Snuffle What?

I was scrolling through a FB group the other day and kept seeing snuffle mats mentioned. These mats are like extreme samples of 70's shag carpet. The object is to hide tiny bits of food inside so dogs have to root around to get the tidbits. It engages a dog's nose and brain by mimicking hunting for food in the wild. Apparently dogs really enjoy it.

I was intrigued. And I wanted one. Like any other American girl, I searched "snuffle mat" on Amazon. They averaged $30-40 each. Uh, no. Then I Googled "DIY Snuffle Mat" and found step-by-step instructions from The Honest Kitchen. Much better! I was able to make my own snuffle mat for $10. I ordered the sink mats from Amazon (two for $8) and bought 1.5 yards of cheap fleece from Walmart.

Before

After

Trooper was happy with the results. If you want to make your own, print out the instructions from the link above. But first, here are a few tips from me:

• Get the thin fleece. Your running four strips per hole. It gets tight! My finger tips still hurt from all the shoving and pulling.
• Tight knots will give you more room in the little holes.
• Go with one color/pattern of fabric. I had plans of making a fun pattern using 3 different fabrics. You can't tell, and I spent way too much time on it.
• Get a rotary cutter! I lost count of how many strips I cut, but it was well over 600 for a small, 11" X 12.5" mat.

Canine Enrichment is the fancy smanchy term for "working your dog's brain so he doesn't get bored and destroy your stuff." In the past few years it's become a thing. There are books, videos, online classes and Facebook Groups dedicated to this. It's a good time to be a dog.

I've been doing -- and sharing -- enrichment activities for years.(What can I say? I like my stuff unchewed.) I recently gathered some of my favorite posts and made an enrichment page for the blog. Click on the tab above to see 20+ different fun and cheap enrichment activities. Enjoy! -- K