant grazing, I was very skeptical that a self-feeder would work. She was also heavier than she should be, and I was concerned she'd blow up like an overstuffed turkey if she had unlimited food at her disposal.It's a little larger than I expected, but considering it easily holds a full 15lb bag of dog food with room to spare, you can imagine it stands up fairly tall, especially sitting nestled into the top of the 5 gal. water container. The only assembly needed was to pop the self-hinged lid onto the top. The lid doesn't seal air or water tight, but for me that's fine. (I use the feeder indoors.) It's a molded plastic, easy to wipe clean. My only wish is that the water container could be more easily filled; it's designed to be filled with a hose, and that is cumbersome in a kitchen, but I carry it into the bathtub to fill it, so no big deal...and I get a little exercise that way. :-)I was thrilled that Dixie took to the feeder very easily. It works for her much like her pet door does, so all I did was tap on it to get her nose over to it, and push it open a couple inches with my finger, and she immediately figured out to use her nose to push the door/flap open. I was concerned the first time, because she wouldn't quit eating, and I had to pull her away and distract her. But that night she only ate a couple bites, and the next day, only went in and had a few nibbles throughout the day. And now, about a month later, she has slimmed down, she isn't always "on the prowl" and she eats only when she's hungry, no more, no less. It's also stopped her "morning sick stomach" that she would often get if she was hungry or eating scraps that didn't sit well; she's taken to it wonderfully. It's working beautifully -- better than I expected, and as good as I'd hoped. And with the water container so convenient, I couldn't have found a better solution for us both! I have to report, the Bergan K-9 Cafe Tray-Pack is 5-star Dixie-Doodle approved!

We use for our EMU (Bert and Ernie). They are friendly and playful, but this is easy to reach over fence , lift lid and put their food in. We do not use the waterer bottom portion. Excellent - Best we ever found for them

Love the feeder but the dogs won’t leave the top on it. They tore the top off and chewed on the ends so it will not snap back on. So the top stays off now. Looking for a solution to cover it up that the dogs will leave alone. Adding: We have started using a piece of wire to keep the top on. Works for now.