Lick Mats for Dogs for Christmas?
[We interrupt this program for a public service announcement: Amazing news about my forthcoming fiction novel! AWAY TO ME will be featured in a Goodreads giveaway from December 2nd thru December 16th! 75 lucky winners will receive Advanced Reader Copies. The book actually comes out Februrary 24, so you can be the first in line! (And, great Christmas present!) Here is the link:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/427506-away-to-me
Okay, back to regularly scheduled programming:
Awhile ago, shopping in one of our go-to stores (Duluth Trading), I saw a “lick mat” for dogs, and thought “why not?” Recently, Whole Dog had an article, Best Dog Lick Mats, and I thought: “What a great Christmas present for a dog lover’s dog!” So I ordered two more, based on their recommendations, and here are the results.
Tall Tails Foraging Mat (purchased at Duluth Trading): It says, “satisfies the instinctual activity of foraging for food.” And, “Slows down eating and makes feeding fun!” It’s made of silicon, it’s dish washer safe, and is said to “slow down eating for better digestion” and keeps “dogs happy and healthy.” It comes in different styles (clover, below, versus river rock for example), has a skid resistant bottom, and can be put in the freezer. When I first got it I tried putting in kibble (which they show in one of their photos), and Maggie struggled so hard to get the kibble out I took pity on her and pulled it out myself. However, as you’ll see in a video below, she was successful at getting out wet food (hydrated Honest Kitchen, part of her usual dinner).
Woof Lick Mat: This is Whole Dog’s 2nd listed option, 3.5 paws, stating “The Woof LickMat is a great suction-backed option, feels sturdy and relatively rigid.” It is also made of silicon, has a “pre-portioned mixing bowl” in the middle (which feels unnecessary), has suction cups on the bottom to keep it stable, and if desired, can come with a mix to hydrate and use to smear around the mat.
Lickimat Classic Soother: Whole Dog describes this as a great calming activity for your dog, not so much a puzzle toy or feeding device, but something like tongue-based meditation for dogs. I had quite the time getting it. I ordered it twice, never got the first one, and had given up on the second order after a few weeks when it finally came yesterday.
I’m interested in your experience if you’ve used them, but the ones we need to ask about the mats are the dogs, right? Here’s what happened when Skip and Maggie tried them out:
First, I decided to see if it would be useful giving Skip the ointment (Optimmune) we put into his eyes every day, because he has Pannus (an auto-immune disease that causes blindness if not treated. Skip is super good about getting the ointment inserted onto his eyeball, but I wondered if a lick mat would make it even easier. I’d say yes–watch the video below and see how easily it went. The video below was taken while he is getting used to having the ointment applied while I’m sitting–I’m switching from him lying down on his side, so that I don’t have to get up and down. It has always gone smoothly enough, he is such a dear dog, but it takes some patience to let him work up to having his eyelids held open. I’d say it took 30% to 50% less time with the lick mat, and he seemed more comfortable than ever. I’d call this a win/win.
Do notice though, in the video, that I had to ask him to “Stand” (which I usually use when he is moving his entire body) and “Stay” to keep him motionless–the licking action had to pause briefly for me to get the ointment into his eye. Notice too that he seemed uncomfortable when I first tried to put the med in his second eye, so I backed off and gave him a minute. That–giving him agency and lots of yummy reinforcement made this daily requirement easy and almost fun.
I tried another experiment, and put both lick mats down for Maggie and Skip to try. As you can see in the video below, Maggie went for the Tall Tails, and Skip for the Woof (but I think they were just closest to each dog). This time I put wet food in both mats, and both dogs licked away enthusiastically. You can’t see Skip’s tail in this video, but when he is relaxed and getting food he loves he wags his tail adorably, and it was sweeping back and forth regularly while he licked.
Both dogs licked and licked and licked. I wondered how Maggie would do–the raised silicon “clovers” made it much harder to get at the food than in the Woof mat. I remembered watching her trying to get out kibble earlier, when I thought she was sending out silent canine curses about being tortured. But this time she got reinforced right away; you can see both dogs were busy busy licking away. There wasn’t much to do but lick with the Woof, which Skip did enthusiastically. Maggie needed to nuzzle under the clovers, and had to work harder to get at the food, but she got reinforced enough to keep her at it.
