Dog Lick Mat for Anxiety: A Simple Solution to Calm Your Canine
In the intricate dance of our lives, our canine companions bring boundless joy and unconditional love. Yet, amidst the wagging tails and playful antics, there are moments when our furry friends face anxiety. Enter the "dog lick mat for anxiety" – a simple yet potent solution gaining traction in the pet care realm. Today, we embark on a journey to uncover the secrets of pet anxiety and explore how these innovative "dog lick mats for anxiety" offer a soothing balm to our four-legged family members, fostering a calmer and happier existence.
Table of Contents
Understanding Canine Anxiety
I've been dealing with Jasper's anxiety for years and honestly it's too long of a topic to just put into this one section fully, so I'll give the brief key points here and draft up a full on post on dealing with anxiety in the future.
Warning Signs To Look For
Dogs communicate a lot of information through body language, the twitch of an ear, the flick of an eye, these may all seem like nothing to us but can mean everything to a dog.
Along with communication we can tell a lot about a dog from their behaviour and body language. Warning signs of anxiety in dogs can be any of the following:
- Trembling
- Panting
- Pacing
- Hiding
- Drooling
- Tail-tucked
- Ears back
- Jumpy
- Urination
- Whining
- Displacement behaviours (yawning, sneezing, sniffing the ground, avoiding eye contact etc)
And many more.
Importance of addressing anxiety in dogs
Someone explained the importance of addressing anxiety and it changed how I looked at the importance of the issue.
If you learn to catch a ball with your right hand when growing up, when someone throws you a ball…you catch it with your right hand.
What does this mean? Doing a certain behaviour strengthens said behaviour. If you learn to catch a ball with your right hand, you'll always catch a ball with your right hand (mostly). If our dogs constantly go through anxious behaviours without them being addressed, these will be strengthened.
This is something I noticed at a late point in Jasper, a lot of his anxious behaviours are all habits that he's got used to and ones I don't think he really has control over such as trembling before going outside.
How to address anxiety
It's hard to actually say, anxiety looks different in different dogs in different situations.
Anxious dogs generally display behaviours to release anxious energy, one of the best ways to deal with that anxious energy is through mental stimulation.
Mental stimulation for anxious dogs
A lot of dog owners focus on physical energy when dealing with anxious and reactive dogs, thinking more walks and exercise will curb these issues. To an extent physical exercise is essential for all our dogs but mental stimulation is an overlooked element to dealing with these issues.
Mental stimulation helps our dogs think, gives them challenges, boosts confidence, tires them out mentally, preoccupies, distracts, soothes and so much more.
When it comes to anxiety in dogs, providing daily mental stimulation gives our dogs something to do instead of these anxious behaviours whilst also providing benefits such as soothing and calming benefits and on a long enough scale developing a balanced dog.
The Science Behind Dog Lick Mats
Along with the numerous benefits, the science behind lick mats lies simply behind licking.
Licking, for dogs, along with showing affection can actually be very soothing. The behaviour of licking is calming for dogs and helps put them at ease and relieve anxiety.
The issue with constant licking is that it can become an issue, our dogs may “lick themselves raw” if they find they have a lot of anxious energy and nowhere to channel any of it. This is where licking mats come into the game.
Alongside with providing an outlet for this behaviour, the texture of the lick mats and the designs create more of a soothing effect on the tongue of the dog (the lickimat soother is designed to create more of a stimulating effect with the numerous divots).
IV. Choosing the Right Dog Lick Mat
- Types of mats available
- Factors to consider when selecting one for your pet
How to Introduce the Dog Lick Mat
Introducing a dog to a lick mat involves positive reinforcement. Start by allowing your dog to inspect the mat, then spread a familiar treat or favourite food on it. Encourage your dog to explore and lick, associating the mat with a positive and enjoyable experience.
Slowly build up the difficulty of the mat to avoid your dog losing interest although this shouldn't be difficult.
Using Dog Lick Mats for Anxiety Relief
It's easy adding these bad boys into your dog's daily routine. I'm sure you can think of plenty of times when your dog is getting into trouble trying to find something to do OR when they're sat around bored with nothing to do.
Either prepare a lick mat for your dog on the spot or prepare it beforehand and freeze it for an extra long refreshing experience.
I usually find a lick mat to last a good 10-15 minutes for Jasper but he does spend about 15 minutes after licking it. When I do give him his mat, I pair it with other things such as hiding treats in a towel and cardboard so the whole experience lasts longer and tires him out even longer.
As mentioned above you can use the lickimat splash at times when grooming or going to vet or other times of stress/anxiety where distraction and these calming behaviours are required.
Give it a try! Get a few lick mats and add them to your dog's daily routine to reduce repeating anxious behaviours and provide relief.
Jasper's Experience
The main benefit I've seen from using dog lick mat for anxiety for Jasper is the contrast in behaviour from when he starts to when he finishes. At the start he tries wolfing everything down but then he gets to a point where he slows downs and then kind of goes into a trance-like licking phase (it's quite funny and disturbing to watch…especially if he maintains eye contact).
I highly recommend these especially if you want to find something for your dog to do during the day. Getting a couple of these through the day will benefit all dogs in a large number of ways including reducing anxiety, alleviating boredom and hopefully leading to a reduction in anxious and destructive behaviours.
Creative Ways to Use a Dog Lick Mat Beyond Anxiety Relief
While a dog lick mat is a fantastic tool for easing anxiety, its benefits go beyond just calming your dog. Here are a few additional ways you can creatively use a dog lick mat in your daily routine to keep your dog engaged, entertained, and mentally stimulated:
Slow Feeding for Fast Eaters
If your dog tends to gulp down meals too quickly, spreading their food across a lick mat can help slow down their eating. This can reduce digestive issues and make mealtime more engaging and enriching for your dog.
Dental Health Support
By choosing a textured lick mat, you can promote better oral health for your dog. The licking motion helps clean their tongue, and some textured mats may gently scrape plaque from their teeth. Even so, these should not be a substiture for a regular dental routine!
Post-Exercise Cool-Down
After a physically demanding play session or walk, offer your dog a lick mat to help them relax and cool down. I sometimes go down this route when I’m short on time in the mornings with Jasper after our morning routine. It’s a great way to transition from high-energy activities to a state of calm.
Looking For Recipes?
Take a look at my blog post over here for 10 ideas of what to put on dog lick mat, from fruit to yoghurt, to vegetables and dog biscuits.
I also have a free lick mat bundle including recipe ebook with 24 recipes! Check it out!
Final Thoughts
By incorporating the "dog lick mat for anxiety," you can expect to see a variety of benefits—calmer demeanour and increased contentment for your dog.
Do you have any experiences with lick mats? How do you use them? What benefits have you experienced? Share below 👇🏾
