Lickimats – Don’t Feel Guilty Leaving Your Pet Home Alone
We all know dogs love to lick. We also know that most pet owners feel guilty leaving their dog home alone while they’re out at work all day. Guilt is possibly the main reason why pet owners leave a treat for their dog before closing the front door, and find one that lasts long enough can be a bit of a challenge.
Because of this obsession with licking and the need for long-lasting treats, we developed a series of boredom buster Lickmats which encourages our four-legged friends to lick even more.
To explain this licking behaviour, we asked a vet to explain in further detail:
The Benefits of Licking - by veterinarian Dr Mike Woodrow
Your dog's tongue has endless functions. Some pet owners find licking annoying, which, when done in excess, certainly can be. Nevertheless, your dog's tongue is as crucial for his day-to-day quality of life as your eyes and ears.
So, what are the sources of this oral fixation?
• Taste: People/objects can be coated with invisible, flavorful materials
• Hygiene: Dogs like to clean themselves, just like cats
• Anxiety: Pent up stress may express itself as licking
• Wound sanitation: enzymes kill bacteria
• Love: dogs lick to show affection
Yet, the most important reason your dog loves to lick everything in sight is the fact that licking promotes sound oral health.
Every time your dog licks your hand or laps at the furniture his salivary glands produce saliva. This is very important, because saliva plays a crucial role in maintaining optimal health for your dog.
For example:
• Believe it or not, dogs don't suffer nearly as many cavities as humans. This is because canine saliva is more efficient at protecting enamel.
• Your dog's saliva contains antibacterial agents, which is why dogs are often seen licking their wounds. While saliva can aid the healing process, the antibacterial chemicals of dog saliva are no match for the judgment of your trusted vet. Regular check ups are advised.
• Saliva assists in general oral cleaning. So, it may be helpful to view your dog's licking as an attempt at brushing and flossing. The production of saliva keeps the tongue, teeth and gums hygienic.
• Your dog does not have digestive enzymes within his saliva. Whereas the complete digestive process of your dog is done in the stomach. Dogs use saliva to lubricate food as it travels to the stomach where digestion can begin.
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The Perfect Boredom Buster
Now you see licking has many health benefits. So not only are Lickimats the perfect boredom buster, you're also benefiting your pet's well-being each time you leave them with one.
How do Lickimats work?
Each mat surface is designed to trap soft foods for the dog’s super sensitive tongue to hunt out every tasty morsel of flavour. It is also great way to create a treat without over feeding. Just a couple spoons of e.g. yoghurt leaves enough trace of yummy flavour to encourage licking which can last much longer that a chew stick or a biscuit. Even when food particles are not visible, traces of flavour are still present, and enough for a pet to continue to enjoy.
Reasons why all dogs should have a Lickimat:
- Medical free way to promote calm behaviour in your pet while home alone or during stressful times, like storms
- Repetitive licking is soothing for your pet,
- No over feeding because Lickimat makes a small tasty treat last longer
- Licking enhances the sense of taste, allowing pet to enjoy just a small amount of food
- Helps promote fresh breath by scraping off bacteria and undigested food particles from the tongue
- Stimulates saliva production and helps clean tongue, teeth and gums
- Saliva production can aid digestion
- made from non-toxic food grade TPR
- suitable for puppies, small and medium dogs
- freezer safe