Lickimat Buddy Tuff Turquoise

Whether a thing gets used a second time is usually decided at the sink. A mat carrying a set of dried-on pâté ridges that have to be scrubbed by hand becomes a mat that lives at the back of a drawer, and the dog goes back to staring at you from six o'clock onwards.

The Buddy is a 20 x 20 cm square made from non-toxic food grade PET and TPR, and it is both freezer and dishwasher safe. The principle is the same across the range: you spread a soft treat across the surface and the animal has to find every last bit of it with their tongue, which takes considerably longer than the same spoonful eaten out of a bowl. Lickimat's own reasoning is that repetitive licking is soothing, that it gets saliva going, and that a small quantity of food is made to go a long way — they put it forward for storms, for being home alone, and for the wait before a groomer or a procedure. Freezing what you spread on it stretches the session out further again.

• 20 x 20 cm (8" x 8")
• Made from non-toxic food grade PET and TPR
• Freezer and dishwasher safe
• Spread with a soft treat rather than filled
• Suitable for dogs and cats
• Lickimat suggest freezing treats in summer for a longer-lasting version

"Tuff" is a name, not a chew rating. Lickimat's own instruction still stands: watch your pet the first few times until you are sure they will lick the mat rather than chew it, and there is no chew-resistance figure, material thickness or dog-size limit published to us to put behind the word. A mat somebody has bitten a lump out of is a swallowing risk whatever it is called. Nothing supplied to us mentions a suction base either, so take it as a flat mat that a determined licker will push around a tiled floor.

Who it's for: owners of a fast eater or a dog that cannot settle on its own, cat households wanting a slow feeder, and anyone who would rather the thing went in the dishwasher with the plates than into the washing-up bowl.