Snuffle Mats! We LOVE snuffle mats.
Snuffle mats tap instantly into your dog's primal instincts. Your dog's nose was made to sniff and snort, hunt and track and burrow. Using a snuffle mat they get to use it all.
Food games like the snuffle mat ensure you keep your doggy mentally stimulated and healthy. Ultimately, they help your dog grow. Another amazing benefit is that as your dog becomes more stimulated and less distracted by its surroundings by focusing on the snuffle mat, they become more confident and less stressed.
We use the snuffle mat to calm Jesse and grow Obi!
What do we do?
Well, if you haven't seen already, Jesse is a character and a half! We use salmon treats (and some others) in the snuffle mat. We tell Jesse to sit and drop and wait. Once Jesse see's the snuffle mat she is excited, but by asking her to sit, drop and wait she is already realising she's doing a "job" for us - and making us proud. However, at the same time she knows theres a big reward coming (treats and fun!). We place the snuffle mat on the ground about 1m away and ask Jesse to 'watch' (which is where we raise a finger to our nose and move around the snuffle mat so she looks us in the eye. Immediately we tap her nose and say 'release'. Jesse will immediately know that she's allowed to jump into another favourite game!
Don't do
- Leave it around so your dog sees it constantly
- Leave it when you're not around to supervise
-Overfill with unhealthy treats, or do it too often when it becomes boring.
