How to Make a DIY Automatic Dog Feeder

Choose a design

• There are a number of ways to design a gravity feeder. The essential part: Stacking the dog kibble vertically so as your dog eats from the bottom, more kibble will gradually spill out.
• Adjust this design so it’s easy for you to build and your dogs to enjoy. Larger dogs may have an easier time eating out of four-inch material. You may prefer to skip the wood frame completely and mount the feeder directly to a wall.
  • Note: Keep the feeder inside, not in an outdoor dog house, or you’ll also be feeding the wildlife.
• For this feeder, I opted for a 3-in. PVC body on a 1×8 wood frame. I found the pipe strapping and wood frame gave good stability, and the friction fit of the PVC sufficiently held it in place without glue, even when the dogs got excited around meal time.
• The 1×8 wood frame is wide enough to look good when paired with 3-in. PVC pipe. It adds enough weight so the feeder has some stability, making the dogs less likely to knock it over.
• A quick note on materials: Many websites and advocacy groups contend PVC is unsafe for food storage because it contains bisphenol A (BPA). We consulted Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines on PVC and BPA, and found no recommendation against using PVC for short-term food storage. But do your own research, and make the decision you feel is right for you and your pet.
• If you don’t trust your dog’s sense of self-restraint, it’s possible to add a dispensing element regulated by a timer control, like the Arduino microcontroller. Arduino kits let you custom-build electronically controlled devices. But working with one requires its own set of skills, so we haven’t tackled that here.

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

Measure and cut PVC

• The measurements depend on the size of your dog and how much food you want to store inside the feeder.
• I chose a vertical height of 19 inches and a horizontal length of nine inches.
• Cut the PVC with a hacksaw or reciprocating saw.
• Cut the opening for the dog food in the horizontal piece.

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

Assemble the PVC

• Deburring the PVC lets it fit tighter and more securely, and prevents the crumbled material from mixing in with the dog food.
• Use a utility knife to clean away the burr, or use the grooves in a pair of channel-lock pliers to scrape it off.
• This is also a good time to chamfer the inside and outside edges of the feeding tube to blunt the edges and make it much more dog friendly.
• Clean out the PVC by running a cloth through it.
• Optional: Blow out the interior with compressed air, and vacuum the whole thing out with a shop vacuum.
• If you want to glue your PVC, this is a good time to do so. (I did not use glue.)

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

Measure and cut wood frame body

• The size of your PVC feeder determines the wood frame height and length.
• Using the assembled PVC as a guide, I cut the wood to 28 inches tall and 17 inches deep.
• The board I picked up from a big box store had a distinct cup to it, so I cut off and discarded that section before assembly.

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

Assemble body and cut supports

• To connect the wooden frame, I used L-brackets and side struts to prevent racking. Recessing the struts keeps them out of the way, while also providing a simple grab point.
• Secure the two pieces of the wood frame with L-brackets and 3/4-in. wood screws.
• Lay the 1×1 for the strut across the L-shape of the wood frame. You can pick any location that will look good and not interfere with the dogs’ feeding.

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

• Mark the angle of the strut and the channel it will require with a pencil.
• Cut the struts to length with a miter saw.
• Cut out the channel. You could use a jigsaw or handsaw for this. I used the oscillating multi-tool I already had out.
• Seat the strut in the channel, bore a hole with the countersink bit, then use a 1-1/4-in. wood screw to hold it in place. (You can supplement this with wood glue, if needed.)

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

• I added a one-inch hole in the top to provide an easy carrying spot, or a place to hang it from a wall.
• Run a handheld router over the carrying hole and around the edges of the frame body. This will make it easier on paws or bare feet that bump against the feeder.
• Use sandpaper or a random orbit sander to remove scuffs and manufacturer marks.

Decorate

• You can opt to leave the feeder as-is, or decorate it as you see fit. The dogs will be just as happy either way, as long as it’s full of food. For this feeder, I added some stencil art.
• Mask off the ends of the pipe so no paint gets on the inside where it can contaminate the food.
• I applied a spray tack adhesive to the back of the stencil when painting curved surfaces.
• Lay the stencil across the pipe and spray on the design. Look for a spray paint that adheres to plastic, such as a combo primer and paint.
• Clean off any over spray as needed.
• Stain or seal your wooden frame as desired. I left the wood unfinished.

Combine PVC feeder and wood frame

• Use two 3-in. pipe straps and 3/4-in. wood screws to hold the pipe against the frame.

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

• The added space from the PVC elbow means you may need spacers beneath the pipe strap to create a solid connection. (I used a couple of nuts I had sitting around.)

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

• I found the top cap difficult to slip on and off, so I trimmed it to size with an oscillating multi-tool.

Dan Stout for Family Handyman

Enjoy!

• Set your dogs free to try out the feeder.