You might need to spend a few hours in making a snuffle mat for your dog. But I recommend doing it, because using the mat calms your dog and allows him to work for his food. And the mat can be used even for several years.
First I cut lots of holes in a towel. You can use a piece of a rubbery door mat instead which already has holes in it.
If you choose the towel, you can make as many holes in it as you like. More holes needs more fleece but too much holes can make the towel to shred.
I cut about 2 cm wide and 25 cm long strips of fleece. You can make the strips shorter if you like and they don’t all need to be the same length.
I cut about 1,5 times more strips than the towel had holes, so I put two strips in every other hole.
First I pushed the strips through one hole on the towel and then I pushed it back from the next hole. After that I tied it with one knot. In my finished mat the strips were a bit over 10 cm long.
The first time you give the mat to your dog, put the threats ON TOP of the strips so your dog only sniffs and eats the treats and doesn’t shred or toss the mat all over. Later on you can make the game harder and put the treats under the strips.
You may want to use only dry treats with the mat. If you make the mat with a towel, you can easily put the mat inside a laundry bag and put it in the washing machine. If you choose a rubber mat you may need to hand wash it if it gets dirty.
