PAW5 Dog Snuffle Mat for Dogs Small Dog Toys Interactive, Boredom & Anxiety Premium Feeding Mat for Slow Eating & Smell Training, Dog Brain Toy

Love this snuffle mat! No smell at all. I washed and dried them when they arrived, I ordered 2 for my dogs. I placed kibble and treats in them and gave them each one mat. The material is very soft. They loved sniffing out the treats. And they were both calm when they were done. 16 month and 10 week puppy.

My chihuahua/beagle LOVES this so much. We've been using it for about 7 months now. She eats twice a day off of this mat in an enclosed space so she can take her time. She shoves her face in and has a blast. She gets sooooo excited waiting by her mat. Being a beagle, it doesn't really take anything more than the idea of food to get her excited, but she is very clearly enjoying herself. Her tail wags non-stop while searching and it has encouraged us to try hiding other treats and stuff to keep her stimulated, which has been a blast for all of us. She generally spends somewhere in the 7-10 minute range finding all her little kibbles because she eats small bites and we have gotten good at getting them buried well quickly. As far as durability goes, this thing has been great. I throw it in the wash once a week with our rags and dog towels, run it through heavy cycles and high heat in the dryer and it's still in perfect shape. Not a single fray, no pieces coming off, not a single string loose. It is so durable and great. I'm back to by another one simply so that I can wash it more often and I don't have to rush to get it washed and dried between feedings. We have another older dog who eats slowly and uses a raised bowl and I wouldn't use this on him at all, so it really depends on the dog. Even when he was younger this would have annoyed him and I'm quite sure he would have refused to eat off of it, so I know this wouldn't work for all dogs. That being said, if you have an excitable eater that needs to be slowed down, especially if they love foraging, then this will be such an enjoyable experience for them!

My puppy has been having intermittent vomiting episodes for several months. I finally took him to the vet and she suggested a slow feeder bowl as she thought he was regurgitating because he was eating too fast. So, I bought a slow feeder bowl and broke up each feeding into 2-3 smaller amounts - however, even with this, it would take him less than 15 minutes to empty his bowl. While he had fewer vomiting episodes after the switch to the slow feeder, I let the vet know and this time, they suggested I try a snuffle mat. I had never heard of this but after looking it up and reading reviews, I decided on this particular mat. My dog still likes to chew on soft materials so the mats with felt or ribbons which aren't sewn on securely were not going to work. This mat is very well-made and seems to be very durable. I ordered the two-pack since I wanted to be able to wash the mat after he's used it for a couple of days and always have a clean mat ready to use. That turned out to be a good idea because this does take a while to dry - I wash the mat in a laundry bag and then lay it out on the drying rack on my covered lanai. After a day, I put it in my dryer and I use the steam refresh cycle to make sure the mat is sanitized and completely dry. I've found it's best to lay the mat on a large tray and then "stuff" the mat with kibble and treats I've cut up - it's easier to go row by row, spreading the cloth strands as I sprinkle the kibble/treats, and then closing the cloth strands over them when I move on to the next row - it does take time but if I do it correctly, it takes my puppy over 10 minutes to finish the kibble/treats I've placed in the mat - do note though, that I give him the snuffle mat after he has had one feeding from his slow feeder - however, because I have continued the smaller portions, he's still hungry enough but has the patience to go through the snuffle mat for his second serving - he hasn't played with it, other than sometimes using a paw to part some of the cloth strands but he hasn't taken it in his mouth to shake it - however, I usually call him over once he's finished and shake the mat over the the tray to make sure nothing is left in the mat - but he's getting so good at finding every piece that lately, nothing shakes out except some very fine bits of the cut-up treats. My vet was very happy after I reported the success of this snuffle mat and my puppy hasn't had any vomiting episodes after having a feeding using the mat. If you don't have the time or patience to stuff the mat, it might be better to consider using a lick mat rather than this - but I think my puppy has benefited from foraging for the kibble and treats so this activity has been very rewarding for him. The mats are not cheap but these are so well-made that I think they will last a long time so a good investment for both of us!

