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Alright, let me tell you how I got started with these frozen lick mat things for my dog. My furry buddy, Buster, he gets bored easy, especially when I'm trying to get stuff done around the house. Plus, summers here get pretty hot. I saw these silicone mats somewhere and thought, why not freeze stuff on 'em? Seemed like a decent way to keep him busy and cool him off.

So, I ordered a couple of those bumpy silicone mats. Nothing special, just the basic ones. Then I looked around my kitchen to see what I had.

My First Tries - Plain and Simple

For the first go, I kept it real basic. Grabbed some plain Greek yogurt from the fridge. Heard it's alright for dogs in moderation. Also got the peanut butter out – made absolutely sure it didn't have xylitol in it. That stuff's bad news for dogs.

I took one mat and just smeared the yogurt all over it with the back of a spoon. Tried to get it down into the little nubs and patterns. Did the same thing with the peanut butter on the second mat. It was a bit thicker, harder to spread, but I managed.

Then I carefully slid both mats into the freezer, making sure they were lying flat so the stuff wouldn't run off. Left them in there for maybe three, four hours? Until they were solid rock.

When I pulled the yogurt one out and gave it to Buster, he sniffed it for a second, then just went for it. Tongue working like crazy. It kept him occupied for a solid 15-20 minutes. Pretty good! The peanut butter one was an even bigger hit. Lasted longer too, probably closer to 30 minutes 'cause it was denser and stickier.

Getting a Bit More Creative

Okay, so the simple stuff worked great. Time to mix it up a bit, you know?

Next time, I mashed up half a banana real good and mixed it with some yogurt. Spread that on the mat and froze it. Oh man, Buster loved that combo. The smell alone got him excited.

Another idea I tried was using some plain pumpkin puree – just the 100% pumpkin stuff, not the pie filling with all the spices. Mixed that with a tiny bit of low-sodium chicken broth to thin it out slightly. Froze that up. He seemed to really enjoy licking something savory for a change.

I even just mushed some of his regular wet food into the grooves once when I was feeling lazy. Froze it solid. That worked like a charm, especially good if you want to slow down a fast eater or just give them part of their meal in an engaging way.

Here’s a quick list of things I've tried that worked well:

• Plain yogurt mixed with a few mashed blueberries or strawberries.
• Peanut butter (xylitol-free!) swirled with mashed banana.
• Pumpkin puree thinned with a little bone broth or water.
• Just plain soaked and mashed kibble or wet food.
• Sometimes I’d do layers – like yogurt base, then dots of peanut butter on top before freezing.

Stuff I Figured Out

Learned a few things doing this pretty regularly now.

First, don't pile the stuff on too thick. It just makes a bigger puddle when it melts, especially on carpet. A thin layer spread well works best.

Always, always check ingredients on human food. No xylitol is the big one, but also watch out for things like onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, chocolate – the usual suspects toxic to dogs.

Keep an eye on your dog when they have the mat, at least the first few times. Make sure they're licking and not trying to chew pieces off the mat itself. Buster understood pretty quickly it was for licking.

Having two or three mats is really handy. You can have one ready in the freezer while your dog is working on another one.

These things are lifesavers on hot days. Buster will just lay down and lick away, seems to really cool him down.

I've also noticed it's good for calming him down a bit. If he's getting a little restless or anxious, like if there's a storm brewing far off, giving him a frozen mat helps distract him and focuses his energy on licking.

So yeah, that's been my experience. Frozen lick mats are dead simple to make, use whatever safe stuff you have on hand, and Buster absolutely goes nuts for them. Keeps him busy, gives his brain a little workout, and cools him off. Definitely something I'd suggest trying out.