Healthy snacks are a good way to offer your dog a little extra without compromising normal body weight. Lick mats are an amazing way to offer up human food while offering portion control, stress relief, mental stimulation, and just keeping your dog busy for nail trims. They are quick to put together and offer up right away, or you can even put them in the freezer and offer them up frozen to slow down treat time. Today, I will share my favorite options for my girl’s lick mats and give you some ideas for other things you can add as well, while also sharing the many benefits lick mats provide. My girls love their mats so much that they wait in anticipation while I’m making them.
Anxiety Relief
The repetitive action of licking the mat releases endorphins. As most of us know, endorphins make you happy! (Queue my high school dance instructor while trying to get us to run at 7 am in the middle of July in Texas) Lick mats can provide great stress relief during anxious events. Every dog is different; most dogs that suffer from anxiety experience heightened anxiety during fireworks, thunderstorms, and other loud events. The lick mat can provide a great distraction for your pup, taking their mind off the noise or even getting some happy hormones flowing. Nail trims can also be an anxiety-inducing activity, so this is a great time to enlist the help of the lick mat. It helps to keep your dog focused while also calming them down from what they see as you ripping their cute little toe beans off.
I always advise against leaving anything in your dog’s cage with them, as this can become a choking hazard or even cause a blockage if swallowed. To be safe, always supervise your pup while using lick mats.
Enrichment
Lick mats provide amazing enrichment for dogs that tend to get bored easily. Some suggest that just 20 minutes of lick mat enrichment can be the equivalent of 1 hour of playing outside for a dog. Most lick mats have suction on the bottom to keep them in place, which is great, but not using the suction cups can make your dog have to work harder at getting the treats because they have to follow it around as it slides. To keep them sliding, just put it on a paper towel or plastic plate on the ground.
The “puzzle” look also helps to slow dogs down, preventing them from wolfing their food down. (I’m talking to all the labs of the world.) This can prevent regurgutation from eating too fast. It also helps to reduce choking and bloating.
Weight Management
I always try to put healthy options on my pup’s lick mats. Some of the treats I include are healthy but a little higher in calories, like bananas, so on the days I give my girls lick mats, I usually cut back their regular food intake by 1/2 to 1 cup. This ensures they aren’t taking in extra calories while getting such a tasty treat. This is very important for pet parents who have been instructed by their vet to put their pup on a diet.
It’s always important to make sure to check with your vet if you have questions about certain foods you’d like to add to your dog’s lick mat. This is especially important for dogs with allergies. Remember that grapes, onions and chocolate are at the top of the list of toxic foods for your fur babies.
Lick Mat Approved Foods
Now for the fun part- the lick mats!! My girls love their lick mats and stand so pretty in anticipation of them. I always feel bad when I am making them because I freeze theirs and they have to wait longer for them. So I always try to do them quietly, which never works for the lab of the house. There are plenty of options for lick mats. They come in all shapes and sizes. This square lick mat from Amazon is my favorite. I have also included these two. I like them, but they were a little small for my dogs, which are 45 and 60 pounds. They would be great for smaller breeds, though.
My favorite ingredients to add to their lick mats are as follows.
- Plain Greek yogurt- probiotics are great for digestive health, including gut bacteria, and potentially reducing inflammation.
- Peanut butter- Always make sure your peanut butter is xylitol-free. Peanut butter is more of a treat, but it’s a pup favorite amongst most dogs. I like the Great Value and HEB brands as they don’t seem to be super oily.
- Canned pumpkin – is great for digestion and can help dogs with soft stool or constipation.
- Bananas- one of the higher calorie options, but always a favorite and go to for my girls
There are so many options for dogs that you can try. See what works best for your dog. I typically try to add at least 2 things that have some sort of health benefits and then more snackish options. Here is a list of some other things you can try that are safe and healthy for your pup
- Mashed strawberries
- Mashed blueberries
- Vanilla Greek yogurt
- Mashed green beans
- any sort of one ingredient baby food puree
- scrambled egg with nothing added
- chicken or beef broth low sodium
- coconut oil
- unsweetened applesauce
- high quality wet dog food
There are so many options for your pup’s lick mat. If your dog has any known allergies or medical conditions that can be aggravated by certain foods, make sure to consult with your doctor before giving your pup human food. I always freeze my lick mats because not only is it less messy, it also adds to the amount of time it takes for your dog to lick it clean. This increases mental stimulation!
