The portion of vet costs associated with dog dental work has been increasing for lots of reasons and has become a serious health issue that needs to be addressed. Cue LickiMat. LickiMat have been working with vets to design a product to improve the oral hygiene and oral health for dogs of all breeds, shapes, sizes, and ages. LickiMat worked on two principles: stimulating the tongue to produce more saliva that in turn leads to healthier teeth and gums; and scraping the tongue to reduce undigested food particles and odor-causing bacteria.
The solution was similar to humans - when your dentist tells you to scrape your tongue using the back of your toothbrush or a tongue scraper, but you forget to do so most of the time! No forgetting with LickiMat slow feeders as the tongue is naturally scraped at the end of every meal without requiring extra effort from the pet guardian.
The LickiMat range takes the same principles and applies them to the entire rubber surface of the mat. It challenges the dog to lick in order get the reward that has been spread onto the LickiMat. This resulted in a lot of licking, a lot of engagement and fun! The licking action also produces endorphins that soothe and calm your pet, and it is now recognised as a leading anti-anxiety tool for dogs.
Benefits of LickiMat®
Reduced anxiety and boredom: LickiMat use calms your pet as they enjoy their favourite treat. LickiMat is designed to reduce anxiety and promote calm behaviour in your pet by encouraging licking action and stimulating your pet’s tongue. The extended licking action promoted by LickiMat releases a calming hormone in both dogs and cats.
Training Aid: LickiMat is being increasingly used by pet trainers and animal behaviourists in their training efforts. LickiMats are used for all types of dog training and are especially good at reducing crate training time. Ask your dog trainer about LickiMats.
Improved oral health: LickiMat works by stimulating your dog’s tongue – increasing salvia production that further cleans the tongue, teeth and gums. Scraping the tongue freshens your pet’s breath. Increased saliva production can also aid digestion as it contains enzymes such as Amylase.
Recommended for both DOGS & CATS: LickiMat treat makers are perfect for both dogs and cats. The different surfaces of the Buddy™, Playdate™ and Soother™ work differently with different treats and food. Try them all to discover which surfaces work best for your pets! The Tuff™ models are designed to be dishwasher-safe and recommended for pets that have inappropriate chewing tendencies.
Healthy treats: LickiMat also allows you to experiment and discover your pet’s favourite treats. Peanut butter, almond butter, yogurt, smashed sardines, pumpkin purée, crushed biscuits, you name it! Enjoy the journey of discovering your pet’s favourite healthy treats. Every pet is unique and appreciates you taking an interest in discovering their preferences.
Smaller treats, longer enjoyment: LickiMat allows a smaller volume of treat to be spread out and enjoyed over a much longer period of time by your pet. This reduces caloric intake from treats and food. You can even freeze most treats for a longer and more enjoyable licking experience.
Grooming, Bathing and Vet Care Aid: LickiMat is used by pet groomers and veterinarians to keep pets busy and distracted. All LickiMat models can be used, and the Splash™ has a suction cup for wall mounting.
Slow Feeder: LickiMat can be used to promote slower feeding in your pet for both wet and dry food. Dry food naturally falls into the spaces in Buddy™ and Playdate™, whilst wet food can be pressed in using the back of a spoon or a spatula. Very large dog breeds may need more than one LickiMat if you want to use LickiMats as a feeder.
Medical-Free: LickiMat can be used to promote calm behaviour in your pet while home alone or during stressful times like storms and fireworks. Please note that LickiMat is not a substitute for medication for some pets.
Cat Feeder: LickiMat provides a more natural approach for a cat to eat and eliminates whisker stress caused by whiskers touching the side of a bowl. Almost every cat that is given the choice between a LickiMat and a feeding bowl side-by-side will choose the LickiMat.
Great Value: LickiMat is priced to be extremely economical. It is durable and should provide you with years of service.
Eco-friendly: LickiMat build sustainable products for pets. Sustainability is at the heart of our design thinking and the lifecycle of our products. LickiMat cover every step in the lifecycle from choice of materials to reducing waste in manufacturing to reducing waste in shipping to re-using packaging material to recycling.
Sustainability Action
Environmental Safety: LickiMat never use silicone in our products, which is terrifyingly bad for the environment. LickiMat also never use TPE (Thermo Plastic Elastomer) in our products where the actual Elastomer compounds are a mystery and it is uncertain if they are recyclable or even safe.
All the licking action in cats and dogs was creating more saliva and helping protect their teeth and gums, and freshening their breath by scraping odour-causing bacteria off their tongues. We find that it generally takes 3-4 days of using a LickiMat to notice an improvement in breath.
LickiMat was initially designed by vets to help your dog feel less anxious when you left home. It has since evolved to do so much more: training aid, crate training aid, raw food dispenser and all-round food and snack enrichment enabler. Find out for yourself: