Lick mats, snuffle mats and food toys (UK): what to buy

The usual advice is that a bored dog needs more toys. In practice most dogs need one or two cheap things used well, plus the habit of working for part of their dinner. A drawer of lick mats, puzzle boards and treat balls often ends up as a drawer of things the dog worked out in a week.

This guide covers the three kinds of food-based enrichment you will see in every UK pet shop: lick mats, snuffle mats and food toys. It says what each one is for, what the charities actually say about them, and which ones are worth the money. It is written for dogs of any age; puppies and older dogs get their own notes near the end.

Which should you buy first?

If you can only buy one thing, buy a stuffable rubber toy such as a KONG. It handles wet food, dry food and frozen fillings, it lasts, and a small one costs about the same as a coffee. Add a lick mat only if you feed wet or raw food, or if you want something calm for a dog that gets wound up.

Here is what each does:

Lick mat: a silicone mat with grooves. You spread soft food on it and the dog licks it off. Slow, calm, quick to set up. Not suited to dry kibble.
Snuffle mat: a fleece or fabric mat with strips that hide dry food or treats. The dog sniffs and pulls the food out. Good for kibble, and it uses the nose rather than the tongue.
Food toys: rubber or plastic toys you fill with food. Some are stuffed and licked (the KONG kind); others roll and drop food as the dog pushes them (the ball and Gyro kind).

Dogs Trust’s enrichment page describes much the same list. It suggests spreading food “on the textured surface of a ‘lick mat’” for a dog that needs to eat calmly, a rubber toy that you “pre-fill and chill to make it last longer”, and scatter feeding, where you put food down “inside or in the garden and let your dog hunt for it”. It also mentions getting out a snuffle mat to settle an overexcited dog.

What the evidence says

Less than the packaging suggests. I did not find a UK charity page that tests lick mats or snuffle mats against anything. What the charities do say is more modest, and I think more useful:

PDSA’s exercise guide says brain games are “a great addition to any dog’s routine”, and that feeding puzzles and snuffle mats are “perfect for this”. It also lists puzzle feeders and snuffle mats as options for a dog that is unwell or injured and needs to rest, which is a use most owners do not think of.
Dogs Trust’s sniffing page suggests scattering kibble in the grass for the dog to “sniff it out”, and recommends making a snuffle mat.
Dogs Trust’s enrichment page says to supervise, “just in case they need help”, and to watch that your dog “isn’t gaining too much weight from regular food-based enrichment”.
The RSPCA’s behaviour page says that dogs “can become distressed or bored without enough to do”. It does not single out any product.

Some retailer blogs go further and say that licking lowers stress or anxiety. I did not find that claim backed by a study in the sources I opened, so I would treat it as a plausible idea rather than a fact. A lick mat is a way of making a meal slower and giving a dog something to do. It is not a treatment for a dog that panics when left, and if yours does, a mat will not fix it, and a vet or a qualified behaviourist is the right call.

What it costs: zooplus UK, October 2026

I opened each of these product pages in October 2026. Prices move, and I have not tested any of the products.

Product	What it is	Price	Notes
TIAKI Lick Mat with Suction Cups	Lick mat	£3.59	29 × 18 cm silicone; hand wash with mild soap
TIAKI Avocado Sniffing Mat	Snuffle mat	£8.29	47 × 35 cm polyester and fleece; machine washable at 30°C
Sniffing Carpet Sunnyflower	Snuffle mat	£12.29	Flower shape
Trixie Activity Sniffer Carpet	Snuffle mat	£26.89	Dearest of the mats listed
KONG Classic Small	Stuffable rubber toy	£5.09	Also in Medium £6.29, Large £8.79 and XLarge £8.79
Puppy KONG Small	Softer stuffable toy	£6.59	Pink; blue was £7.39. Medium blue £9.69
KONG Gyro for Puppies	Rolling food dispenser	£11.89	Page says suits puppies and dogs up to 18 kg
KONG Extreme XLarge	Stuffable, for strong chewers	£15.69	Black
TIAKI Treat Ball Meteorite, size S	Treat ball	£3.89
Snack Ball Dog Toy	Treat ball	£4.09

The pattern is the one you would expect: plain things are cheap, and the price climbs with the plastic and the sales pitch. The same category also had puzzle boards from about £10 up to £69.99 for the Trixie Memory Trainer 3.0. For a dog that has never done a puzzle, I would not start there.

Lick mats

A lick mat works best with soft food: wet food, a thin smear of something your dog already eats, or a little of their normal meal mixed to a paste. Spread it thin so the dog has to work for it.

Where lick mats fall short:

They are not a full dry meal. Kibble does not stay on a mat.
They are fiddly to clean. The grooves hold food. The TIAKI page says hand wash with mild soap, and it does not mention a dishwasher, so do not assume one.
A determined dog will chew it. Silicone is not a toy. If yours starts gnawing the edges, stop using it and move to something sturdier.

