How to make a snuffle box using materials you have at home
Learn how our Puppy Place teacher, Michelle, creates home-made “sniffy puzzles”
If you’re like me, you might not have a snuffle mat or the access to the materials to make your own right now. Instead, you can make your own “snuffle box” and other food puzzles from items you currently have in your house!
Here are my “snuffle box” (or as my dog knows it, “sniffy puzzle”) materials. It includes a cardboard box (with the sides cut down for her stumpy Corgi legs, not necessary for all dogs), some packing paper from a Chewy’s order, toilet paper rolls, a few old blankets, and an old hand towel. You can use whatever you want or have on hand with this, I sometimes use tissue paper, small Tupperware containers put upside down, small kong toys, but you can use anything that you have available that is dog safe and that you don’t mind getting a little messy!
For my first step, I make a blanket puzzle. Lay your blanket out, grab the middle and twist it! Hide your kibble and/or treats in the folds of the blanket. This can even be a great puzzle on its own if your dog hasn’t done something like this before. Do the same with multiple blankets like I did or just the one.
I tied the corners of one of the blankets into a knot to give my dog a little extra challenge.
Take a towel, place some kibble or treats at one end of the towel, and roll it up!
Hide some kibble or treats each time you roll.
Keep adding kibble/treats and keep rolling up your towel until it’s completely rolled up.
This is another great puzzle on it’s own! You can go big with full-sized towel, or stick with a hand towel like I did.
The Final assembly:
The final product! I put my packing or tissue paper in the bottom of the box and sprinkle some kibble/treats in the crinkled up parts. I put in my blankets and towel full of kibble/treats on top of that, added a couple of toilet paper rolls with some treats in them, and let my dog sniff out her breakfast.
Get creative with whatever you have around your house right now and build your own “snuffle box”! Let your dog use their brain and nose to sniff and forage for their meals and snacks.
After your dog is done, you will likely have a content and sleepy pup!
