Snuffle Mat for Dogs: Slow Food Interactive Experience

I have a senior chihuahua mix who loves food! This is a pic of his first time using this mat and he loved it! I have another snuffle mat for my female chihuahua (a different type) but I wanted to get him his own mat. After much research I chose this one because I liked how thick the mat is on the one side of it. And even the other side is nice the way it gives dogs a different experience. It’s very thick and big! It’s easy to use and easy to store away. The second pic is his sister coming along seeing if he missed anything…..lol.

UPDATE: our dog loves this mat so much we just bought one as a gift for her cousin I bought this mat for my dog because I had been essentially turning our bed into one giant snuffle mat every night with her treats and she loved it. The downside was the treat would some times leave crumbs in the sheets and that was annoying and frustrating so as sort of an impulse buy I got her a snuffle mat. Let me start off by saying I spoil my baby rotten but I don't know if she truly knew love until the snuffle mat (we call it her snuffle blanket). The first time I used it with her was during her bedtime routine and she was still confused thinking I hid the treats everywhere and not just the blanket. It did not take long for her to catch on though. The first night after I put it away I found her 10 minutes later snuggled up to the blanket. Now with treats in she is SUPER excited and starts crying while she watches me set up, however she has also fallen in love with the blanket and i find her sleeping on it all the time or cuddling it. My dog is rough with the snuffle blanket when there are treats in it. She scratches, bites, pulls on the fleece and it has not busted a seam or ripped in anyway. She does manage to get it bunched up when snuffling for treats though even with antislip map. Worth it in my opinion though! It is a VERY easy reset as you just pull it out straight again and off she goes! I am very happy with my purchase and when it comes to replace it someday, getting a new one will be a no brainer!

I'm sorry to give this mat 5 stars. If I could, I'd rate it higher. For most of his year of life, our puppy has persistently begged at the table, stared at our plates if he can get high enough and generally not understanding that, although he's part of our family, he eats separately. He gets his supper at the same time as we eat but our plates are so much more interesting. It isn't as if he isn't trained. He's been through all the obedience classes available to him and will soon take his AKC good canine citizen test. Done well at them. He's a bright little malshi - maltese/shitzhu one year old, about 11 lbs. He gets his snuffle mat once a day, at dinner. I lay it out with kibble and treats in it as we sit down to eat. From the first time, he works at it for at least 20 minutes, wanders a little and then goes back at it again. When we're through eating, the snuffle mat gets emptied, rolled up and put away. Since he got it, he hasn't bothered us at mealtime at all. But it also is something he finds very interesting. Because it isn't out all the time, when he gets it, it's a treat. He gets very excited about it. I don't put a treat or kibble in every slot so he has to check them all. He used to nibble at his food dish, but this, this he loves. I took it to his last puppy class for 'show and tell.' His classmate's family is getting one and the trainer, although she knew about them, had never seen one. He is as motivated to hunt through his snuffle mat as he is excited to learn in class (which is VERY). Can't recommend this one highly enough. We haven't had it long enough to run it through the washer but it's well made and should hold up well. Our little guy is a chewer and is not kind to his toys but isn't doing that with his mat at all - it's too special, we think. Excellent choice.

I got this mat to help improve the dog’s sense of smell, reduce boredom, and as a place to rest while in the kitchen. Hiding the food in the fringes and the cups have worked well. The pockets and the pages didn’t work as well and were quickly chewed apart. It is machine washable. The mat itself doesn’t slip too much and the dog loves to lie down on it. It’s hard to predict whether a dog will like this, but in our case the dog likes it.