I bought this for my sheltie puppy. Like human infants, puppies field of awareness expands from near to further away as they grow, which includes their sense of smell. This helped my puppy grow in her nose work and she had fun hunting for her food. I also read that in dog training, when giving a dog an occasional "jackpot" reward, it's best to give one treat in a row rather than give the whole bunch at once. The explanation for this was that a dog's sense of enjoyment is extended by smelling each piece at a time. This snuffle mat extends the enjoyment of their food experience as they can linger on the scent sensory a little bit longer. And if you're a being who typically eats 2-3 times a day, this may just be an added bonus to quality of daily living. There is work involved for the human here. I have to spend a little extra time tucking in pieces of kibble in the different layers of snuffles. It's not like dumping a scoop of kibble in a bowl, you want to enhance the snuffle experience by taking a few extra seconds to hide them. The upside to that is my sheltie has to sit patiently until she gets the okay. The other thing is cleaning. Most of the time, I take it outside and shake out the crumbs. Being a puppy, she occasionally piddled on it. The snuffle mat is a heavy and dense fabric and washes well in my washing machine. I wouldn't put it in my dryer, but I hung it outside in the summer or on a dry rack in the shower on rainy days. In other words, takes quite of bit of time to dry. With that said, I think it's a very worthwhile feeding and cognitive training tool.

I have a 13 year old dog that LOVES to eat. Unfortunately being a senior and rocking 2 knee surgeries; she doesn't burn off the calories the way she used to. We are always trying to sneak in some vegetables in place of cookies, a tablespoon of pumpkin to keep her regular; and we are constantly in search of the newest food puzzle to stretch out dinner time and make it more of an "event" as opposed to over in 30 seconds. The Snuffle mat turned Veronica's kibble dinner into a 3 1/2 minute affair. (If you would like to see the entire event, go to youtube and search: Veronica Lynn Pit Bull Snuffle Mat.) The mat is very sturdy and well made, the "blades of grass" very thick and soft. The top of the mat is 75% cotton and 25% spandex; and the underneath is 65% polyester and 35% cotton. The directions say it is fine to go in the washer and dryer, which is what really sold me on it. I haven't had need to wash it yet as we have only used it a few times and since I am only sprinking kibble over it, it doesn't really get very dirty. When I do wash it, I plan to let it mostly air dry on the rack then toss it in the dryer on low heat for maybe 10 minutes or so. I like it so much I just want to treat it extra gently to avoid any shrinkage. Veronica's dinner is 3/4 of a cup of kibble (if that doesn't sound like a lot, she also gets breakfast, lunch and more snacks than she should). I sprinkle her whole dinner over the mat. When she signals that she's done; I shake it out and she's usually missed 2 to 4 pieces of kibble. Obviously you want to use this mat, like most things with dogs; under supervision. That said, she doesn't try to chew the mat or the "grass"; she just snuffles around and picks out the kibble. I wouldn't want to use this mat with super soft treats - just personal prefence - I think it would be messy. Using hard kibble the mat actually stays really clean - unless of course you have a dog that drools a lot. I'm a clean freak and even if I use this mat several times a week, I'll probably only need to wash it once a month. I highly recommend the Snuffle mat for canine enrichment.

I purchased two of these snuffle mats based on google search of best snuffle mats but they weren't what I was hoping for. I have a Great Dane and a Bullmastiff who eat giant breed kibble. These are very large size kibble pieces and this snuffle mat did not adequately hide the pieces. Plus the Dane just picked up his mat and his kibble all fell out onto the floor. I am likely going to either through or give this away. I did purchase a different snuffle mat which has pockets that hide the giant kibble better and much happier with that. I think the paw5 mat will likely work for smaller dogs or smaller kibble pieces.

I bought this for our Treeing Walker Coonhound and our Shepherd mix puppy. Didn't really think they'd care much one way or the other, but they LOVE it. If you have a dog who gulps his food, this will slow him down (I'm looking at you, Bulleit the coonhound). If you have a dog who is sometimes indifferent to eating kibble from the bowl (yes, Loki, I mean you, puppy) , this actually seems to stimulate the appetite and gets the picky one to eat. After eating, they like to carry it out the doggy door and fling it around the yard. It is well-made and they haven't been able to chew it up at all. It's also machine washable. Not that dogs care if something smells funky, but the human female does. The mat satisfies the urge to forage much better than tipping the kitchen trash can over and foraging through that. I have a 3rd dog who doesn't get excited for it, so I can't say every dog will love it.

My lab puppy is about 5 months old. We have bought several different "puzzle" bowls to try to slow down her eating (she would eat her cup of food in a few seconds). She just basically destroyed the plastic puzzle bowls and they were frustrating for her. Most of the time she flipped them over in a few seconds and then just ate off the floor. Anyway, this is 1000 times better. She really seems to enjoy finding the food, it's much slower and calmer than the puzzle bowl aftermath, she sniffs the whole time and is occupied. Eating is a still a quick process but slower than before. I have washed it on warm and dried it on low heat multiple times and it just comes out looking new and smelling fresh. I really am surprised; I thought it would have frayed in the wash or come apart but all of the fabric pieces are holding on strong. One of the best things we have bought for our dog.