After after five minutes, Maggie’s food was all gone (I put in about a heaping tablespoon), and Skip’s had food still in the crevices but I didn’t see how he could get any more out without turning his tongue into a toothpick.
The same thing happened with the Lickimat Soother– this is what was left after Skip licked and licked and licked. It seems inevitable that some food will be wasted with the Soother and the Woof. It was easy to clean, just felt a bit wasteful.
I‘d love to have a conversation about what lick mats truly do for dogs. They are clearly good distractions, and Skip is here to say that using them for mild medical or grooming procedures can work well. (The Woof and the Tall Tails have suction cups on the bottom to stabilize them, but neither would stick vertically to one of my walls.)
They also seem to be a great way to give your dog something different to do, which is going to feel extra important this week when it will be so cold I have to keep outdoor excursions short. They are clearly ways to slow down a dog’s dinner, especially a small breed who doesn’t have all that much to eat.
But the benefits I am most curious about are the claims related to some of the other benefits– for example, Lickimat Soother: “reduce Stress and anxiety” “and “satisfies the instinctual activity of foraging (Tall Tails). Yes, dogs in the wild do indeed do some licking, but I’m not sure how much of a benefit this is for a dog in terms of “instinctual activities.” But the “soothing” claim has some science behind it. For example, a study from NIH found that, in our species anyway, chewing gum–repetitive mouth motion–reduced perceived stress. Knitting, another repetitive activity, is in the news lately as another way of decreasing anxiety and improving a sense of happiness. The benefits of repetitive motion for humans is well documented and has become part of the human wellness zeitgeist.
And yes, of course, dogs aren’t people but they are mammals and many of the neurological mechanisms are shared. There is thus reason to believe that repetitive licking could be good for dogs, especially given how constrained is the life of a domestic dog. BUT–last and important question! Couldn’t this be hard on a dog’s tongue? Seriously–canids in the wild don’t lick on things with little knobby points. I tried it myself and the Soother feels, well, like it’s a bit hard on one’s tongue. Human tongue, dog tongue? What’s the physical difference. Vets! Help me out here!!!
Jump in here, we need your input! Have you tried them? (I mean have your dogs tried them!) How does your dog behave–do they get excited when you get one out? How do you use them? Do you think I could buff up my tongue and use them myself when I get anxious about . . . oh, never mind.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Snow snow snow! The photos say it all, enjoy the winter wonderland!
Here’s to a week with moments of joy and wonder. I’ll be with you again the Monday before Christmas. (And, if you are reading this on Tuesday, December 2nd, don’t forget that Love Has No Age Limit is on Super Sale for Giving Tuesday–hoping to inspire dog lovers around the country to buy them in bulk and donate them to their local shelter. THANK YOU if you can manage to add this to your list.
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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This was an interesting read. I work in the medical area at an animal shelter and we use lick mats often to help complete medical procedures. It has been a great tool to distract for eye medications, blood draws, skin scrapings, vaccinations – almost anything. When we need it to be raised off the floor, we generally suction it to a metal surface (refrigerator or a stainless metal divider from one of our cat cages that we don’t use any longer since the cat cages are all portalized now.
We use them for enrichment too. Great stuff!
I have used lick mats in the past with previous dogs ( two laid-back Lurchers and a Jack Russell) but didn’t find them to be particularly calming, in fact the dogs would become really excited at the sight of them. I stopped using them after my Jack Russell Lottie used her teeth on the nodules of the mat and swallowed the rubber in her determination to finish every scrap! So I would say use with care and maybe don’t leave unattended, but great for use as a distraction.
I’ve used a small lick pad for years while giving my dogs baths. Sammy will follow me into the shower if I’m carrying his (coated with peanut butter). His tail is still between his legs, but he’ll tolerate the bath without attempting to retreat.
To echo about the use of lick mats in mild grooming/medical procedures:
I use lick mats while bathing my dogs sometimes.
But I start using one after my dog already has positive-reinforcement based husbandry training with bath time– the dog is already comfortable with getting in and out of the tub on cue and is cooperative with getting a bath. After that point, I use the lick mats to elevate the routine. I find that my dogs are quite enthusiastic participants in bath time this way, even if it’s a bit more planning for me to try not to make a mess!
