Dogs tire themselves out more by sniffing than by walking. Hide a handful of kibble in the fleece folds and most will spend twenty minutes working it out — useful on days when a proper walk isn't happening, or for a dog on rest after an injury.
The ball shape means it rolls as they nose at it, so the food shifts and the puzzle keeps changing. That's the difference between this and a flat snuffle mat, which tends to get solved in one pass.
Fleece, about 20cm across. Machine washable, which it will need.
Supervise while it's in use and put it away afterwards. It isn't a chew toy: dogs that like shredding fabric will get through it, and the point is the sniffing rather than the destruction.
Sniffing is mental work, and it tires a dog in a way distance does not. A dog can come back from a long walk still restless, because the walk exercised the body and left the nose with almost nothing to do.
How this helps
Hiding a meal in fleece folds turns eating into foraging. Twenty minutes of concentrated sniffing supports a dog that settles afterwards, and gives you something to fall back on when a proper walk is not happening.
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