#85 in Pet Supplies
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Reddit mentions of PAW5: Wooly Snuffle Mat - Feeding Mat for Dogs (12" x 18") - Encourages Natural Foraging Skills - Easy to Fill - Fun to Use Design - Durable and Machine Washable - Perfect for Any Breed
Sentiment score: 14
Reddit mentions: 18
We found 18 Reddit mentions of PAW5: Wooly Snuffle Mat - Feeding Mat for Dogs (12" x 18") - Encourages Natural Foraging Skills - Easy to Fill - Fun to Use Design - Durable and Machine Washable - Perfect for Any Breed. Here are the top ones.
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- Happy Dog Promise: Paw 5 snuffle mat for dogs will keep your puppy calm & occupied, fulfilling your dog's natural desire to sniff. It can be used with your dog's normal dry food instead of a dog bowl, or as a small dog bed
- Improves Metal Health: Ideal for all-sized dogs, Paw 5 dog enrichment toys make mealtimes fun & stimulating. Promoting slower eating, reducing bloating & gulping. Improving your dog’s health & mood. A boredom buster dog feeding mat your dog will love
- 100% Pet Safe - 7 years of R&D: Whether you’re using it as a dog snuffle mat or dog beds for small dogs, Paw 5 pet supplies are quality assured & durable. Handmade from soft organic cotton fibers, the sniff mat for dogs is machine washable
- Stops Destructive Behavior: Keep your dog occupied & entertained for hours when left alone, by reinforcing good behavior & replacing anxiety with a long-lasting treat. Paw 5 snuffle mat for dogs small doubles up as a dogs bed & a dog food puzzle
- Ethically Sourced in Ghana: Paw 5 dog supplies are manufactured in West Africa via Ethical Apparel Africa, supporting African factories to grow & equality for women. We're passionate about giving back to the community & ensuring a sustainable future
Features:
Specs:
Color | Gray |
Height | 2 Inches |
Length | 16 Inches |
Size | 12” x 17” |
Weight | 2.01 Pounds |
Width | 6 Inches |
Here's what I've picked up for christmas gifts so far:
Still need to arrange a low budget work group secret santa, pick out some liquor for my boss, a nice candy set or something for some of our support staff downstairs and maybe something more personal for each of my in-laws-- I did find a beautiful painted glass Turkish bowl for my MIL but I'm at a loss for the others.
Oh Lordy I have a ton...I'll try to categorize them...
Best for Puppies
These are all easy toys that dispense a lot of kibble with very little movement. Perfect for baby puppies or really low-confidence dogs. These can also be upgraded in difficulty later by stuffing them with wet food and freezing, or stuffing with a large, hard to extract treat (like a slice of lunchmeat).
Easy Rollers
These basically just dispense kibble by rolling. Not particularly complex, but good for the dog that prefers to solve puzzles by brute force.
Wobblers
These require a more finessed rolling motion to empty, so they're the next step up from just batting a toy around.
Complex Action Toys
These need movement in more than one direction (or very specific movement) to get kibble out of, which makes them pretty challenging.
Soothing, Low Energy Toys
Along with the stuff n' freeze toys, these are good for dogs on crate rest or who need some extra help relaxing before bed.
My dogs (and cats!) eat all their food out of puzzles so I am constantly on the lookout for new challenges! I'd be happy to provide more details on any of the toys I have, or buy and review any toys people have been wondering about :)
EDIT: btw this Jackson Galaxy Asteroid is my favorite cat puzzle toy. They really need to make one for dogs because it is kinda quirky with its bounciness and super quiet.
If your dog likes sniffing around and foraging, you should look into a snuffle mat! I have a super smell driven pupper and she loves it. Meal time taking 10-15 minutes is great and exercising her sniff senses definitely chills her out a bit.
That said, if you have the type of dog that will immediately search for the fastest way to get the food, you might need to teach them to use by starting with only 5-10 pieces of kibble. I'm sure my lab growing up would have realized flipping it over is the fastest way to get the food if we just dumped food on it.
Not the OC, but I've used the IQ Treat Ball and Omega Paw ball with success!
I also recommend a snuff mat, especially if you'd rather keep your floors kibble-free! Not necessarily recommending that specific brand of snuff mat as I think snuff mats generally work the same, just wanted to show you the product. :)
A rescue local to me has started using things like
https://www.amazon.com/Wooly-Snuffle-Mat-Encourages-Foraging/dp/B01N1FV55I/ref=sr_1_32?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1538592079&sr=1-32&keywords=dog+food+mat
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To slow down their fast eaters. Those are just the first that came up on amazon for an example BTW
Puzzle toys are great too. Kong Wobbler, The Foobler, and Snuffle Mats are great options. You can make your own snuffle mat pretty easily.