We have a 5-month-old cattle dog / collie puppy. She is very active, very smart, and loves to be kept busy. She has chewed her way through more than a few toys, so I was a bit hesitant to get this, for fear that she would chew all the fabric pieces and destroy the snuffle mat. But it has been one of our best purchases for her, hands down. When we first introduced the snuffle mat, a family member kept the puppy busy while I loaded it with food, and then we let her at it. She quickly figured out what to do and LOVED it. We load the mat with regular food, and it will fit almost a full meal for her. The "cups" are usually the area she goes to first, because it is very easy, even if I smush the fabric to cover the food. The "grassy" area is also pretty easy for her to find food, and it is easy for her to grab the food and leave the fabric pieces alone. The "booklet" flaps took her a few tries to master, but she is now able to easily nose through and get food. The "pockets" and the "flowers" are the sections she goes to last, only when the other food is gone. Only one time has she chewed a fabric piece on the mat. I got distracted, and she got frustrated on one of the flowers and started to chew the fabric. As soon as I noticed, I removed the mat, and she has not done it since. She has also on one or two occasions decided it was easier to just pick the mat up and shake it so the food would all fly out. When she did this we removed the mat, and she has not done it again. We've had the mat for over a month now, and we actually leave it on the floor most of the day, and load it with food at mealtimes. If she is hungry, she will go over and start nosing for food, but otherwise she leaves it alone. She also has a nice food bowl, but most of the time she would rather eat her food from the snuffle mat. For the price, I think this is a must-have, especially for working-breed dogs who enjoy a challenge. You'll need to watch closely at first, make sure that the mat is loaded with food before they have access, and then remove the mat if they start to chew or shake it. But once they understand the concept, they will love it. I have not tried other brands of mats, but this one was recommended on several pet sites, and I've been very happy with it. The fabric is thick and relatively durable (for fabric, anyway). There is a non-skid coating on the bottom (we use it on a rug so I don't know how well it works on hard floors), and there is a nice fabric tie to keep it tidy when rolled up. It also has a variety of puzzles in a range of difficulty levels. I would definitely recommend snuffle mats in general and this one specifically to pet owners.

Great for getting puppy to slow down and use his brain. Well made. Puppy loves it1

One of our doctors suggested since he's not physically active to get him a snuffle mat to get his brain going. I did a little bit of research and I came across this one. This was his first time with any treat-finding device. I cannot say enough about this snuffle mat. He loves it and it keeps him busy for up to 20 minutes depending on how good I hide stuff. It is very soft with nothing rough on it anywhere. The only problem we've had is him scratching at it since it's not mounted down. But it does have some anti-slip backing for non-carpeted floors. I think this product would not work well with an aggressive searching dog. But it is perfect for him. This is definitely one of the best investments we've made. I couldn't be happier! The video posted was his very first time with a snuffle mat. The second and third time we've set it up for him, he was a professional. LOL

I purchased this about half a year ago and our puppy still enjoys sniff snoffing for treats and kibble in it. It's your standard snuffle mat with a nice wide amount of space for medium or big dogs to sniff around in. I liked that there were different types of flaps and pockets on the side as well. The smaller pockets will be difficult for a larger dog to fit his or her snoot in, but that wasn't a big deal for us. (Our puppers is a 45lb aussie cattle dog/shepherd mix.) She hasn't destroyed the mat yet and none of the pieces have fallen off or come detached. It's stood up well to gentle cycle cold washes and low tumble dry so far. Cloth is soft and colors appear just as the images show. There are rubber dots on the bottom to help the mat from sliding -- they're not all that effective to be honest, but we don't really mind. Just don't expect this to stay in one spot on the floor while your dog is rooting through it. I ended up picking this one out of all the others there because the colors/appearance and variety of flaps were the nicest for the price, and I wasn't disappointed! When we don't use the mat, we just roll it up easily and tie the flaps around it and tuck it in a corner. Great purchase for dogs that need to slow down their eating or need to practice using their noses.

There are cheaper products available but this one works well for my reactive dog. Dry kibble is easily hidden in a variety of places on the mat which requires him to concentrate resulting in calmer frame of mind. I have also used it for our elderly second dog to stimulate her cognitively.

My dog using this to eat part of his meals and is definitely satisfied afterwards as he often just lays down on it afterward searching for his food and goes to sleep. It has a non slip backing which is extremely helpful as my guy is older and he does slip or slide as the mat stays put. My favourite thing is that I throw it in the washer on delicate and then in dryer on delicate and comes out looking brand new . Lots of different areas to hid food and challenges my dog

Das 2. Mal habe ich diesen Schnüffelteppich gekauft; wirklich super. Aufgrund einer Erkrankung kann nur feuchtes Futter versteckt werden, was ein ständiges Waschen erforderlich macht. Aber der Schnüffelteppich ist sehr lange schön geblieben und der Hund hat viel Freude damit. Wir sagen: Daumen und Pfoten hoch

Loved this snuffle mat, not as large as I thought and the rubber coating only does so much sticking but my 15year old lab is like a pup when we bring this out. It completely reactivates that foraging instinct and she usually takes it outside afterwards and sniffs everything out there too. Comes back to it all day, even snoozes on it. Well worth it, has relieved a little of her anxiety. One of her favorite things! If you're on the fence, get one, even if it's not this one. They are brilliant!

My dog loves it. I order the large one for my medium (14kg) dog. Looks like the right size. I washed it in washing machine and it was all fine afterwards.