Three months ago I adopted a 10yo chihuahua mix with skin issues – itchy belly, legs and paws. While things are slowly improving w diet change, vet prescribed supplements and daily cleaning and soothing balms – it all has initiated me into the world of self soothing via licking, and the feedback loop this creates on skin when battling bacterial/fungal conditions.
Almost 3 weeks ago I adopted a second, 5yo, chi mix (because why not!😵💫) and the self soothing licking thing is coming up w her as well. Try as I might to create a stress free environment, the adjustment for these little beings – ie: coming from cities to live in the deep woods, cat! 👀, etc – is inevitably stressful at times.
So now I’ll be pondering lick mats. When is self soothing healthy? When does it become compulsive? I sucked my thumb as a kid … Healthy? Not healthy behavior?
Would redirecting the licking onto another object perpetuate the behavior or calm it and eventually help it subside – help the dog to learn to cope?
I happen to be having lunch w an animal behaviorist friend today. Guess what we’ll be talking about! 😉
Angie, these are excellent questions. One of the related issues I’ve thought about is that dogs lick a lot when they are in pain–I’ve seen it in a lot of client’s dogs, and know that Maggie’s stomach is bothering her when she starts to lick her dog bed in the morning. Is the dog then self-soothing? Does that make licking soothing, or a coping mechanism that could lead to something compulsive? I’d guess, though, that for most dogs, lick mats are great ways to distract them from husbandry, give them something to do, and slow down eating. Check out the comments, I see already that a lot of readers use them successfully. (Yay our readers, such a vast treasure of knowledge.)
Thank you – I’m following this post with great curiosity 😊
My dogs love lick mats! They will chew up the thin ones. I purchased one from Woofsie.com that has a slow feeder on one side and a lick mat on the other. It is thick enough that they have not chewed it up. I put their kibble and wet food in the slow feeder side, and if company is coming over they get peanut butter on the lick mat side to keep them occupied so they don’t jump on our guests. It’s a great product and sold by a woman who lives right here in Stoughton. I like to buy local.
I used a lick mat with a bee hive design plus another slow feeder for my standard poodle puppy. If I put the food (homemade raw) in her bowl she would inhale it then throw up. With the lick mat she ate slowly so it was a success.
I do use lick mats. I look for ones that have shallow softly-shaped raised bits rather than sharp geometrically-shaped raised bits. They are easier to clean the residual food – usually peanut butter, soft cheese, or pureed wet food – off of. I used lick mats at shelter so I could inspect, take pictures of, and treat wounds for dogs who didn’t like or weren’t used to being handled. As you mentioned, I use “stand” and “touch” [hand targeting] to get my dog to change position for grooming & treating wounds. Naming body parts, telling Lewis [12YO Basenji] what I’m going to do, and what I need him to do
“ear, touchin /looking, be still”
makes it so much easier!
Thank you for the beautiful snow pictures.
I was given the Woof Mat when I adopted my young Pitbull (from the awesome Second City Canine Rscue). Archer is *extremely* food focused. (I have to use a slow-down insert in his food bowl to keep him from inhaling his food and choking.) I use the Woof Mat, slathered in peanut butter, for nail trims. He starts to spin in ecstasy when he merely sees the mat, even before I’ve added the peanut butter. It has made trimming his nails a breeze. And since the mat can be cleaned in the dishwasher, it’s perfect. I highly recommend it.
We feed our wet, home-made meals in those Outward Hound bowls that look like a labyrinth. Mealtime is peaceful and they take 5-7 minutes to polish the bowls.
I’ve tried two styles of Lickimat brand and found both a little too deep and frustrating for the dogs, and wasteful. We enjoy the Honomastry brand from Amazon – they’re quite inexpensive, they come bundled in pairs or more, and include a nifty spatula and cleaning brush that I use all the time in the kitchen. I learned about them from my Fear Free vet clinic, where they are used for welcome-soothers, distraction, and post-handling soothing treats. Their texture is lower-relief and more widely spaced than the Lickimats, so the dogs clean them pretty well. Not practical for feeding a meal, but we use it for an evening amusement when I don’t feel like training. And they have strong suction pads on the back for mounting on a vertical surface – handy for trimming Aussie bottoms.
