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Your dog gets his dinner from a bowl. Three minutes, maybe four. The dog his brain evolved from would have spent hours nosing through terrain, tracking scent, working for every calorie. The main sensory event in most modern dogs’ days is the doorbell.
That gap, between what a dog’s nervous system was built to do and what a house dog actually does, is where enrichment toys live. Snuffle mats and lick mats are two inexpensive answers to the same question: how do you give a dog’s brain something real to do?
They’re not the same tool, and they don’t work the same way. One has shelter-based research behind it. The other is a practical distraction that earns its place for different reasons. Here’s what the evidence says about each.
The idea behind enrichment
Dogs are foragers. Not hunters, primarily. Foragers. Most of their ancestral waking hours went to nosing through cover, following trails, working out where the next meal might be. That activity is low-arousal: slow, deliberate, scent-driven. It occupies the brain without ramping up excitement.
The house dog version of this is almost entirely missing. He eats from a bowl (two to three minutes), takes a walk on a leash, and has the rest of the day free. “Free” often looks like sleeping, barking at movement outside, pacing, or the low-level restlessness that owners sometimes mistake for anxiety and is sometimes the precursor to it.
Enrichment toys reintroduce cognitive work into a dog’s day. The research on this is most robust in shelter dogs (animals living with elevated chronic stress), where 20 minutes of daily enrichment has been shown to reduce stress-related behaviors like pacing, barking, and hypervigilance. The jump from “shelter dog” to “house dog” is extrapolation, and worth naming as such. But the mechanism is sound, the behaviors it targets are the same ones that show up in anxious pet dogs, and the cost of trying it is low.
Snuffle mats: what the research shows
A snuffle mat is a rubber base with strips of fleece or fabric woven through it, designed so you scatter kibble or treats through the fibers. The dog sniffs and roots through the mat to find them. That’s the entire activity. And that’s also the point.
That same low-arousal state shows up in the research, not just in theory. Researchers studying olfactory enrichment in shelter dogs have found that nose-work activities reduce stress-related behaviors (less pacing, less vocalization, calmer presentation) compared to dogs without access to them. The studies by Graham and colleagues on scent-based enrichment established this base, and it’s been replicated in various forms since.
The honest calibration: the popular claim that “snuffling lowers cortisol” runs ahead of the direct evidence. The solid data is behavioral, not hormonal. Dogs who snuffle show calmer behavior. Whether that translates to measurable cortisol reduction hasn’t been rigorously tested with mats specifically. That distinction matters for honesty; it doesn’t change the practical recommendation. Behavioral calm is what you’re looking for.
Something else happens during a good snuffle session that doesn’t get talked about much: the breathing slows. A dog with his nose to the mat takes slow, deliberate inhalations. His body follows his nose. That physical settling is part of why trainers reach for snuffling before a potentially stressful event, not after.
A snuffle mat works best as a daily habit, not an emergency tool. Ten to fifteen minutes before a stressful part of the day (before you leave for work, before guests arrive, during the mid-afternoon restlessness window) gives a dog’s brain the kind of quiet occupation that carries over into the next hour or two. Think of it less as treating anxiety and more as building the daily baseline that makes a dog easier to settle when the harder moments come.
Lick mats: a different kind of tool
A lick mat is a silicone pad with raised ridges and textures, designed to hold spreadable food. The dog licks it clean, slowly. Where the snuffle mat targets olfactory foraging, the lick mat targets repetitive licking, a different mechanism with different evidence and a different best use.
The claim you’ll see on lick mat packaging is that licking releases calming endorphins. That’s plausible: licking is a self-soothing behavior in dogs, and repetitive rhythmic actions have calming effects in other species. But the direct evidence in dogs is thin. There isn’t a controlled study showing that a lick mat reduces anxiety markers in pet dogs.
What lick mats do have, clearly, is distraction. A dog working on a frozen lick mat is not bolting from the bath. He’s not spinning during a nail trim. He’s not escalating during a fireworks window. For specific stressful moments you can plan for and prepare, a lick mat loaded with something he finds compelling is one of the most practical tools in the kit.
The reason distraction works at all is worth understanding. When a dog is fully occupied with something low-stakes and pleasant, he can’t simultaneously process threat. The lick mat doesn’t address the source of the stress; it interrupts the escalation window long enough that the stressful event passes or the dog’s nervous system gets a chance to reset.
Over time, some trainers use them as part of a counter-conditioning protocol: mat comes out, stressful thing happens, mat goes away. The dog starts to associate the mat with the event, and the pleasant activity starts to blunt the edge. That’s a more intentional use case, and worth keeping in mind if you have a dog with consistent, predictable triggers.
