DIY Snuffle Mat: Twenty Minutes, Under R100

A snuffle mat is a fabric mat that hides kibble in folds so the dog has to sniff it out. Sniffing is genuinely tiring for dogs — ten minutes of nose work takes more out of them than a lap around the block, which makes this the best thing you can build for a bored dog in a small yard or a flat.

What you need

• A rubber sink mat or anti-slip mat with holes — the kind sold in most supermarkets and hardware shops for around R40 to R80.
• One to two metres of polar fleece. An old fleece blanket or jacket works perfectly.
• Scissors.

Fleece is the right fabric because it does not fray, so you can cut it and never hem anything.

How to make it

1. Cut the fleece into strips roughly 3cm wide and 20cm long. You will need a lot — around 100 to 150 for a standard sink mat. Cut a whole pile before you start threading or you will lose patience.
2. Push one end of a strip down through a hole and up through the neighbouring hole, so both ends are on the top side.
3. Tie a single knot on the top surface, snug against the mat.
4. Repeat until the mat is dense. Dense is the whole point — sparse mats hide nothing.
5. Trim any strips that are wildly longer than the rest.

How to introduce it

Do not just present a full mat to a confused dog. Start with kibble sitting visibly on top so the first go is easy and rewarding. Next time, push it slightly into the fleece. By the third or fourth session most dogs are working the whole mat happily.

Feed a full meal from it rather than a bowl if your dog eats too fast — it slows most dogs down by five to ten times and reduces the gulping that leads to bloating and regurgitation.

Safety and washing

Supervise a dog that shreds things. This is a puzzle toy, not a chew toy, and a dog that eats fleece needs a different enrichment option. Wash it on a cool cycle in a laundry bag and hang to dry — it takes a while because of the density, so make two if you feed from it daily.

Variations that cost nothing

No sink mat? Knot fleece strips through the holes of a plastic laundry basket, or lay a towel flat, sprinkle kibble, and roll it up loosely. A muffin tin with kibble in each cup and a tennis ball on top of each is a thirty-second version that works nearly as well.