Trail Sniffers
Trail Sniffers Snuffle Mats
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A snuffle mat is made specifically to entice dogs into sniffing and foraging. Usually created with fleece strips tied to a plastic base with holes in it, Snuffle Mats create a space where treats are easily hidden. The hidden treats encourage nose work and natural canine foraging tendencies.
Why use a Snuffle Mat?
A dog's sense of smell is in between 10,000 and 100,000 times more prominent than that of a human, and it's one of the ways dogs interpret the world around them. Using snuffle mats allows your dog to decode what's in front of them with their nose. This can:
- Help to provide an outlet for your dogs mental enrichment.
- Provide mental stimulation to reduce boredom
- Encourage slower eating habits.
- Initiate sniffing and foraging centers of the brain, which are pleasurable for the dog.
- Create mental stimulation for dogs on restricted exercise.
- Encourages use of the brain to help stave off doggy dementia
Things you can use in your Snuffle Mats:
- Dry treats of any kind
- Dog friendly herbs such as chopped parsley or mint
- Veggies or fruit such as chopped carrot, apple, green beans, or broccoli
- High value treats ( bbq chicken, small bits of cheese ect)
Cleaning:
Prior to putting your snuffle mat in the wash, shake it out and use your fingers to comb through any bits your dog may have left behind. Most snuffle mats are machine washable and can be washed on a delicate low heat cycle with a mild detergent, followed by a tumble dry on low heat (or hung to air dry).
Wash your snuffle mat regularly to avoid bacteria build up (I try to wash mine once a week), but individual cleaning frequency can vary based on ingredients used and how often you use them.
Introduce your content
Answer your customers' common questions
What training methods do you use?
Trail Sniffers follows the LIMA approach towards training. It stands for Least Intrusive Minimally Aversive.
Trail Sniffers believes that training is most effective when following science based and positive reinforcement methods.
Trail Sniffers strives for learner-centered, minimally stressful, and thoughtful training sessions with all species. We use gentle methods based on the most current science of dog training and behavior.
What training equiptment do you use?
Respect for dogs and their people, kindness, science, food, play, observation, humor, creativity, and a clicker/word markers "yes"
How quickly can you "fix" my dog or expect to see results?
Trail Sniffers job is not to "fix your dog and their behaviour. Our goal is to provide you with management stratergies, training knowledge and skills so that you feel confident in training and supporting your dog so that you both have a happy and sucsessful life together.
If your dog has been practicing an undesirable behavior for 2 years, do not expect the behaviour to change within 2 weeks. Often we can provide the information needed in our consultation to train the new behavior with no follow-up sessions, but practice is the key to success. Many behaviors will take multiple sessions. Expect the best outcome if you do the training too
What is a "Behavioural Consultation"?
Behavioural Consultations are designed to address undesirable behaviours rather than basic cues. Undesirable behaviours include barking, separation anxiety, aggression, fearfulness and anxiety to name a few.
Will I always have to train with rewards?
Rewards are your dogs motivator. Think of it like it is a payment for a job well done. There are things everywhere in the enviroment that a puppy and adult dog will deem to be more interesting than we are. We need to give them a reason to want to check in with us or perform a behavior or cue.
Simply put - Would you work for free? Probably not, so why would your doig ?
FoodPraise/Play/ which ever your dog finds most rewarding - only your dog will know. Rewarads are a motivators for our dogs when training and since they won’t accept cash, find what they do accept.
Can you guarantee the training will stick?
If you are consistent, follow Trail Sniffers instructions and you are kind in training your dog, we guarantee you will see a change in behavior.