A dog who turns destructive in the afternoon is usually not badly behaved; they are a dog with a working nose and nothing to point it at. Sniffing and licking both bring arousal down, and feeding an ordinary meal through something that takes effort turns two minutes of eating into twenty minutes of quiet, absorbed work. That is the entire idea behind this bundle: three different ways of making food take longer.

The snuffle mat hides dry food deep in fabric fronds so the dog has to work it out by scent, which is the closest thing to a proper sniffing walk you can set up on a kitchen floor. The LickiMat spreads something wet across a textured surface, and the repetitive licking is genuinely calming, which makes it the thing to reach for before the fireworks start rather than during. The enrichment ball drops kibble as it rolls, for the dog who needs to move rather than settle.

• Three enrichment items in one bundle
• Snuffle mat for scatter-feeding dry food
• LickiMat for wet food, yoghurt or pate
• Treat-dispensing ball for kibble
• Works with the food you already feed
• Fabric mat washes, hard items rinse clean

Two things worth knowing. Whatever goes on the mats is food and not an extra, so take it out of the daily ration or you will have a heavier dog by Christmas. And none of the three is a chew toy: a determined shredder left alone with a snuffle mat will eat the fronds, so supervise the first few sessions before you trust it in an empty room.

Who it's for: young dogs left alone for a few hours, fast eaters who empty a bowl in thirty seconds, and anxious dogs who need a job during fireworks season.