What to Put in a Lick Mat: 12 Safe Fillings Dogs Love

You bought the lick mat. Your dog looked at it. Now what?

Peanut butter is always our go to and it is a great one, but if you give it to your dog all the time, they stop being impressed by it. We gathered a list of what else works as fillings, what to avoid, and how to make one spoonful last 20+ minutes instead of 30 seconds.

12 fillings that work

A good lick mat filling is soft enough to spread, thick enough to stay put, and safe in small amounts. Most things in your fridge that meet these requirements will work.

Everyday

1. Peanut butter. The classic. Check the label for xylitol (sometimes listed as birch sugar) and do not use it if it is there. Xylitol is toxic to dogs even in small amounts.
2. Plain Greek yogurt. Unsweetened, 0% fat and with no fruit on the bottom. Higher protein than regular yogurt and it freezes well.
3. Wet dog food. The cheapest option that is already balanced for them. If you feed wet food anyway, you are not adding calories, just slowing the meal down.
4. Plain canned pumpkin. Pumpkin puree, not pie filling. Gentle on the stomach and most dogs love it.
5. Cottage cheese. Soft, mild, sticks well in the ridges.

When you want it to last longer

6. Mashed banana. Sticky enough to work into the pattern, sweet enough to hold interest.
7. Unsweetened applesauce. Thin on its own, good mixed with something thicker.
8. Bone broth. Low sodium, no onion or garlic. Pour it in and freeze it solid.
9. Mashed sweet potato. Cooked, plain, no butter or seasoning.
10. Soaked kibble. Their normal food, softened with warm water into a paste. Zero extra calories.

For a treat

11. Cream cheese. Plain, in a thin layer. Rich, so a little goes a long way.
12. Blended watermelon or blueberries. Seedless, no rind. Good on a hot afternoon.

What to keep off it

Some of these are serious, so they are worth knowing by heart:

• Xylitol or birch sugar. In some peanut butters and most sugar-free products. Toxic.
• Chocolate, grapes, raisins. Toxic.
• Onion and garlic. Including the powdered kind hiding in broths and stocks.
• Macadamia nuts. Toxic.
• Anything heavily salted or sweetened. Not toxic, just not worth it.
• Cooked bones or anything with small hard pieces. The wrong texture for a mat anyway.

If your dog has a sensitive stomach, a health condition, or is on a prescription diet, ask your vet before adding anything new. Treats of any kind should stay under about 10% of what they eat in a day.

Three ways to make it last

Freeze it. This is the big one. A smeared mat is a two minute snack. The same mat frozen for a few hours is 20+ minutes of work. Fill it, level it off, and put it flat in the freezer overnight so you always have one ready.

Layer it. Spread something thin on the bottom, freeze it, then add a thicker layer on top. Your dog works through one texture to find another, which keeps them going longer than a single layer of the same thing.

Push it into the pattern. Do not just dollop it in the middle. Work it into the ridges with the back of a spoon so they have to use their tongue properly to get it out. That effort is the entire point.

When to hand it over

Licking is self-soothing. The repetitive motion gives an anxious brain something to do, which is why a loaded mat is most useful at the moments that are hard for your dog rather than just at dinner.

Bath time. Nail trims. The twenty minutes before you leave the house. Fireworks night. The stretch of late afternoon when they get restless and start looking for trouble. Give it to them before the stressful thing starts, not after they are already wound up.

A note on cleaning

Rinse it while the food is still soft and it takes ten seconds. Let it dry on and you are scrubbing. Most silicone mats and bowls are dishwasher safe on the top rack, which is the easiest answer if you are using one daily.

Start with what you have

You do not need a special recipe. Plain yogurt, frozen overnight, pushed into the ridges will keep most dogs busy and settled. Once you know what your dog responds to, rotate between two or three fillings so it stays interesting.

Our Hush Bowl was built for exactly this. It holds a proper portion, the rolling centre ball gives them something to chase while they lick, and the suction base keeps the whole thing from being carried off to the couch. Freezer safe and dishwasher safe, because a thing you use every day has to be easy to clean.