Dog Enrichment Activities: A Mat Kit
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Six in the evening, dinner is twenty minutes out, and the dog has decided the kitchen is where everything happens. This kit is a place to send him and something to do once he gets there. A washable pad that holds its shape on a hard floor, a suction mat that stays put on tile next to it, and two single ingredient treats so the same flavor is not the answer every night. All of our kits are listed on the Bundle Guides hub.
The ten minutes between things
Nobody needs a project. What most households need is a reliable way to occupy a dog for the stretch while a meal gets cooked, a video call runs, or a contractor is in and out of the front door. Our roundup of enrichment ideas for rainy days and long drives covers the wider range of things to try; this kit is the version that lives in one spot and gets used most days.
It is not the answer to a dog that shreds the couch while you are out. That is a training problem with a person involved, and the right next step is a trainer rather than another object on the floor.
A pad, a mat and two flavors
Crate Pads Armor is the surface. American Dog builds it for scratchers, diggers and chewers. The outer cover is 1680D nylon ballistic, removable and machine washable, over a 420D inner liner with poly fiber filling, and it closes with YKK zippers and a hidden closure. Corner ties hold it in place instead of letting it get pushed into a heap against one wall. Six sizes are offered, 22, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 inches, each 1.5 inches thick. Buy to the floor space you have in mind, not to the dog's body length, because the pad is defining a place rather than a bed.
The Camp eMat is what turns that place into somewhere worth going. SodaPup describes it as a TPE mat with suction cups that stick to tile, glass or vehicle windows for hands-free baths, travel or grooming. It runs about 8 by 8 inches, in orange or green. Those cups need tile or glass to grip, so the pad wants a spot with a hard surface inside the dog's reach.
Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Bites are the workhorse. One ingredient, cheddar cheese, freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, in an 8 ounce bag. Our treats crumble into a paste with a little water and spread onto the mat, which is the whole trick to loading one. Dry, they work as the payment for lying down on the pad in the first place, which is the part people forget to reward.
Freeze-Dried Blue-Lipped Mussels are the change of pace. The only ingredient is blue-lipped mussels, in a 2 ounce bag, and these are whole freeze-dried mussels rather than an extract pressed into a chew. They are sized for a quick bite, so they suit the moment you want the dog's attention now rather than a long session. Both bags come out of the same Malvern kitchen as the rest of our freeze dried dog treats, so swapping one later does not change the routine. Having two open rather than one is the point.
No snuffle mat in here
Almost every enrichment list starts with a snuffle mat, and we do not sell one, which makes saying so easy. There is also a practical argument. A snuffle mat is a laundry item that holds crumbs, and in a house with a hard floor a handful of treats scattered across that floor does the same job for nothing. The pad and the lick mat both wipe down or go in a machine, and neither one needs to be picked out of the fringe with a fork.
Teaching the pad to mean something
Put the pad down where you already want the dog, not where it currently lies. Then pay every single time he steps on it for the first few days, without asking for anything.
Once he is drifting over on his own, add the mat. Stick it to tile at the edge of the pad and let him work it from wherever he is lying. Take it up when it is empty rather than leaving it out.
After a week, start using the pad at the times that were actually the problem. Doorbell, cooking, a call. Send him over, give him the mat, and get on with what you were doing.
Once a month, strip the pad. American Dog makes the outer cover removable, machine washable and quick dry, which is the part of this kit most likely to go unwashed for a season if nobody puts it on a calendar.
Two objects instead of a drawer of toys
Most houses end up with a basket of things that each held a dog's attention exactly once. What this replaces is that basket. One surface that says where to be and one mat that gives him a reason, loaded differently depending on what is in the fridge. The pad outlasts everything else here and goes in a crate or a car footwell later. The treats are the only recurring line, and one of the two bags is doing double duty as training pay. Our guide to settling on a mat takes the same two objects somewhere noisier.
Questions about the pad and the mat
What size pad should I get?
Measure the floor, not the dog. If the pad is going in a corner of the kitchen, take the size that fits the corner without blocking a walkway, since a pad that gets stepped over all evening will not become a place the dog chooses.
Can I leave the lick mat down all day?
Better not to. SodaPup's own guidance on the eMat is to supervise play and size up for strong chewers, and a mat left out stops being interesting anyway. Two loaded sessions a day beat one mat lying around since breakfast.
What else can go on the mat besides treats?
SodaPup lists peanut butter, yogurt, wet food or a pureed treat for the Camp eMat, and says it can be frozen first for a longer session. Our own version is crushed cheddar with a little water, worked into the pattern with a knife.
How it ships
The pad ships from Denver and the mat from Longmont, Colorado, so expect the treats to land first. American Dog items are sold and shipped by American Dog through Shopify Collective, not made or shipped by Sniff and Shift. SodaPup/True Dogs, LLC items are sold and shipped by SodaPup/True Dogs, LLC through Shopify Collective, not made or shipped by Sniff and Shift. American Dog is honest that nothing is truly indestructible, and we would pass that along rather than dress it up. If a third flavor belongs in the rotation, Explore is where the range narrows by life stage and format, and the other enrichment kits lean harder on toys. Put the pad down before the mat arrives and start paying for it tonight.
Related guides
- Mental stimulation variety kit
- Rainy day indoor enrichment kit
- New Rescue Dog Adjustment Kit: What to Put In It
