If you have a rescue dog who cannot settle, you have probably been told to try a snuffle mat. I tried one. I also bought the LICKIMAT Classic Soother and Buddy 2-pack in April 2026 for my rescue puppy, Moose. He came home from a Myrtle Beach shelter in March 2026, when he was about four months old, and he just turned one. He is a medium sized mixed breed, about 45 pounds, with a black muzzle and floppy ears. In our house, the two tools do different jobs. The snuffle mat is for burning off energy. The LICKIMAT is for helping him settle. If you only want one, choose based on the moment you are trying to fix, not on which one sounds more like enrichment.
The Short Answer
For Moose, a snuffle mat is the better choice before a walk, after a long nap, or any time he needs to use his nose and move. A LICKIMAT is the better choice when I need him to be quiet and still, like the ten minutes before I leave on an errand, during a summer thunderstorm, or while I trim his nails. The LICKIMAT 2-pack comes with the Classic Soother and the Buddy. Both are 8 by 8 inches, made of TPR rubber, and the care instructions say hand wash only. The listing shows 4.4 stars from 9,865 reviews and says the textured surface is meant to encourage licking. That matches what I see in my kitchen. Licking keeps his mouth busy and gives him a small job. Sniffing gives him a bigger job. Neither one is a behavior fix, and neither one works for every dog. In our house, they cover different parts of the day.
| LICKIMAT Classic Soother & Buddy | Snuffle mat | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Licking soft food from a textured rubber surface | Sniffing and searching for dry treats in fabric strips |
| Best moment | Settling before I leave, during storms, during nail trims | Burning energy before a walk or after a nap |
| How fast I can load it | About a minute with yogurt or wet food | A few minutes to tuck kibble into the strips |
| How long it holds Moose's attention | Five to fifteen minutes, longer if frozen | Ten to twenty minutes when the treats are hard to find |
| Cleaning | Hand wash only, no fabric strips to trap residue | Fabric strips need to be shaken out and washed, and they take time to dry |
| Portability | Flat and light enough to move from kitchen to bedroom | Bulky, stays on the floor |
| Crate training support | The listing says it can help reduce crate training time | Not designed for crate use |
| Nose work | Some licking, not much sniffing | Built for sniffing and searching |
| Durability with a chewer | TPR rubber, listed as very strong, but not a chew toy | Fabric can be chewed and pulled |
| Noise | Quiet licking | Quiet sniffing |
| Dental health | Textured surface prompts licking and saliva, per the listing | No dental claim |
| Freezer option | I freeze mine with yogurt or wet food | Not something I would freeze |
What the LICKIMAT Is
The LICKIMAT is a flat lick mat, not a puzzle toy with moving parts. The 2-pack I bought has two mats, the Classic Soother and the Buddy, both with textured surfaces. Both are 8 by 8 inches. The material is TPR rubber. The listing says it is very strong, but I do not treat it as a chew toy. I spread plain yogurt, wet food, or a thin layer of peanut butter across the surface. Sometimes I put it in the freezer for a while before I give it to him. I set it on the kitchen floor and sit nearby with my crochet. Moose licks, then slows down, then lies down. That is the whole point for us. It is not a trainer and it does not teach a command. It gives him a safe way to pass a few minutes when I need him calm. The first time I tried it, I spread too much peanut butter and he cleaned the whole surface in under two minutes, then stood over it looking at me for more. The second time I used a thinner layer and pressed it down into the texture with the back of a spoon, and that lasted closer to six minutes. A thin layer is the whole trick, and I wish someone had told me that at the start.
The listing also says LICKIMAT was recommended by vets and trainers and can help reduce crate training time. I am not a trainer or a vet, so I can only tell you what I did. I used it on the floor near the crate while Moose was learning to relax in that part of the room. I did not leave it in the crate with him, because I do not leave him alone with any food toy. The care instructions say hand wash only, so I wash it in the sink with warm water and a little dish soap, then let it air dry. The 2-pack matters in our house because one mat can dry while the other is in use. If you have a dog who gulps food, watch the first few sessions. A lick mat slows some dogs down, but it is not a slow feeder in the same way a bowl with obstacles is. I also rinse mine as soon as he finishes rather than letting it sit, because dried peanut butter takes more scrubbing out of the texture than warm yogurt does.
Where LICKIMAT Wins
LICKIMAT wins for settling. That is the reason I bought it. When Moose was new, he had trouble when I left for short errands. He would pace and whine. I am not saying the mat cured that. It did not. What it did was give us a routine. I spread something soft on the mat, set it down, and sat nearby for a few minutes. Then I picked it up and left. The licking gave him something to do with his mouth that was not chewing the table leg or crying at the door. The listing says licking can help release endorphins and calm a pet. I cannot measure endorphins in my kitchen. I can tell you that in our house, the routine helped him go from pacing to lying down on the rug. The clearest day was a Thursday afternoon in July, when a thunderstorm came through and rattled the windows. Moose had been pacing since the first crack of thunder. I spread a thin layer of wet food on the Soother, set it on the kitchen floor, and sat down beside him with my crochet. He ignored it for about a minute, then started licking. He stayed on the floor through the next two rumbles. I would not tell you that means anything for a dog with real noise anxiety, because it does not. It is what happened in my kitchen that afternoon, and it is why that mat lives in the drawer I can reach without thinking.
