It's called "contra-freeloading" - look it up! Okay, we looked it up for you. What it means is that dogs (and other animals, including humans!) prefer to work for their food. This is where the PAW 5 Wooly Snuffle Mat comes in. Foraging for food is a natural behavior for many animals, and engaging in natural behaviors (often referred to as "enrichment") is essential for your dog's mental wellness. Additionally, sniffing is a stress relieving behavior for dogs and feeding their dry food meals or a handful of treats in a foraging mat will help your dog decompress from the stressors of living in this wild human world. The mat is also good for slowing down fast eaters. If you're like us, you've purchased many snuffle mats online and found that most of them are not good quality with stiff or thin fabrics and poor quality stitching that fall apart even when washed on a delicate setting. This mat is NOT that. This mat is sturdy, well stitched, and washes well. It also has a dense pile and food easily gets "lost" in it, giving your dog a fun foraging project. To use the mat, simply sprinkle your dog's food or treats on top and ruffle the strands a bit to encourage the pieces to fall in between. Like most feeding toys, this is not a chew toy and your dog should not be left unattended with the mat. Pick it up and put it away when your dog is finished eating to prevent chewing and to maintain novelty and your dog's interest. The PAW 5 Wooly Snuffle Mat is suitable for dogs of all sizes. The mat is grey and is 17" x 11.5" with a fabric back and about a 3 inch dense pile. The pile is 57% cotton, 39% polyester, 4% spandex. The back is 60% cotton & 40% polyester. Machine wash warm, tumble dry. Why we love it: Machine washable Great quality at a great price Recycled! Each snuffle mat removes 2lbs of textiles from landfills, by using safe recycled fabrics Handmade in Ghana through a PAW 5 manufacturing partnership with KAD Manufacturing, a member of Ethical Apparel Africa, which empowers vulnerable women with quality employment and confidence-building life skills PAW 5 products are sustainably sourced and handmade by PAW 5 global community partners in the USA and Ghana. “Some companies are unsustainable, others aren’t necessarily bad for their community and environment but don’t contribute much beyond that, and then there are those select few companies that add more to their world than they take from it. We call these businesses ‘sustainable’ or ‘triple bottom line.’ We knew right away we wanted PAW5 to be part of that conscientious third group.”