The other licking accessory I love is the “Lick and Learn,” developed by Leslie McDevitt and sold by Clean Run. It’s a paddle with a very subtle texture. Lots of people use spray cheese with them, but I prefer meat baby food that comes in squeeze tubes. I use it to help excitable dogs dial down in training sessions when they are grabby, and we use it at the vet. The handle makes it easy to guide the dog into a desired position. It’s how we station my older, super-sensitive Aussie for no-restraint hind leg blood draws every year.
I use licki bowls ALL the time!!! I have my senior pup lie on a magnetic mat for 30 minutes every day and I use licki bowls with various things spread on them and frozen to keep him there for the 30 minutes. I also do the same when I need to give him a red light laser treatment. I use baby food, yogurt, wet dog food etc… spread thinly and frozen – works GREAT!!! Please don’t tell me I’m screwing up his tongue with all the licking!!!
I like the bowls better than the mats because it keeps the area around the bowl from getting yucky – I found if I used the mats he would get stuff on the floor or carpet etc…. I also found that the bowls with the nubs worked better than the bowls with pressed designs in them – the ones with pressed designs there is always stuff left in the tight crevices – with the nubs he’s able to get them totally clean. Another good use for the licki bowl is that’s what I put his fish oil in. I pump in a few pumps and it doesn’t spill, and he can lick, lick, lick, lick, lick to his heart’s content!
We’ve used lick mats with our dogs – none of the ones you chose but with 4 different areas each slightly different pattern. The dogs love them and can stay occupied for quite a while. As for hanging them vertically – the refrigerator! Sticks very well. I’d say that it’s both calming and allows the dog to continuously have the sensation of eating. We use natural peanut butter. Not easy to clean but keeps the dogs happy for 15-20 minutes at least.
I’d say the lick mat does have some calming effects, at least with the one dog I tried it on for that purpose. Electra would wolf down her dinner then scream loudly to be let out of her crate, which I didn’t want to inadvertently reward. I started including a frozen lick mat with her meal, which gave her something to work on after dinner. Poof! No more screaming, as long as I let her out in a decent amount of time after the other dogs finished. She appeared very calm while working on it so it seemed to be more than just occupation at work here.
I use a lick mat that is divided into four areas, each with a slightly different pattern, when I grind nails. Dog takes no notice of what I’m doing and is still licking even after I’ve finished. I liken it to listening to music while the dentist cleans your teeth. Pleasant distraction. Same dog is a resource guarder who refuses to eat unless he “thinks” one of the other dogs might get his food. Now I’m wondering if I might entice him to eat without all the drama by jump starting him with the lick mat. Hmmm…
We use a lick mat as the main component of a nighttime routine. We have a young energetic miniature American Shepherd who didn’t like to settle down at night. Every morning I spread some canned pumpkin and a little peanut butter on his lick mat and put it in the freezer. At night, I dim the lights, turn down the volume on the TV, put away the dog toys and give Lucas his lick mat. Because it’s frozen, it takes him a while to consume the treat. He seems to understand that when he’s finished licking, playtime is over and it’s time to settle down for the night. We do this consistently every evening and it works like a charm!
We use lick mats and slow feeders at Oregon Humane Society (where I volunteer) frequently, for enrichment, soothing, and to slow down dogs who eat scarf it all at once style. I will be buying some of your books today to donate! Next year, please consider doing special offers for multiple titles on the same day please. I will get for sure buy “Love Has no Age Limit.” I have already donated 100 “Potty Training at any Age.” Not only do the books help adopters; they also get your name in front of them for future reference.
Great idea, Patricia, will do! And thank you for all your efforts at the Humane Society. You are all angels.
We looove lick mats! I have a super high energy field golden and when she was a pup terrorizing my ankles and my kids with her “nipping” I would giver her one every day -along with stuffed kongs and puzzle feeders – to help chill her out. I read somewhere that the trifecta of calm for a dog is to lick, sniff, and chew. I have the inexpensive shallow 4-section ones so I can make a big batch of them and freeze them so they last longer. I put baby food (chicken and sweet potato) on one half, plain yogurt and peanut butter on the other quarters, or whatever I have on hand. She doesn’t “need” them as much anymore, but they are still a lovely treat.
