- August 2, 2024
An Expert’s Breakdown – Dogster
Our Final Verdict
We give Messy Mutts Feeding Mats an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
Quality: 5/5
Variety: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Whether you have a rottweiler at your feet, a chihuahua asleep in their bed, or a poodle waiting impatiently at the door, you likely have a K9 that eats either raw food or kibble. Messy Mutts’ snuffle and lick mats make serving up your dog’s dinner entertaining for you both.
The benefits of using these mats are infinite! Mental stimulation, slower eating, stress relief, energy burn, and deliciousness more for your pup while they snack. Snuffling and snout work benefit your dog, but watching their minds at work while they eat is also a treat.
With an eye for design and easy-to-clean options for feeding, Messy Mutts combines dog and people preferences to create well-made (and well-priced!) alternatives to your ordinary dog bowl (though they sell those, too).
At a Glance: What We Received
About Messy Mutts
Who Makes Messy Mutts Lick & Snuffle Mats and Where is it Produced?
This Canadian brand was founded by Chris and Lauren when they discovered their favorite pups, Daisy and Davis, make a mess. A lot of mess.
Chris’ background in designing housewares made for an easy transition into all things dog dish design. In addition to their snuffle/lick mats, they offer dog bowls, stands, travel accessories, toys, care and grooming accessories, food prep, and containment products.
Messy Mutts’ headquarters is in Toronto, Canada, and the manufacturer of all these goodies is in Quebec.
Which Types of Pets Are Messy Mutts Best Suited For?
Messy Mutts’ entire range of products is great for any household with a dog or two, or three, and cats too!
The idea behind the brand is that just because you have pets in your home doesn’t mean it has to look like it. Messy Mutts wants to alleviate all the mess (or at least most of it) with their grooming, playing, and feeding lines. Whether you feed raw or kibble, own a dog, cat, gerbil, guinea pig, and more, Messy Mutts has options to keep their care just a little bit tidier.
Key Features
Messy Mutts has products for any feeding schedule and choice, so let’s take a closer look at which product is best suited for which pet and its key features.
Which is right for you: a Lick Mat or a Snuffle/Forage Mat?
Messy Mutts’ lick mat options are great for feeding supplements, medication, raw food, treats, or snacks like yogurt, eggs, peanut butter, etc. The lick mats can be frozen or microwaved for easy feeding.
The snuffle and forage mats are great for those feeding dry food like kibble or dry treats like beef liver, chicken bites, and more. Some snuffle and forage mats have removable lick mats attached so that both feeding options can be accommodated with one mat.
Quality and Materials
We know pups like to paw, lick, and sniff out their snacks in toys, but with regular feeding, how do Messy Mutts’ products hold up to the usual wear and tear? For us, really well.
Messy Mutts’ lick mats are made from a food-grade, safe silicone that is odor and stain-resistant. Each lick mat is BPA and PVC-free, so you don’t need to worry about all the licking your pup does; they won’t slurp up anything toxic.
Each Messy Mutts’ snuffle/forage mat with an attached lick mat is made of the same food-grade silicone. The snuffle portion is made of high-quality, well-secured fabric for the nosiest noses.
Sizes and Variety
Square Snuffle/Forage Mat with Lick Mat
This 16” x 16” mat has six suction cups on the back to keep it in place, with five dry material compartments and one lick mat for the ultimate snuffling experience.
Round Forage/Snuffle Mat
Messy Mutts’ 15” snuffle/forage mat is a multi-species mat option with layered soft fabric for hiding your pet’s favorite treats or kibble. Four integrated suction cups keep the mat securely in place while your pet searches through the fabric.
Therapeutic Dog Lick Bowl Mat
The 10” x 10” lick mat is made of food-safe silicone that is freezer and dishwasher-safe. The bowl in the center of the mat can hold up to 1 cup of your pet’s favorite liquid, like milk, bone broth, or yogurt.
Framed Spill Resistant Silicone Multi Surface Lick Mat
Messy Mutts’ framed mats are 9.5” x 9.5” and made of the same food-grade silicone. These mats are dishwasher and microwave-friendly and have multiple silicone compartments for various food options.
Color Options
Messy Mutts Therapeutic Dog Bowl Lick Mat comes in three color options:
- Blue
- Warm Grey
- Watermelon
Spill Resistant Multi Surface Lick Mat has three color varieties:
Shipping and Returns
All orders will arrive between 5-14 business days from order date, depending on your location.
Online returns can be made at your expense up to 21 days after purchase. The items cannot be used, and all packaging must be included with the returned item. Shipping fees are not covered in the refund. After the product arrives at the warehouse, it will be inspected, and if deemed unaltered or used, the refund will be issued within 14 days.
