Lick mats
What is a lick mat for?
Of the six enrichment add-ons at 210 Eastern Ave, the lick mat is the cheapest and the one our handlers reach for most. This page covers what it does, when we use it, how to use one at home and which dogs get the most from it.
The short version
A mat for licking, because licking is how dogs calm themselves down
Watch a dog after a fright or a big play session and you will often see it lick: its paws, the floor, your hand. Licking is a self-soothing behavior, and a lick mat gives it somewhere useful to go. The mat is covered in nubs, grooves or pockets; you smear soft food across it, and the dog spends five to fifteen minutes working it out. The food is the excuse. The licking is the point.
That makes the mat different from a puzzle game or a Kong. A puzzle asks the dog to think; a Kong asks it to chew; a mat asks it to do the one thing that already lowers its arousal. It suits the dog who paces, the dog who cannot settle after the group, the dog who shakes on the grooming table and the dog whose first day at Dogtown has been a lot.
- A textured mat spread thin with soft food, licked clean over five to fifteen minutes
- The purpose is calming, not feeding or exercise
- $5 as an add-on on any daycare, Academy or overnight day
- Frozen, it lasts longer and calms more slowly
How it works at Dogtown
$5, served in the rest block, and our first pick for a mid-day reset
At Dogtown the lick mat is a $5 add-on, booked online, in the Dogtown app or at drop-off. It usually comes out in the midday rest block, after the morning play, when a dog that has run hard for two hours needs help switching off before the afternoon group. Handlers also use it for a first-visit dog who is watching the door, and for an overnight guest's first evening in the suite.
It pairs with the other quiet add-ons. A dog who needs to calm down gets the mat; a dog who needs to think gets the $7 puzzle game or the $7 sniff room; a dog who needs to move gets the $10 supervised treadmill walk. The unlimited daycare membership at $700 a month includes two enrichment sessions a month, and the lick mat is a common choice.
At home
Spread thin, freeze for longer, supervise, wash: the home method in five steps
A lick mat is the easiest piece of enrichment to run at home, and the two mistakes are the same everywhere: too much food, and walking away. Spread the topping thin so the dog works for it rather than eating it, and stay in the room, because some dogs chew the mat once the food is gone. Plain, unsweetened toppings are the rule; when in doubt, check the ingredient against the ASPCA poison control list first.
The mat earns its place on Cape Ann on three kinds of day. The July 3 fireworks over Gloucester harbor and the Fiesta week before them, when a frozen mat in a back room gives a nervous dog something to do. The nor'easter afternoons when nobody goes out. And the evenings after a beach walk, when a rinse and a towel are easier for a dog who is busy licking.
- 01
Choose a mat with suction cups or a heavy base so it stays put
- 02
Spread a thin layer of a plain, dog-safe soft food across the surface
- 03
Freeze it for an hour or more to last through fireworks or a storm
- 04
Stay in the room; remove the mat once the food is gone or if chewing starts
- 05
Wash in hot soapy water and dry fully before the next use
What it means for your dog
Puppies learn to be handled, adults learn to come down, seniors get a gentle job
For a puppy, the mat is a training tool as much as a treat. Stick it to the wall at the puppy's height and you can brush, touch paws and look in ears while the puppy is busy, which is how cooperative care for nail trims and grooming starts. Keep sessions short and the topping plain, and ask your vet before anything new if the puppy is on a particular food.
For an adult, the mat is the come-down after the day: after daycare, after a run at the fenced dog park at Stage Fort Park, after a Saturday leash walk through Rockport. For a senior, licking is low-effort enrichment that asks nothing of the joints, and a slow session on a mat is a kind way to feed part of a meal to a dog who eats too fast. Dogs on prescription diets get their own food on the mat and nothing else.
- Puppies: a wall-mounted mat while you handle paws, ears and coat
- Adults: the settle after daycare, the beach or the dog park
- Seniors: low-effort enrichment and a slower way to eat, with the vet's diet respected
At Dogtown
The add-on menu
Lick mats are one of six enrichment add-ons for any daycare day, Academy day or overnight stay at Dogtown.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
What do you put on the lick mat at Dogtown?
Is a lick mat good for separation anxiety?
How often can a dog have a lick mat?
Can a dog choke on a lick mat?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Add a lick mat to the rest block.
New dogs meet us at the free weekday evaluation first. After that, a lick mat is $5 on any daycare, Academy or overnight day.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