It also wins on cleaning and storage. The mats are flat and light. I keep one in a drawer and one in the dish rack. There are no fabric strips to trap crumbs, no hidden pockets, and no stuffing. The care instructions say hand wash only, and that is what I do. It takes me about a minute. The 8 by 8 size fits in the sink and does not take over the counter. When we travel to visit family, I can tuck one in a bag. I would not call it a chew toy. The listing says it is strong, but Moose could still put teeth into it if I left him alone with it. I always pick it up when he is done.
What a Snuffle Mat Is
A snuffle mat is a fabric mat with strips or pockets where you hide dry treats or kibble. The dog uses his nose and paws to find the food. The one I tried was a square fabric mat with fabric strips. I bought it because a neighbor told me it was the answer for a busy puppy. I scattered Moose's kibble through the strips and put it on the living room rug. He went at it with his nose, then his paws, then his nose again. It took him about twelve minutes to finish a meal that takes him three minutes out of a bowl, and he was tired afterward in a way that looked different from a walk. The work is sniffing and searching, which is natural for a dog. That is the appeal.
A snuffle mat is not a calming mat in the same way a lick mat is. For some dogs, sniffing is calming. For others, it is exciting. Moose gets excited. He likes the search, and he will flip the edge of the mat with his nose if he thinks there is more food. That is fine before a walk. It is not what I want when I am trying to get out the door without a forty-five pound dog bouncing at my knees. What I got wrong at first was timing. I tried the snuffle mat one evening when I had an appointment to get to, thinking the search would wear him out and he would rest while I was gone. It did the opposite. He was wired for the next half hour, walking from the door to the window and back. That was the evening I stopped using it as a pre-departure tool. A snuffle mat also takes more management. You have to shake it out, pick out the old kibble, and wash fabric that takes time to dry. If your dog eats fabric, a snuffle mat is not a safe choice to leave down. I would treat it like any other food toy and supervise.
Where a Snuffle Mat Wins
The snuffle mat wins for nose work and for burning energy. That is not a small thing. A dog who is bored can get into trouble, and a snuffle mat gives him a job that uses his brain. When I scattered Moose's kibble in the mat I tried, he worked for several minutes without looking up. He was using his nose the way he uses it on the beach, following a scent. For a dog who needs more mental work, that can be more engaging than licking yogurt off a flat mat. If your dog is food motivated and you feed dry food, a snuffle mat can turn a bowl of kibble into an activity. That is a real advantage.
It also wins for variety. You can hide food in different spots, use different dry treats, and change the difficulty by pushing the food deeper into the strips. Moose got better at it by the end of the week. He learned to check the corners first. A LICKIMAT is more limited. You spread soft food on the surface and that is the job. You can freeze it, and you can change the topping, but the action is still licking. If your dog gets bored with licking, the snuffle mat gives you another option. That is why I would not tell you to throw out the snuffle mat. I would tell you to use it at the right time.
If your dog needs to settle, start with the LICKIMAT 2-pack
The Classic Soother and Buddy are the two mats I use most days with Moose. They are 8 by 8 inches, TPR rubber, and hand wash only. I use them on the kitchen floor, never leave them down alone, and pick them up when he is done.
Amazon See the LICKIMAT mats on Amazon →Who Should Buy Which
Buy the LICKIMAT if your dog needs help settling in a specific moment. If you need a routine before you leave, during storms, during nail trims, or when guests arrive and your dog needs something to do with his mouth, a lick mat is the tool I reach for. It is also easier to store and hand wash. Buy a snuffle mat if your dog needs more nose work, if he eats dry food, and if he enjoys searching. Use it before a walk or after a nap, not when you need him to be still. If you have both, use the snuffle mat for energy and the LICKIMAT for calm. That is what we do. If you are not sure which to buy first, ask yourself what you want the dog doing in ten minutes. If the answer is lying down, get the LICKIMAT. If the answer is working, get the snuffle mat. And whichever you pick, supervise it. I have never left either one down with Moose unattended, not because a label told me to, but because I know my dog.
One more thing. If your dog has bitten someone, shows aggression around food, or has severe anxiety that keeps him from eating or sleeping, do not rely on a mat. Talk to your vet or a certified trainer. I am just a retired dental office manager who adopted a puppy. I can tell you what helped in my house. I cannot tell you what will work for every dog. The listing says LICKIMAT is recommended by vets and trainers, and that is one reason I felt comfortable trying it, but it is still a tool, not a treatment plan. Use it with supervision, wash it by hand, and put it away when your dog is done.
The mat that helped Moose settle is the one I keep in the kitchen drawer
If you want to try the same 2-pack, the Classic Soother and Buddy are 8 by 8 inches and hand wash only. Start with a small amount of soft food and stay nearby the first few times.
Amazon Check the LICKIMAT 2-pack on Amazon →