DIY Snuffle Mat For Dogs -

We got a PUPPY! My husband and I recently welcomed our new puppy, Cedar, to the family. She’s a 3 month old Bernese Mountain Dog and (although crazy) we sure do love her! Since getting her, I have been deep into researching how to take care of puppy as well as the best ways to get that little ball of energy to calm down. I’ve learned that exercising your puppy doesn’t necessarily mean just physically, but also, MENTALLY! That is why I decided to create this DIY Snuffle Mat For Dogs.

I discovered what a snuffle mat was and that 15 minutes of sniffing time on one of these mats can equate to the energy and calories exerted from a 60 minute walk! I don’t know about you, but I was so surprised after hearing this and KNEW I needed to get my hands on one of these things for Cedar.

After looking online, I quickly realized that I could absolutely make one at home and for way cheaper!

Supplies:

Fleece Fabric. I would suggested choosing three different colors/patterns of fabrics. From my local craft store, I bought 1 yd of one fabric and a 1/2 yd of each of the other two fabrics.
Ruler
Rotary Cutter
Cutting Mat
Pins
Thread
Sewing Machine

Step 1: Cut Your Fabric

First, you will need to cut out all your fabric pieces.

As I mentioned above, I am using 3 different colors/patterns of fabric. I purchased 1 yd of the cream color, 1/2 yd of the plaid, and a 1/2 yd of the light grey color.

The color fabric you bought the most of, you will want to use as the base. For me, it was the cream color.

Cut 1 piece that is 16″ x 18″.

Set that piece aside.

Next, with your remaining fabric, cut 18 pieces are 15″ x 9″.

If you chose 3 different fabrics, cut 6 of these rectangles out of each fabric.

This is what they should look like.

Step 2: Sew Rectangles to the Base

Next, pin and sew the rectangles to the base fabric.

Fold one of your rectangles like so.

Place it about 1/2″ from the edge and each side.

Pin the center of the rectangle to the base fabric. I used three pins total – one on each end and one in the center.

Sew a line following the pins.

The beauty about this project is that you don’t have to be SUPER accurate. For this part, just do your best to sew a straight line, and don’t worry about it being perfect!

It should end up looking something like this.

Then, grab your next rectangle and repeat this same process, but this time placing the rectangle 1″ from the previous one.

Repeat this process with all of the rectangles, making sure to alternate the colors.

This is what mine looked like part way through.

Step 3: Cut Rectangles into Strips

Once all the rectangles are sewn on to the base, you will need to cut them into 1″ strips.

Start on one side, and making sure not to cut the base fabric or the other rectangles, cut 1″ strips.

Again, don’t worry about having to be super accurate here – it’s going to get all bunched up anyway and you won’t even notice if your strips aren’t perfect!