Choosing The Right LickiMat
We’re often asked for advise on choosing the right LickiMat so we put together this post to help you make the right decision for your four legged friend, along with some tips and answers to frequently asked questions.
About LickiMats
LickiMats are great as an anxiety Reliever, Treat Maker, Slow Feeder, Training Aid, Boredom Buster, Tongue Cleaner and all-round life Enrichment product for pets. Recommended by Dog Trainers worldwide.
LickiMats are a unique and versatile product range designed by vets. They are manufactured and used by dog lovers and dog owners. Designed to improve your dog’s mental and oral health.
The LickiMat range is based on a challenge/reward based treat delivery system that engages dogs over a long period of time while only delivering small portions of their favourite treat. LickiMats are designed to deliver a medical free way to promote calm behaviour in your dog while home alone or during stressful times, like storms.
The LickiMat range can also be used as a feeder for most dogs.
Choosing The Right LickiMat…
Lets take a dive into all the LickiMat’s we keep in stock in our store to help you with choosing the right LickiMat for your pooch!
LickiMat Classics
LickiMat Classics come with three different surface patterns. All three are designed to work with raw, wet, dry, and liquid dog food, but the surface patterns differ a little to better suit different types of foods, treats, and liquids.
- Playdate has discrete pockets that will contain food. Liquids are easier to manage and keep separate from other food or treats. Perfect for raw feeding and dry food.
- Buddy has a more complex surface and still allows separation of foods and treats. Perfect for raw feeding and dry food.
- Soother is exactly what the name says. It allows soft and liquid foods to be licked out with extra tongue simulation. Perfect for raw feeding. Personally, we feel that this is the perfect LickiMat for puppies too!
LickMat Classics must be hand-washed. (Cleaning advice below).
LickiMat Buddy Tuff
LickiMat Buddy Tuff series are suitable for raw, wet, dry and liquid dog food, as well as any manner of dog treats and spreads.
If your dog is a naughty chewer, or a teething puppy, then you should definitely select from the LickiMat Buddy Tuff range.
LickiMat Buddy Tuff are dishwasher safe. (Cleaning advice below).
LickiMat Wobble
LickiMat Wobble is a unique bowl with the rubber dimples of the mat surface on the inside. Wobbles are designed to combine wet, raw, and especially soft or liquid dog foods and treats. Wobbles are extremely well-suited to freezing liquid treats and spreads.
Wobbles are all about extra fun for your dog. The wobbling action adds an extra dimension to the challenge of licking the treat from the rubber dimpled surface, greatly enriching and prolonging the pleasurable experience.
The LickiMat Wobble is dishwasher safe. (Cleaning advice below).
LickiMat Splash
LickiMat Splash has a suction cup designed to attach to smooth wall surfaces and bath tubs. Splash is designed for use with soft and spreadable dog treats.
Splash is all about keeping your pet focused, relaxed and still when bathing, grooming or when you visit the vet.
LickiMat Splash must be hand-washed. (Cleaning advice below).
LickiMat SloDog Feeder
SloDog is the best no gulp slow feeder on the market. Most slow feeders work by putting obstructions or maze like structures to make it difficult for the dog to get to the food. The dog actually has to chase the food around the bowl to get to eat. This can be extremely frustrating to the dog and can cause stress and anxiety in the animal.
SloDog is a unique approach to slow feeding or anti gulping. By changing from a bowl to a plate a much bigger surface area is available to the feeding dog. All food is in plain sight and does not have to be chased so avoiding frustration. We simply designed a device that splits the meal into multi mini meals by spreading the measure into lots of small shallow pockets. The dog simply eats one mini meal at a time. If the dog tries to eat from two pockets at a time the food just falls from the dog’s open mouth.
With its unique design our SloDog invention is logical and simple. It is specially designed for relaxed no-stress feed time. Our testing has shown that SloDog can slow the dog’s feeding down from a few seconds to MANY minutes!