Well, ya’ll convinced me to experiment w my belly, leg, paw licking self-soothers. I’m especially interested in the Lick and Learn “paddle” that Wendy K recommended. And such great suggestions about low calorie smears that arent cheese or peanut butter!
Thank you!!!
I have used Lickimats for years, as an activity to keep my dogs occupied especially when we can’t get outside. I’ve used a suction cup one to groom my Cavalier KC who is sensitive to being groomed. I stick it to the window in front of the grooming table, smear it with peanut butter, cream cheese, or pumpkin, and let her lick while I groom. I’ve also smeared them with the aforementioned treats and frozen them. I’ve never used them as feeders, just extra activities or distractions.
I can only speak to German Shepherd Dogs in regards to lick mats (and indeed everything else), but I’ve had a few of them, so here goes:
My dogs were and are not particularly excited about lick mats. They might lick greek yogurt and kefir out of them to some extent, but only because they love it soooooo muuuuch! They won’t put too much effort into licking anything else out of them.
My current GSDs also don’t like kongs at all, they get quite frustrated and give up very easily. (They have a pretty high frustration tolerance, so I don’t think it’s that.) They do like Topples a lot, though.
All of that being said, my dogs get quite a bit of natural “enrichment”, as it were. One of their meals is a scatter feed in vastly different places (out and about), sometimes there is another scatter feed in the garden, if they need extra food that day. (Dinner is always wet food out of a bowl – plenty in life is free around here). Plus they get several hours (I’d say around 5 hours at least of) sniffing, stalking, learning, playing and then, they can always play and interact with each other.
My dogs are pretty relaxed, so maybe thats a factor.
I know of another dog in our family, who is older, does not get a lot of “enrichment” but does go on regular walks. And she does really like her lick mat. So maybe it’s a matter of the sum of opportunities.
Greetings from Brisbane , Australia
all your books are listed on Amamzon [ Australia ] but not your new book ?? Do you have a time frame-ish for it being listed ?
Love these newsletters
smiles
Myra Mangin
Thanks for asking Brisbane! (And HELLO Australia! I miss you!) I will ask my pub about Australia, I’m not sure what is going on there but I’ll find out!
We LOVE lucky mats!! I’ve seen my Golden with issues go from about to explode to exiting his crate calmly after cleaning off a lucky mat. My border collie mix is ore pushy and just stares at me, then goes to the garage door (for the fridge outside) to tell me he’s ready for his evening treat!!! I use them as nighttime diversions, and they love them! I use the inexpensive ones bought on amazon that come with a little spatula. I use: pumpkin, applesauce, cat food, canned dog food, squished berries, bananas, yogurt, peanut butter, sour cream, liver sausage (easy to apply- just rub surface lightly with sliced open liver sausage tube) cream cheeses, etc.
With this amount of variety, I try to balance so there not too much dairy and rich food on any one mt. They are easy to make, and I aspire to have at least a half dozen in the freezer all the time!
Our girl loves them but use of one didn’t work to distract her from a bath! She likes peanut butter, yogurt, and also a calming one from Woof. (link below) She’s a relatively active dog. Licking the mat takes a while and tires her out for a bit. I tired dog is a good dog!
https://www.chewy.com/woof-pupsicle-pops-refills-calming/dp/1131518?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20647600289&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20647600988&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V3sBr5MLy_XProNVcIKndHVA&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_8TJBhDNARIsAPX5qxT2T9GmPRp9hs4eQdCIGUx2HZ6xzU9VIni9RhuDK6WZLIqt-I8CEGQaAhKAEALw_wcB
Such great and interesting. Just throwing out the favorite in my house is the ufo bowl. The side make it easier for the human not to spill and it can be used for meals or enrichment.
I use lick mats for my 6 year old Aussie who is not that fond of vet visits. I use a stainless steel version that suctions very nicely to the wall. He just stands there and licks while getting examined. I also use it for nail trims and grooming. I think the stainless steel version is easier on their tongue, and they can get all the food off of it. They’ also stand up very nicely in the dishwasher. The stainless steel version has also really helped some clients who have very enthusiastic lickers who would normally start tossing the silicone mats around.