Kongs are the simplest and its really easy to "level up". Start by just putting in dry kibble, then wet kibble, then freeze the wet kibble and seal up the big hole with yogurt or peanut butter. Then you can layer it so its frozen wet kibble, cheese, kibble, yogurt, kibble, peanut butter etc. It'll start taking longer and longer to get everything out. My pup loves the Kong Wobbler too! Not only does it tire him out, but it spreads out his meal so he doesn't eat it as fast. Same with the IQ ball. The puzzle board was great for awhile but then got too easy for him. Snuffle mats are pretty easy to DIY too if you don't want to fork over the money to buy a real one.
This isn't a puzzle toy, but we feed our dog using a snuffle mat. It slows her dinner down from 5 seconds to 5+ minutes, her poops have gotten better, and it has the same kind of energizing/entertaining/mental stimulus factor.
Not sure if this allowed couldn’t find anything in about section that prohibits sharing links but here ya go!
Nina Ottoson Outward Hound Dog Brick Treat Puzzle Dog Toy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711Y9XTF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_dzNPDbQ0N6AW1
PAW5: Wooly Snuffle Mat - Feeding Mat for Dogs (12" x 18") - Encourages Natural Foraging Skills - Easy to Fill - Fun to Use Design - Durable and Machine Washable - Perfect for Any Breed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1FV55I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_dANPDbB4NDWAG
The last thing we did was get tennis balls and a muffin tin, filled a few with treats and covered the muffin slots with the balls to have her sniff them out.
And the easiest is to hide treats and have her sniff them out throughout the house.
I don't know how we lived without snuffle mats.
This is the best one you can buy that I'm aware of for meal feeding and regular use. We've had a couple for a long time and machine wash them frequently and they've held up beautifully. I personally wouldn't waste my money on a fleece one.
Snuffle Matt with an IQ Ball is my genius invention I haven’t seen anywhere else.
https://www.amazon.com/Wooly-Snuffle-Mat-Encourages-Foraging/dp/B01N1FV55I/ref=asc_df_B01N1FV55I/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198071232162&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3592997858012089969&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031939&hvtargid=pla-349638453770&psc=1
You hide kibble under the felt and it triggers the dogs instincts for digging through grass. It takes our 14 week old about 20 minutes to sniff it all out and holds a 1/3 cup easily.
https://www.amazon.com/Our-Pets-Treat-Interactive-Dispensing/dp/B003ARUKTG/ref=asc_df_B003ARUKTG/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198111066934&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10592075457433977437&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031939&hvtargid=pla-355229308255&psc=1
She pushes the IQ ball around to get kibble out and they fall in to the snuffle matt, forcing her to find them again.
Lots of kibble and easily a 30 minute effort that she naps after.
I recently made a snuffle mat for my dog. It is essentially a rubber bar mat with fleece strips tied through the holes to resemble grass. You make on yourself or buy one on Etsy or this one on Amazon
The best part is that the dog makes a wicked cute "snuffling" noise when sniffing for the food :)
Dogs need two types of exercise, physical and mental. Although what you are doing with him does have a lot of mental stimulation it's mostly physical. Spend some time every morning and evening doing some type of training, either a new trick, or reinforcing the things he already knows.
Also get toys that will keep his mind active. I feed my dog with this every evening. You could also try a Snuffle mat.
I've found that most dogs chew because they're either bored or they teething. Keeping them active both physically and mentally will help cut a lot of unwanted chewing. After that just keep consistent and when you find them chewing on something they are not supposed to chew give them something they can.
It's up to us to teach them what is or is not allowed, they eventually catch on, but sometimes it can take a bit.
You could always order one from Amazon - this one has good reviews - and have it delivered to an Amazon Locker in the city for pickup.
I made mine out of a rubber sink mat and strips of fleece fabric. There's a link to the pre-made one
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1FV55I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_kElXDbWQ1JWSR
If you want to make one just google snuffle mat and you'll get like 15 different tutorials or videos about it!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1FV55I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6Mn7Bb97KF4V6
This is the one we have, wouldn’t let me copy the link directly for some reason. They have all sorts available!
I have had the same issue. I adopted a Australian Shepherd who lived most of his life in shelters. It is so sad that he can't play yet. When I fist got Timber he couldn't even enjoy being touched. It's been a long road. I can recommend two things whole-heartedly:
I'm also playing a game - that I hope doesn't make me sound like a slob - my house is clean - I promise. But I get small treats that he really loves (cut up franks or cheese cubes) and I throw them in the house and he egg him on to run and chase them - he loves it - and I'm hoping to parlay this into fetch with a ball/frisbee. It takes a while but so rewarding to see them make little strides in 'dogging'. Good luck - please share a photo of your pup!
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ETA: I'd also love to hear other advice/strategies!
I have a pup who occasionally gets in a picky mood so I got one of these wobbler feeding balls to mix up his mealtime routine.
If he still seems disinterested, sometimes I throw in one or two pieces of a small treat that I know he will smell and go after. It's a lot of fun to watch, too!
Edit to add: Since you mentioned that she sometimes eats it when scattered on the floor... have you looked into a Snuffle mat? They are basically small fringed rugs that the food "hides" in and they have to sniff it out.