Thoughts on snuffle mats? Enrichment toys. šŸ¶

zimmer36

New member
Iā€™d like to give my dog something to provide him with enrichment while Iā€™m at work. The ones Iā€™ve seen thus far are so silly looking and I feel like my dog could sniff the treats out in no time. What does everyone think about these? And what other enrichment toys would yā€™all recommend? Thanks!
 
@zimmer36 My dog "snuffled" once. The next five times I'd put it down, she'd pick it up and shake all of the kibble out then eat the kibble. Needless to say, I washed it and took it to the shelter.
 
@zimmer36 They definitely don't work for every dog... my boy is a shredder of all things fluff, so the moment he finished the kibble search, he tore it all to bits lol..

Fill a kong with canned ground dog food or a little bit of peanut butter (or, mix em both up and fill it!) Then freeze.

Silicone lick mats and bowls are also great to smear dog safe yums into and freeze for a long lasting enrichment treat.

My boy also looooves the kong wobbler. I'll fill it predominantly with his kibble but will also toss in a few training treats (super stinky goodness!) Or some chunks of plain boiled chicken to really up his interest in chasing it around the house for an hour haha.
 
@zimmer36 We had a snuffle mat, it lasted one feeding. My dog couldnā€™t figure out how to sniff out the treats so he just destroyed it and tried to eat it. It is definitely dog dependent.

What worked better for us than a snuffle mat is just to throw some of the diet into the yard and let him sniff it out.

I also do fragrance enrichment. I have clothes at my grandma and my in laws house for my kids, these clothes come into contact with other pets and take on the fragrance of the house. This is one of my pups favorite enrichment because they spend a good amount of time just smelling the clothes before I put them in the laundry.

Frozen diet is another treat my dog likes in a silicon dish that is the same size as his dish I will freeze their diet with water. Once itā€™s frozen I put remove it from the silicon and use wet pumpkin puree to stick it to the bottom of his dish.
 
@zimmer36 We got my dog a snuffle mat for his last bday because it was pretty much the only type of toy he didn't have yet. It's been amazing!

He ripped a few holes in it in the beginning but he definitely seems to understand not to destroy this one or the fun ends. We just put his regular kibble in it, but he often will paw at it and stare at me asking for me to fill it up for him.

The only downside for us is that it's designed to look like a pizza, so we call it his pizza. Now we can't talk about ordering/making pizza without the dog getting excited.

I'd suggest to try a cheap one for your dog to see if they like and understand it, then you can upgrade later if you want. I think we got ours on sale for $20 at PetSmart (Canada).
 
@zimmer36 NOTHING WHILE UNSUPERVISED.

Enrichment is great, but it should only be done while supervised.

Snuffle mats, lucky mats, puzzle feeders, stuffed Kongs etc are all great options.
 
@zimmer36 Our dog loves her snuffle mats. She has one that is just flat thatā€™s really easy and one that folds in on itself like a bowl. The sniffing seems really enjoyable to her. Itā€™s always supervised and taken away when she starts to chew on it, carry it around, etc.
we also hide treats throughout the house then play ā€œfind itā€.
Sometimes Iā€™ll take her kibble and scatter a bit on the floor then cover it with her blanket. Itā€™s all good sniffing exercises.
She also likes her puzzle toys, pupsicle, and long for enrichment.
 

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