Cleaning Options
All lick mats are dishwasher friendly or can be washed using warm, soapy water.
The snuffle/forage mats can be tossed in the washing machine and hung out to dry.
Our Reviews of the Messy Mutts Mats
1. Square Snuffle/Forage Mat with Lick Mat
This mat’s involved design worked great for all the dogs we had try it out. With multiple compartments of well-secured fabrics and a removable lick mat, this is a great all-around mat for your pups.
Pros
- Multi-surface compartments
- Removable lick mat
- Holds small & large kibble/treats
Cons
- Suction cups work best on tile floor
2. Round Snuffle/Forage Mat
The round forage/snuffle mat has longer, soft material barriers that allow for continuous snuffling. This mat hides kibble or dry treats low in the mat, which requires extra work on the dog’s part. The round forage/snuffle mat has four suction cups to keep it in place.
Pros
- Compact mat holds a lot of food
- Provides longer mental stimulation/foraging time
- Easy cleaning
Cons
- Suction cups work best on tile floor
3. Therapeutic Dog Bowl Lick Mat
If you’re a raw feeding dog owner, you’re familiar with the thawing meat and extras that usually fill up a bowl. Raw-fed dogs typically eat very quickly. The dog bowl lick mat is deep enough with shallow grooves to slow the feeding frenzy down.
Pros
- Bowl holds up to 1 cup of liquid
- Easy to clean
- Works with dry/raw food
Cons
- Unframed so the mat can be prone to spillage when moving full
4. Framed Spill Resistant Silicone Multi Surface Lick Mat
This framed lick mat has an intricate design with varying compartments and depths of silicone barriers so piecing together a meal complete with supplements, fruit or veggies is simple using this mat. Dishwasher friendly, microwavable, and freezer safe, this lick mat can accommodate whatever you feed: frozen raw, fresh meat, or kibble.
Pros
- Varying depths of silicone barrier
- Holds liquids and solids
- Framed to prevent spillage while moving
- Freezer/Dishwasher/Microwave safe
Cons
- Smaller barrier design can be difficult for big dogs tongues
Our Experience With Messy Mutts’ Snuffle/Forage and Lick Mats
These mats were a new one here for us at the farm! With four larger dogs, a lot of dog food is moving through our place daily. We typically fill stainless steel bowls up with the daily serving, but when we tried Messy Mutts snuffle/forage mats and lick mats, we put the bowls to rest!
The snuffle/forage mats were a huge hit with each of our dogs. Only one of our dogs, the livestock guardian named Walter, eats kibble in addition to his raw food daily. He lords over a flock of sheep, a herd of goats, chickens, turkeys, and ducks. While he is an expert at alerting to potential threats, ensuring everyone stays in their pen, and so on, with people, he is often a large, furry puddle on the ground, waiting for belly rubs. With this, he can be a little timid about eating when we are nearby; he often leaves his kibble, opting for a belly rub instead. He was hooked as soon as I stuffed the foraging mat full of his usual kibble! He spent 20 minutes snuffling and pawing at the mat to retrieve every last piece.
We put a few treats in the mats for our other dogs, Bruce and Evie, who now check the forage mat every time they come inside just in case there may be a tasty morsel they missed.
The cats enjoy the forage and snuffle mat just as much as the dogs do; they’re slightly more methodical, sniffing out every piece, but enjoy the extra work it takes to find their cat food amongst the fabric barrier.
The Messy Mutts lick mats have been a huge success with all the raw feeders. Evie and Bruce wondered why their regular dishes were swapped out for these funny-looking plates, but the enjoyment hit as soon as they started to eat. Each dog spent a few more minutes licking the mats, ensuring they didn’t miss a groove.
Conclusion
The mats are a huge doggy hit, but as their human, I appreciate feeding options that are well made, easy to clean, versatile, and priced right. Messy Mutts tick all the boxes. The lick mats take no longer to clean than a regular bowl (potentially even less time as the dogs enjoy the extra clean-up time!), and the forage/snuffle mats are handled as you would any regular dog toy, by tossing it in the wash for a clean up when necessary.
The mats are easy to care for, and the benefits of using them have been fun to watch! My dogs are busy herding goats, horse riding, playing fetch with the kids, and more, so their physical energy is spent at the end of most days. Still, the mental stimulation and anti-anxiety work of licking, snuffling, and foraging has been a great addition to their dog days of summer.
I’m now looking at Messy Mutts’ food containment options, toys, and more!
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