When you go on holiday in the UK during November it is a good idea to have some ‘rainy day plans’. For me this year, that included attempting to make a snufflemat for the dogs.
The idea of a snufflemat is for there to be lots of layers for a dog to snuffle about in to find treats that you have scattered on to it – the treats end up hidden in the layers and the dogs really need to use their nose to find them. It is great for rainy day fun and for dogs that are on restricted exercise – Apparently 10 minutes brain work is equivelent to an hours walk!
You will need a sharp pair of scissors and:
1 x ‘Honeycomb’ rubber door mat (approx £5 on Amazon)
2 x Fleece Blankets (I bought mine in Primark for £2.50 each)
This will make one large snufflemat – for smaller dogs you can cut the mat in half before you begin and get two for the price of one 🙂
Begin by cutting the fleece blanket into strips that measure approx. 5cm x 23 cm.
Take a strip and thread it through one of the holes in the mat from the bottom. Take the other end and do the same through the next hole. You should have two ends pulled through the mat which you can tie in a knot on the top of the mat.
Work your way along the horizontal holes inthe mat until you have done this through each hole. You should have two pieces of fleece through each hole now. Now continue this pattern on each row of the mat.
It should look like this underneath:
And like this from the top:
Now, it is time to do the same with the vertical holes – I find to make it easier to see where you have been that using a different colour helps!
Once you have tied all of these pieces of fleece through it should look like this underneath:
And this on the top:
Now it is time to add some treats and let your dog snuffle!
Large mats are handy if you have more than one dog and they are happy to snuffle together!
Tuchena is the Queen of snuffling….listen to that nose work!
This is such a good idea, thanks for sharing!
The supplies that I am finding are turning this into a more expensive project than I expected. But I think it will be worthwhile for my three dogs. If I had only known about needing a fleece prior to Black Friday I could’ve gotten a good darn deal on the blankets but I didn’t see this article until maybe two or three days later! I can’t wait to get it done.
Thats a shame – I managed to make mine for a lot less than purchasing one. I hope the dogs enjoy the end result!
Hi there! Could you put a url to the rubber mat you got, please? I’m also finding it expensive – but it’s the mat itself that’s a lot. Thank you! Also, do you think it’s okay to put flannel blanket material in there too to make it even harder to get the kibble out, once the dog become snuffle-hounds? 😉 Thank you!
Hi Harriet – here is the link to the mat I used…however I am told that they are in store at Morrisons for £1.99! http://www.amazon.co.uk/JVL-Honeycomb-Outdoor-Rubber-Entrance/dp/B005NG6SMU
Where do you put the snacks.
Just sprinkle them on and hide them in the folds of fabric.