If you want a cheap one to test the idea, the £3.59 TIAKI mat does the job. Freezing a spread of wet food on it makes it last longer, which is the same trick Dogs Trust describes for rubber toys.

Snuffle mats

A snuffle mat is the simplest way to make a dog use its nose for dinner. You scatter kibble or small treats into the strips, and the dog sniffs around and pulls them out.

Be honest about the limits. A fleece mat is fabric, so a dog that tears things up can swallow strips. It is a supervised activity for a dog that forages rather than destroys. It also needs to be shaken out and washed; the TIAKI Avocado mat lists a 30°C machine wash.

The £26.89 version has no obvious advantage over an £8.29 one in the listings. A free alternative is a rolled-up towel with kibble tucked into the folds.

KONG-style food toys

A stuffed rubber toy is the classic, and for good reason. You can fill it with part of the day’s food, pack it down, and freeze it. Dogs Trust’s tip to pre-fill and chill is the whole technique.

A few practical points:

Start easy. Fill it loosely the first time so the dog gets a quick win, then pack it tighter.
Use part of the normal meal, not extras. Dogs Trust says to take the extra food out of the normal meals so the dog does not gain weight, and I would apply that to everything here.
Check the filling. Avoid anything with xylitol, a sweetener that is toxic to dogs. If in doubt, stick to your dog’s usual wet food.
Pick the right size. Follow the size guidance on the product page, and take away any toy that is small enough to swallow.

For rolling food dispensers like the KONG Gyro, which the zooplus page describes as filled with “treats or dry food” that the dog gets out “by rolling, pushing or pawing”, the dog has to do more. Some dogs enjoy that. Others give up after a minute, so try a cheap ball before a £12 toy.

Who should skip this?

Most dogs benefit from a bit of foraging, but there are cases where I would not buy anything.

A dog that destroys what it is given. If rubber and fabric come back in pieces, a lick mat or snuffle mat is a swallowing risk. Use a tough rubber toy under supervision, or scatter feed on a clean surface instead.
A dog that guards food. Ask a qualified trainer before adding food toys, and keep other pets and children away while the dog has one.
A dog on a weight plan. Everything you put on a mat counts. Take it out of the bowl, or the toy is just a snack dispenser.
A dog with a health condition or a vet diet. Ask your vet before changing how the food is given.
A dog that is not interested. Some dogs prefer a walk, a chew or a game with you. That is fine.

You can also skip it if what you really want is a calm evening. A dog that is wound up because it has not had enough exercise or sleep needs those, not a mat.

For puppies

A puppy’s meals are small, so food toys are an easy way to use part of the ration. The thing to avoid is overdoing it: a growing puppy has a calorie target, and how much to feed a puppy explains why the numbers on the bag are a starting point. Use the same food and deduct it from the meal.

For a bigger choice of things to chew, see the puppy teething toys guide.

For older dogs

PDSA lists puzzle feeders and snuffle mats as options for a dog that needs to rest. An older dog with stiff joints or less energy can still enjoy sniffing out food, and a lick mat suits one with worn teeth because soft food is easy to eat. If an older dog stops eating, or starts struggling to eat, ask the vet before you change the equipment.

What I would not spend extra on

Puzzle boards and towers over £15 until your dog has shown it enjoys the simple ones.
“Calming” claims. I did not find evidence for them in the sources I read.
Extras that duplicate what you own. A muffin tin, a cardboard box or a towel does what a snuffle mat does.

A sensible setup

For one dog, I would buy a KONG Classic in the right size and one lick mat: about £10 to £12 in total. Put the dog’s meal in them a few times a week, frozen if you want it to last. Keep the other days for scatter feeding or a bowl. The bowls guide covers the plain options, and if you use treats as well, the training treats guide explains how to count them.

I have four dogs, so I am biased towards the cheap and washable. Four dogs means four of everything to rinse. The simplest tools win.

What to do next

Pick one meal this week and give your dog half of it scattered on the lawn or in a stuffed toy. Watch how they cope for a few days before you buy anything else.

Then read the dog bowls and slow feeders guide for the plain bowl options, and the training treats guide to keep the calories under control.

Advice on lick mats, rubber food toys, scatter feeding, supervision and portions is from Dogs Trust’s enrichment and sniffing pages; advice on brain games, feeding puzzles and snuffle mats is from PDSA’s exercise page; the boredom comment is from the RSPCA’s dog behaviour page. The Dogs Trust sniffing page was the Irish site. All were read in October 2026. Prices and product details are from zooplus UK product pages opened in October 2026 and change often; the KONG Classic XLarge was rechecked on 27 October (£9.79 → £8.79), and the other prices were rechecked on 4 November 2026, except the KONG Extreme and the two treat balls, which still show October prices. I have not tested any of these products. Nothing here is veterinary advice — if your dog swallows part of a toy, struggles to eat, or has a health condition, ask your vet.