There are many benefits of a lickimat as they can be used to promote calm behaviour in a dog. They can also be used for training while other benefits of a lickimat are oral health, helps alleviate anxiety and also provides mental stimulation.
This is an item I always have in my home for my puppy and previous dogs as Lickimats are great and dogs love them.
Benefits of a lickimat / lick mat
This can be done when a dog is relaxed and calm and you want to promote this more in a certain situation.
For example, you want your dog to relax more in a certain spot, when it does and it is settling, you can give your dog a lickimat with some tasty spread on it and then the licking action helps soothe and relax helping the dog feel comfortable in the surroundings or the area of the home you are trying to help your dog settle in.
The lickimat can also be used for training purposes too. For example, using it in a certain area around sounds to help a dog cope and learn to get used to them will help well.
With my new puppy, one of the first things I did daily was feed a lickimat in the garden on a daily basis so it learnt that the sounds coming from the neighbours, whether that was talking loudly, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, banging noises or traffic noise were nothing to worry about.
So every day at the beginning I put a lickimat outside and my puppy licked away while the noises and smells were going on around it. After a week or so it was comfortable in the back garden and wasn’t phased by any noises.
The knock-on effect was it started toileting outside quicker in the garden as it was comfortable, my puppy started to enjoy its own time out there without being scared and doesn’t get bothered if there is a loud bang and bark because it has learnt not to worry.
I personally use them for training purposes like above and also inside the home to help prevent or overcome separation anxiety problems when apart, but they are also great for oral health.
Due to the licking action against the little grooves on the lickmat it helps get rid of bacteria off the tongue while promoting a fresher breath at the same time.
Another way you can use the lickimat for training would be when grooming and bathing your dog. Some lickimats come with suction pads underneath and you can stick them against walls or in the bath.
This is then great for them to lick while you teach your dog to be groomed or bathed. Repeating this over a period of time will help your dog enjoy being groomed.
There are a few spreads you can put on a lickimat. Some of the most common ones are:
Peanut butter (ones without xylitol as it is toxic to dogs)
Spread cheese (cream cheese)
Natural yoghurt
Honey
Sandwich spread like beef, ham, chicken, and salmon.
Lickimats are a must to have in a cupboard for your dog as they give great mental stimulation and benefit in many ways. Whatever way or whatever reason you want to use one, whether that’s as a training aid, oral health, grooming or mental stimulation and promoting calmness, they are a must for all owners.
Using a lickimat is also in The Complete Puppy Training Program covering how to use it in various ways for training, so if you have a new puppy and are starting or on a training journey with your puppy it’s well worth a look to take the pressure off what you need to do to have a fantastic dog in the future. Check out The Complete Puppy Training Program by clicking Here.