LickiMat Slomo
Designed with a waffle-like textured pattern, this innovative pet treat and food mat makes your dog’s favourite treats last longer while helping relax and soothe your pet’s anxiety or simply to cure their boredom, especially when you’re away from home. The deep pockets inside the cubes give you a small area to place soft pet treats or even kibble. This makes it easier for you to control your dog’s food portions during meal times.
As your dog scrapes their tongue over the textured surface, they will experience a relaxing and cleansing sensation. The textures will help scrape away food particles and bacteria from the tongue, which aid in improving overall dental and oral health. Repetitive licking also boosts saliva production that leads to better digestion due to the enzymes found in saliva. You can freeze treats on the Lickimat Slomo to give your dog a cool treat to enjoy in the heat. Use wet or dry dog food to help slow-feed your pet during mealtimes and place a small amount in some or all of the cubes of the Lickimat Slomo.
Feeding Recommendations
What can you spread on a LickiMat?
In short, anything your dog likes. You can improvise and experiment to your heart’s content.
There is plenty of room on a LickiMat for you to spread different foods to see what your dog likes best.
What are the more popular spreads for a LickiMat?
You can use the back of a spoon or spatula to:
- Spread your dog’s wet or raw food
- Spread yoghurt
- Spread our Doggy Peanut Butter Treat Jar and top with Lickimat Sprinkles
- Press canned fish into a LickiMat (sardines, tuna, salmon)
- Spread raw or cooked vegetables and fruits (banana, broccoli, carrots, apples, berries, peas etc)
- You can crumble your dog’s favourite dry food and put it on a wet LickiMat if you are in a hurry or have run out of spreadable ingredients.
- You can pour chicken broth, bone broth, or gravy on any LickiMat for a fun treat or in combination with anything else.
- You can mix your dog’s medication with treats on a LickiMat.
Where can I find recipes for LickiMats?
You can click on the link here for the LickiMat recipe blog. There are also a lot of recipes on Instagram and social media posted by pet owners, dog trainers, and vets.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I use the LickiMat as a feeder?
Absolutely. dogs love feeding off a LickiMat. LickiMats are suitable for use as wet or dry food dog feeders.
Can I freeze a LickiMat?
Absolutely. You can freeze and stack multiple LickiMats to make it easier to pull one out when you need it.
If you store a LickiMats in the refrigerator, cover it with cling wrap to keep in the freshness.
Can I cover the entire LickiMat?
Absolutely. The LickiMat is designed to be covered with spreadable treats all the way to the edge.
You should generally not stack the treat too much higher than the mat for small dogs. You can stack the treat higher the larger breeds because of the correspondingly larger tongue, but generally no higher than twice the height of the mat unless you are using the LickiMat as a slow feeder.
Should I try more than one type of LickiMat?
The different surfaces suit different types of treats: slurry, solid, chunky, liquid and the like. The different surfaces also respond differently to pressure from the dog’s tongue.
Will a small LickiMat work for a big dog?
Absolutely. It all depends on the treat you use. All dogs, especially big dogs love the juice and the bottom of mice meat that has been spread on a Smoother™, or Yogurt on a Buddy. You would be surprised how long a small amount of tasty treat lasts even for a big dog.
Will my dog chew the LickiMat?
Nearly all dogs are interested in the treat and not the rubber. However, as with all dog toys and treats we recommend to supervise your dog whilst they’re enjoying the LickiMat and check regularly for signs of wear and replace when worn. Always remove if damaged or if parts become separated. If your dog is prone to chewing anything and everything we recommend the LickiMat Deluxe that has a human grade TPC plastic base that is pretty much unchewable.
Can two dogs share a LickiMat?
It depends on the dogs, of course. You should always supervise your dogs, especially if they are not used to sharing treats.
How do I clean the LickiMat?
Most LikiMats are dishwasher safe. The classic LickiMats should be washed under the sink after every use. Lay the mat in the sink and run warm water over it with a few drops of washing up liquid. Leave it to soak for about 15 minutes.
With a soft brush (a brush with longer bristles works really well!) work up and down the surface, then left to right, then circular movements across the whole surface.
After cleaning, rinse well, shake off excess water and lie flat face up to dry. When not in use, leave some where it can lay flat.
