Why my anxious dogs can no longer live without the Hive Calming Enrichment Set
I have two very different dogs. Charlie, our girl dog, is a fun-loving beauty queen who just wants love and food. Bosley, the boy, on the other hand, puts on a brave, charming face; underneath, he is an anxious, food-avoidant mess. It can be difficult to soothe Bosley in stressful situations and encourage him to eat, and even harder yet to get Charlie to slow her eating down. Enter lick mats.
Lick mats offer a wide array of benefits to dogs; the textured back of lick mats supports calming behavior, reduces boredom, and makes treats last longer.
Lick mats can also help improve oral hygiene. According to the American Kennel Club, while lick mats alone are not a dental care routine, their textured grooves and ridges help remove gunk from dogs’ teeth, which can help prevent dental disease and tooth loss. Licking also produces more saliva in dogs, which further helps clean their gums, teeth, and tongue.
The act of licking reduces dogs’ anxiety by releasing endorphins, a neurotransmitter that naturally boosts dogs’ moods. Licking can also help lower cortisol — the primary stress hormone — in dogs. It can also be a self-soothing activity that helps dogs manage stress, calm their anxiety, and feel comfortable. Because of this, lick mats can be used in different — potentially stressful — situations to help your pet cope or improve their mood: during moments of separation anxiety, during grooming and bath time, and when they are bored or have excess energy.
I found excellent success with the Hive Calming Enrichment Set, which couples the Hive Disc & Lick Mat with the Peanut Butter Spreadable Treat.
The ridges on the back of the Hive Disc & Lick Mat are honeycomb-shaped, which helps support the previously mentioned benefits. Project Hive offers the Hive Disc & Lick Mat in unscented and scented options, including vanilla, lavender, and wild berry.
The Hive Disc & Lick Mat is not just a tool for delivering treats, but also functions as a flying disc (I’d call it a Frisbee(™), but that’s a trademarked name, so we can’t technically call it that!). Because the Hive Disc in the bundle comes in yellow, the color dogs see best, it's easy for your pup to identify it both indoors and outdoors. The Hive Disc is also sturdy on both the rim and the base, not at all flimsy, so it goes far when thrown — the perfect fetch toy. And because it floats, no terrain is unsuitable for this toy. The Hive Disc’s durability reflects its quality materials and USA-made manufacturing. Made of safe, flexible material, the non-toxic, BPA-free, latex-free, phthalate-free, FDA-compliant, and recyclable toy is also gentle on dogs’ teeth and gums.
My dog Charlie is obsessed with licking, and I found that lick mats provide her with a controlled environment to her heart's desire, and when paired with a tasty treat, she’s all the more excited. In fact, she tends to lick the disc clean, long after she devours the treat. The first time we gave it to her, she did not want me to take it away.
The Peanut Butter Spreadable Treat is gentle on tummies and made with just three simple ingredients: dry-roasted peanuts, honey, and sunflower lecithin. Honey contains vitamins A, B, C, D, and E and supports immune health. Sunflower lecithin, a natural, plant-based substance extracted from sunflower seeds, improves dogs’ skin and coats, promotes liver health, provides choline — a nutrient that sharpens brain function — and acts as an emulsifier, boosting digestion. The Peanut Butter Spreadable Treat also does not require refrigeration, which I love because finding fridge space can be hard enough as is with just human food, let alone dog food. It comes in a no-mess pouch and is easy to knead and squeeze out. The tube is wide, so you can get a lot of product on the mat with minimal effort. You can also add kibble on top to spice up your dog’s dinner. The Hive Disc & Lick Mat also triples as a shallow water dish.
To use the spreadable treat and mat, simply knead the treat before opening it, spread it on the mat, and set it in front of your pet. Cleaning is just as easy, as it is dishwasher safe.
I like introducing the lick mat with the spreadable treat when we have to groom Charlie — who notoriously hates being brushed. Normally, we enter a war zone with her, as she wiggles and squirms her way out of our arms and brushes' reach, which results in her being heavily matted, making brushing all the more difficult. However, when I put the treat on the mat in front of her, it keeps her distracted and engaged enough for us to get a brush out and finally groom her. Charlie is also ravenous–she gobbles up anything edible in record time, yet this bundle slows down her eating pace.
Bosley tends to get awful separation anxiety whenever he is apart from his mom or Charlie, and I discovered that the lick mat and spreadable treat helps soothe and distract him from his worries. In fact, the first time I introduced the pairing to him, his sister was in a separate room, and he was pacing and crying uncontrollably. The second I whipped out the treat, however, he instantly settled and calmed, focusing his energy on licking the mat instead.
Both the Peanut Butter Spreadable Treat and the Hive Disc & Lick Mat are USA-made, supporting local manufacturing jobs and reducing carbon footprints. Project Hive is dedicated to saving the bees. As a Certified B Corp organization and member of 1% for the Planet, Project Hive donates a portion of each purchase to restore pollinator habitats, nourish bees, and support a healthier planet.
The Hive Calming Enrichment Set can be purchased on Project Hive’s website as individual items: the Peanut Butter Spreadable Dog Treat and the Hive Disc & Lick Mat (and you can choose the original unscented yellow, or one of the whiff-worthy scented Discs). It’s also coming soon on Chewy.com, where customers can realize a bundled savings of 20%!
