5 Lick Mat Recipes for Puppies (Vet-Approved)

A puppy with a lick mat is a puppy who is sitting still, and a puppy who is sitting still is a puppy you can survive. I say that as someone who raised a border collie mix puppy through the worst of her teething phase. The single tool that bought me twenty quiet minutes at a time was not a toy and was not a chew — it was a square of textured silicone smeared with something sticky and put in the freezer.

Lick mats work for puppies for three reasons. First, licking is a self-soothing behavior — it lowers a puppy's heart rate the same way thumb-sucking calms a toddler. Second, the textured surface forces the puppy to work for each bite, which stretches a small amount of food into ten or fifteen minutes. Third, frozen mats are cold, and cold is exactly what a teething puppy's mouth wants.

The catch is what you put on the mat. Puppies have sensitive guts and a list of foods they absolutely cannot have. So here are five recipes I actually used, with ratios, freezing times, and the things to leave out.

The mat I use

Quick note on the mat itself, because it matters. You want a mat with strong suction cups and a texture deep enough to hold the food in place. I use the LickiMat Classic, which is the brand most vets and trainers reference, and a cheaper LUKITO two-pack for backups (one in the freezer, one being washed).

Before each recipe: spread the mixture into the mat with the back of a spoon, pressing it into the texture. Freeze for the time listed. Serve on the floor (suctioned down so the puppy cannot flip it) or stuck to a tile wall for a challenge.

Recipe 1 — Plain yogurt and banana (the starter)

The first recipe to try. Mild, gut-friendly, and almost impossible to get wrong.

• 2 tablespoons plain, unsweetened yogurt (live cultures are a bonus for gut)
• 1 inch of ripe banana, mashed
• Optional: a tiny sprinkle of plain oatmeal to thicken

Mix, spread, freeze 90 minutes. The yogurt firms up enough to make the puppy work but stays soft enough for a young mouth. Avoid flavored yogurts — the xylitol in some sugar-free versions is toxic to dogs, and puppies are small enough that a tiny dose matters.

Recipe 2 — Peanut butter and pumpkin (the teething one)

This is the one I leaned on during the worst teething weeks. The pumpkin is good for a puppy's digestion, and cold peanut butter numbs sore gums.

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter (UNSWEETENED, no xylitol — check the label every time)
• 1 tablespoon 100% pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• Optional: a splash of water to thin if too stiff

Mix, spread, freeze 2 hours. The pumpkin thins the peanut butter so it is not a sugar bomb. Read the peanut butter label literally every time you buy a new jar — brands change formulations, and xylitol kills dogs at small doses. If the label says "sugar-free" or "no sugar added," put it back.

Recipe 3 — Wet puppy food and water (the meal extender)

For the puppy who inhales dinner. Spread his normal kibble portion as a wet slurry on the mat so he has to work for it.

• 1/4 cup wet puppy food (or kibble soaked in warm water 15 min, then mashed)
• 1 tablespoon water
• Mix to a thick paste

Spread, freeze 1 hour. This is not a treat — it is a way to slow down a meal. Because it is his normal food, you do not have to worry about new ingredients or gut upset. Use this one on days when he ate too fast at breakfast.

Recipe 4 — Yogurt and blueberry (the brain one)

Blueberries are one of the few fruits that are safe, low-calorie, and genuinely good for a puppy's cognitive development.

• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 3-4 blueberries, halved (halve them — whole blueberries are a choking shape for a small puppy)
• Optional: 1 teaspoon of mashed steamed carrot

Mix, press berries into the texture so they freeze in place, freeze 2 hours. The berries give him something to hunt for in the mat, which extends the time.

Recipe 5 — Bone broth and kibble (the long one)

For crate training or a long car ride. This one lasts the longest because the broth freezes hard and the kibble is embedded in it.

• 1/4 cup plain bone broth (no onion, no garlic, no salt — check the label; human bone broths often have all three)
• 1/4 cup puppy kibble
• Mix so kibble is submerged

Spread, freeze 3 hours minimum, ideally overnight. The puppy has to lick through the broth to get to the kibble, and a frozen block of broth-kibble will keep a determined puppy busy for 20-30 minutes. Use dog-specific bone broth if you are not sure about the human aisle.

What never goes on a puppy lick mat

• Xylitol (in sugar-free peanut butter, sugar-free yogurt, some gums) — toxic, fatal at small doses
• Grapes and raisins — kidney failure, no safe dose known
• Onion and garlic (incl. powder in broth and baby food) — red blood cell damage
• Macadamia nuts — neurotoxic
• Chocolate — obviously, but it shows up in some yogurts
• Cooked bones — not a lick-mat ingredient usually, but do not blend them in
• Excess salt — check broth and baby food labels

The rule: if you cannot name every ingredient on the label, do not put it on the mat. Puppies are small. A dose that does nothing to a 70-pound adult dog can hospitalize a 12-pound puppy.

How long is too long

Lick mats are enrichment, not a feeding strategy. Twenty to thirty minutes is the ceiling. If your puppy is still going at 30 minutes, take the mat away — he is either frustrated or obsessing, and neither is the point. Most sessions land at 10-15 minutes, which is the sweet spot for a teething, over-stimulated puppy who needs to come down a gear.

Wash the mat with hot soapy water between every use. The texture traps food, and trapped food grows bacteria fast. If you cannot be bothered to wash it, buy three and run them through the dishwasher.

The one I would buy if I were starting over

If I had to start over with one purchase, I would get the LickiMat 2-pack — one Buddy texture, one Soother texture — and a cheap LUKITO pair as backup. Four mats total means you always have a clean frozen one ready, which is the only way to actually use these consistently through a teething phase. The KONG Classic in small is the other piece of the kit, used for the same self-soothing purpose when you want a chewable version instead of a flat mat. Between the two, you cover most of a puppy's first year of "I need to be calm right now" moments.