The difference matters: snuffle mats are about building a calmer baseline through daily routine. Lick mats are about getting through the hard five minutes. Both are worth having. Neither is therapy.
If you use one during fireworks or loud events, the lick mat tends to be more practical: freeze it in advance, set it down when the noise starts, let it work.
Which one for which situation
Snuffle mat: daily enrichment, the restless mid-afternoon dog, pre-departure routine before leaving the house, any dog who needs mental work but doesn’t have much physical output. Also a useful slow-feeder alternative for dogs who inhale their meals and then pace.
Lick mat: nail trims, baths, vet visits, guests who scare the dog, fireworks, thunderstorms, any short stressful event you can anticipate. Freeze the mat 24 hours ahead for longer-lasting occupation.
Both: they don’t overlap much in use case, which means there’s a reasonable argument for keeping both on hand. A snuffle mat handles the routine; a lick mat handles the event.
One practical question: can you use them on the same day? Yes, and in different slots. A snuffle session in the morning as part of the dog’s wake-up routine, a frozen lick mat in the afternoon before you leave for work, a KONG in the crate for actual departure. These aren’t competing strategies; they’re different levers on the same problem.
Our picks
Snuffle mats
The Rundik Snuffle Mat is the standard recommendation in this category. The fleece strips are dense enough that the dog has to work for the treats (it doesn’t become trivial in thirty seconds), and the mat is machine washable, which matters if you’re using it daily with food. It comes in three sizes, so it’s easier to match to your dog instead of settling for a one-size-fits-all mat.
For a budget version that delivers the same foraging mechanism at a lower price, the AWOOF Snuffle Mat is a solid option. The fleece density is slightly lower, which makes it easier for beginners but may become less challenging as the dog learns the mat. A reasonable starting point if you’re unsure whether your dog will engage.
A note on any snuffle mat: start with high-value treats the first few times, scatter them shallowly so the dog finds them easily. If the dog paws rather than sniffs, the treats are buried too deep or he hasn’t learned the game yet. Give it three or four sessions before drawing conclusions.
Lick mats
The LickiMat Slomo is the most widely used version: a textured silicone mat with raised nubs designed to slow down licking, and it holds spreadable food well. Peanut butter, plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, mashed banana, cream cheese: all work. A note on peanut butter specifically: check the label. A small number of brands use xylitol as a sweetener, which is toxic to dogs. Plain peanut butter without xylitol is fine.
Freeze the mat for 20 to 30 minutes before use and the session lasts significantly longer than at room temperature, which is worth planning for events you have lead time on. The raised nub pattern has the added benefit of slowing down a dog who tends to gulp food too fast.
For a more textured version at a lower price, the Hyper Pet IQ Lick Mat adds varied ridges that hold food differently across the surface, giving the dog more variation within a single session. A reasonable alternative if the LickiMat Slomo sells out or if you want to compare textures.
A note on introducing a lick mat: the first time you use it, make it easy. Spread something the dog finds irresistible in a thin, accessible layer rather than packing it thick. You want the dog to succeed quickly and associate the mat with something good before you start freezing it or making it harder to work. If you’re planning to use it for a specific event (a vet visit, fireworks), practice with it on a few ordinary evenings first so the mat itself is already a familiar positive before the stressful moment arrives.
What enrichment doesn’t replace
Snuffle mats and lick mats are not a protocol for anxiety. They’re a daily quality-of-life improvement and an event-specific management tool. For a dog with mild general restlessness, they’ll make a real difference in how settled he is day-to-day. For a dog with specific fear triggers, the lick mat gets you through the event but doesn’t treat the fear.
For dogs with separation anxiety, enrichment often helps at the margins (a stuffed mat to settle the first few minutes) but doesn’t address the core fear of being alone. If your dog is showing clinical-level distress when you leave, the evidence-based supplements guide covers what’s been studied for that situation. And if behavioral work is the missing piece, the natural remedies article covers how enrichment fits into a broader protocol alongside the tools with stronger backing.
For a broader look at related approaches, see Best Calming Products for Dogs.
Sources
- Graham et al. — Influence of olfactory stimulation on the behaviour of dogs housed in a rescue shelter (Applied Animal Behaviour Science)
- Heys 2024 — “Bowls are boring”: enrichment reduces stress in kennelled dogs (Veterinary Record)
- Environmental enrichment for shelter dogs 2025 (Journal of Veterinary Behavior)
- AAHA — Enrichment: supporting your pet’s mental and emotional wellbeing
- Preventive Vet — Dog enrichment: toys, games, and more
For the complete picture on dog anxiety, from causes and signs to what genuinely helps, see our full guide to dog anxiety.