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Homemade snufflemat #makeyourownmonday
With the new school term approaching, we will need our puppy to be able to stay at home herself for a while each day whilst I do the school run. Dogs aren’t allowed in the playground.
I wanted to make sure that there was something for Genie to ‘do’ whilst we were away to save her from becoming anxious. I had found out about snufflemats when I attended some dog training with our ‘borrowed’ dog, Bella.
Sniffing reduces anxiety, so the idea is that you put treats/food in the snuffle mat and leave your pooch to have a good ol’ rake through it to find hidden treasures.
Snuffle mats retail online for about £20 – £30, so I decided it’s got to be cheaper to make your own! After all – they’re only rag rugs, nothing fancy!
Here’s my attempt at making one for Genie.
Homemade Snuffle Mat
Resources
One fairly solid rubber door mat with lots of holes in. I found the perfect mat whilst writing this post (see photo below). I had already purchased a plastic sink mat (about £4), thinking it will be worth it if it lasts for years and keeps our puppy happy. I would get the rubber door mat if I did this again.
Scrap Fabric (free!) Any fabric will be fine, but I think heavier is better because it’s less easy to rip. Curtain fabric would be ideal for this. I used old jeans and a fleece that didn’t fit my kids anymore.
Method
Cut your fabric into lots – and lots – and lots of strips about 7-8 inches long and half an inch wide.
The length and width depends on how big your holes are to a certain extent.
Push one end of your strip through one hole, and the other through the adjacent hole. Pull your strip so that there are two equal lengths, one coming up one side and one the other. Tie a double knot.
Repeat this another 3 times through the same hole but different adjacent holes, so there are 4 knots per hole.
Keep going, alternating your fabric if you have more than one kind to make it look pretty. If you are really clever and have the motivation, you can do a design – but I think it’s wasted on our puppy!
Hide treats in the snuffle mat.
Take a moment to appreciate the money you’ve saved yourself, and how you’ve done a good deed towards saving the earth by using recycled materials!
I’d love to see photos of other homemade snuffle mats, do send them in if you do this too!
