The Thing You THINK Calms Your Puppy... #320
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 10 December 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
A lick mat can feel like magic when it brings instant peace to a whiny or restless puppy, but sometimes that calm comes after a buildup we don't even notice. I'm taking a closer look at what drives that rising anticipation and how small, thoughtful changes can shift the pattern toward calm, confidence, and comfort. With a bit of intention, lick mats can become tools that support your puppy's emotional well-being rather than fuel anxious routines or unwanted behaviors.
In this episode, you'll hear:
• Why puppies start whining, circling, pawing, bouncing, or barking before you deliver a lick mat.
• The "thing before the thing" and how anticipation becomes reinforcement.
• What to do first when your puppy is anxious, whiny, or restless.
• The different stages of using a lick mat to support wanted behavior.
• How to prepare lick mats without triggering excitement.
• How to create a new trigger so calm behavior predicts the lick mat.
• Ways to use lick mats for fear, visitors at the door, and environmental distractions.
• Why lick mats should not be a lifelong crutch and how to use them with intention.
Resources:
1. Podcast Episode 16: The Thing Before Your Dog's Thing - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/16/
2. Podcast Episode 314: Dog Enrichment Secrets Part 1: Using Your Dog's Natural Instincts To Build Variety And Engagement - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/314/
3. Podcast Episode 315: Dog Enrichment Secrets Part 2: 30 Day Enrichment Challenge + Free Planner PDF - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/315/
4. Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://youtu.be/U5zFK_WkHpY
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The behavior starts to amplify. It starts to intensify until you get to a point where your puppy |
| 0:08.6 | is all out screaming at you. I want that licky mat now. |
| 0:18.2 | Hi, I'm Susan Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. Have you ever grabbed a lick mat to help calm your |
| 0:26.0 | whiny puppy? And within minutes of giving the lick mat, you're like, oh, peace, success. But the question is, |
| 0:33.5 | is that success, that piece coming at an expense to you? This episode has been inspired by me |
| 0:41.0 | visiting with a friend whose doodle was anxious in her ex pen. And my friend said, oh yes, she does get |
| 0:47.5 | pretty restless at this time of day. And I'll just get her lick mat. And she gave her a lick mat. And yeah, |
| 0:54.0 | see, look it, she's perfect. |
| 0:55.9 | Now, if you're a regular listener to the Shape by Dog podcast, you would then be familiar |
| 1:00.6 | with podcast episode number 16, the thing before the thing. |
| 1:05.5 | Here's how a lot of puppies appear to be anxious. |
| 1:09.2 | Number one, truly, some puppies can be anxious. It could be |
| 1:12.7 | fear. It could be that they're just understimulated. It could be that they're not living and |
| 1:18.9 | enriched life. You can refer to Shape by Dog episode number 314 and 315, where I talk about |
| 1:26.2 | the nirvana of enrichment for everybody's puppy or adult dog. |
| 1:31.0 | But let's backpedal a little bit because here's where a lot of this starts. |
| 1:36.1 | Have you ever noticed that when you're feeding your dog or your dogs, if you have more than |
| 1:41.2 | one, that they get a little bit happy behind you. Maybe they are |
| 1:46.6 | circling. Maybe they're wagging their tail. Maybe they're whining. Maybe they're vocalizing a little |
| 1:52.8 | bit more than that. Maybe they're saying like, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, it's dinner time. I want |
| 1:57.6 | my dinner. I want my dinner. I want my dinner. Now, if you have a dog that doesn't |
| 2:01.8 | care about their dinner, this is probably not going to be a problem. However, if you're a person that |
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