A Healthy + Nutritional Lick Mat

A Healthy + Nutritional Lick Mat

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well! We are literally counting down the days to getting our coffee shop pink door unlocked and wide open again in Skipton! Just waiting for that all-important announcement from Boris then the homemade cakes, award-winning coffee and handmade dog cakes will be plentiful.

Tempting, eh?

We have been posting lots of stories over the last week about the Paw Pad Lick Mat mainly because I absolutely love them, they are just great for keeping your pooch entertained, so I thought this weeks blog could give you some ideas as to what smoother on your Lick Mat or fill your Super Fruitz Treat Toy or Kong with. And of course, what to stay away from to keep your pooch safe and healthy!

What is a Lick Mat or Super Fruitz and how can I use it?

These little things are just awesome the Lick Mats are perfect for spreading all your dogs favourite treats and popping in the fridge or even the freezer giving them hours of fun! The even have little suction pads on the back to stop them from slipping around on the floor (saving your dog from chasing it around the floor) The Super Fruitz work just the same in that you can stuff them will all the goodies and pop in the fridge or freezer but these come in all different shapes and sizes from a banana to a pepper.

What can I fill them with?

There are so many amazing ingredients that we can use to treat our doggy’s, these are some of our favourites and their health benefits:

• Strawberries - Strawberries are a healthy, low-calorie, sweet treat for your dog, full of antioxidants, high in fibre and vitamin C. Here's a bonus. By giving your dog strawberries, you are also helping him stay healthy in more ways than one as strawberries can also help whiten your pup's teeth.
• Blueberries- Blueberries are full of antioxidants and fibre, which can help defend your pet from cancer.
• Spinach – Spinach contains large amounts of vitamins A, B, C, and K. It also contains iron, antioxidants, beta-carotene, and roughage, which stimulate the digestive tract
• Carrots - Carrots are high in vitamins and fibre, and their fibrous nature can brush away tartar, making them good for your dog’s teeth.
• Banana - Rich in potassium, vitamins, and copper, bananas are exceptionally sweet, and they’re also safe for your furbaby to eat.
• Apples - These are a great source of Vitamins A & C, and packed full of fibre to keep your dog’s digestive system working effectively. Just be sure to remove the core and seeds before feeding an apple to your pet.
• Mango - Don’t forget to remove the stone before feeding as it contains a small amount of toxic cyanide, and of course is a choke hazard.
• Green Beans - Fresh green beans are chock full of iron and vitamins, making them a healthy option for your dog. Remember to only feed your pup fresh green beans, as canned ones usually have added salt. 

 As a rule, at Kibble all of our products are always wheat, gluten and dairy free so even at home when we mix anything with yoghurt, we always use dairy free dairy products although not toxic to our dogs they may cause some undue discomfort to our doggies’ tummy’s  

At Kibble Bakery we grown our own fresh herbs in the doggy kitchen so we can just snip some fresh herbs to decorate our cakes or incorporate in our mixture. We find these ones to be the best in terms of nutritional goodness:

• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Basil
• Parsley

During lockdown I have actually just started growing some herbs at home to use in our human baking but it also means I can mix them into any treats we make for Max.

What’s dangerous for our dogs?

There are some ingredients that we might think are safe but they are dangerous for our four-legged family, of course, this list is not exhaustive, make sure you always double check before you serve anything up to your dog in their favourite treat ball or mat.

Of course, the number one favourite for our pups is all singing all dancing Peanut Butter but you have to be so careful for the very toxic Xylitol. When a dog ingests Xylitol, it will cause the dogs blood sugar level to crash dangerously low.

• Peanut Butter containing XYLITOL. We find the best one that all the pups love and it is made from 100% Peanuts there is absolutely nothing else added is Meridian Peanut Butter.
• Grapes
• Avocados
• Onions
• Garlic
• Mushrooms

As mentioned, this list is not exhaustive and always be sure to check what yummy fruit and vegetables you stuff your treat toys with.

For Max we often blitz up all of the treats then either stuff them in the Super Fruitz or spread on the Lick Mat before popping in the freezer for a few hours this just makes it last so much longer for him to work his way through.