My dog has started to nibble her feet or a blanket when I dare to have an hour sit down before bed. So I’m looking for something to entertain her, but not feed her, as she has had tea at this point.
So I was considering a lick mat and wondered if anyone had experience or recommendations ?

Yep I use a silicone waffle mould from amazon . Works perfectly and cheaper than purpose made dog ones

We have these, they’re great. Mine even have half their tea on it sometimes, if your dogs on raw then its dead easy, if not then just soak the kibble in boiling water for a bit until soft enough to spread on the lickimat- that way you wont need to add any extra calories and no need to worry about feeding too much

Do any of you use anything other than their food ?
I’ve seen peanut butter mentioned but that doesn’t seem healthy to me.

You can put things on like yoghurt, or if we've had roast chicken I keep some of the jelly juices then you can freeze it so it lasts longer. Except mine will often bite the frozen bits off and chew them. I use part of food allowance and stuff hooves as well.

Occasional peanut butter is fine as a treatt. Bit make sure it's just peanuts nothing that contains palm oil or xylitol
Meridian is a good brand .
Yogurt works well anything that u can spread . Cheese spreads . The liver pate made forr dogs

> Occasional peanut butter is fine as a treatt. Bit make sure it's just peanuts nothing that contains palm oil or xylitol<br />Meridian is a good brand . <br />Yogurt works well anything that u can spread . Cheese spreads . The liver pate made forr dogs

Second everything ff said - frozen yogurt mine love! And the occasional meridian peanut butter topping is always an exciting addition for them

I tend to use peanut butter more as I high value reward for something (the lickimat will be in place for them to go on cue and have said reward after training) or if I feel they need a distraction or ‘brain boost’ - it keeps them licking for quite a while due to it being so sticky and oily and, most importantly, tasty! So definitely save the peanut butter for big treats or if you’ve forgotten to make things in advance/running short of time

A lick mat is a new one on me.  I've never heard of anything like this and wonder why all of a sudden (?) it's being used/discussed.  Obviously I've heard of salt licks for cattle but not a lick mat for a dog.  What's going on...... is this lack of company for the dog, lack of exercise?  

Is this confined to a specific breed, or type of dog?

Any dog . Its another form of keeping the dog engaged in a calm activity
Much like snuffle mats. All enrichment activities
In the ops case she wants it to add to other things to divert attention from chewing the dogs feet
They are good to entertain the dog if u cant . Not over use of course

Do you freeze the mat with the juices on it ?
She has a teaspoon of yogurt with Plaque Off in it every night, so I’ll put that on sometimes.

I dont but no reason why not

All depends on how long you want it to last whether you freeze or not. That goes for any food you put on there. Good for hot days to have some frozen.

Use one for grooming feet & cutting nails. Squish cheese into ours, & depending how much I use keeps him occupied & distracted for sometime.
Great simple invention.

I like that idea lacy

I've seen them with suckers on the back so you can stick them at the end of the bath for bath time, or to door if you want them to stand for anything

I've got various ones, the flimsy ones and the solid plastic ones. I usually use sardines and yoghurt and freeze them. Cream cheese or pate I also use. Always frozen otherwise they don't last 2 seconds

Lick mats - when did they creep into the dog world?  They certainly have escaped me and mine.  Sound like something that might be taken into the Dragons Den for initial promotion!

There are loads of great ideas for enrichment around  . Very useful if a dog has to be crated after surgery or injury or for mental stimulation .some with the owner and some without
Sometimes as alternative to walking for different reasons
Its like using different size containers for food .stuffing boxes with paper and hiding food or treats for the dog to sniff out. They love it

There are so many great enrichment ideas. Just another alternative to say a kong. I love how we have moved forward with these things.

Licking is a brilliant calming activity for dogs, just like sniffing and chewing. I have one but keep forgetting it exists, I should let River enjoy it more often!

I like using Primula cheese on it. Thanks for the yogurt suggestion, he loves that and it’ll work really well.

  Obviously, with my main breed and now my Whippet, having this hasn't been needed (so far!).

This is where coming to an 'all breed' website can be interesting.  There's always something new to learn about.

Why not give it a try for fun .I bet she  would love 
I dont use one out of need its just something brooke enjoys . Its something different .
I also send her into the garden sometimes to search out frozen peas
Something else she loves doing and doesn't add calories but allows her to use her nose. 
If it wasn't quite so awkward as I feed raw I would do similar with her food but occasionally hide a bone for her to find .kibble is even easier as they can sniff out their food
These are things any breed can enjoy

Yes we use frozen peas…I call them healthy sweets also frozen blueberries and other frozen fruit and veg, more strict with fruit though due to the natural sugars etc
We do scatter feeding outside lots during the summer, they love it!
Like all enrichment it’s there to give them something to do and stimulate them mentally, most of the time they’d otherwise sleep and settle but they really do love it so why not - beats them sleeping again imo
FF not sure if you already do this but something we do is put some raw in a Tupperware that has holes in the top, we hide it in the garden without them seeing then send them off to find it. They have to indicate they’ve found it adn we open it and they eat…it’s more of a participating activity compared to something like a lickimat or scatter feeding etc but again they love it

M4l  heth sweets i like that. Ive done that type of thing at various classes we have gone to .must try at home she loves using her nose even if she isn't a scent hound lol
Currently laying outside backdoor sniffing the air  for foxes