Sherlock has a very specific list of Very Important Things, and if you know him at all, you could probably guess most of it: one tennis ball (his, specifically, not just any tennis ball), a suspicious amount of enthusiasm for sticks that are somehow always the wrong stick, and cheese — which he has never once been offered without acting like it was the first time cheese had ever been invented.
The Ball, the Stick, and the Cheese Negotiations
The tennis ball is not new, not clean, and has been through the wash by accident more times than I can count. He has nicer toys. He does not care. On walks, he'll pass twelve perfectly good sticks to find the one stick, carry it home like a prize, then abandon it by the door within ten minutes. And the cheese — if there's a treat drawer and a cheese drawer, he knows exactly which one gets opened first, and he'll station himself in front of it like it's his job.
The Bunny He's Never Caught
Then there's the bunny. Every walk, same spot, same shed, same rabbit who has clearly clocked that Sherlock is all bark and zero recon skills. He freezes. He stares. He does the low, serious growl that means I see you and I have thoughts. The bunny does not move. It has never once moved. I'm fairly sure at this point they have an understanding.
Turning "His Things" Into Something You Could Use Too
Between the ball he won't share, the stick negotiations, the cheese standoffs, a treat drawer he's had memorized since week one, and a bunny he's never going to catch, it hit me that every dog has this exact list — their own specific, slightly ridiculous set of Very Important Things. So I made a feeding mat that puts them front and center: your dog's name, and up to five of their favorite things, right where they eat every day.
You pick the icons — toys, treats, squirrels, sticks, whatever your dog is quietly obsessed with — and I design it around your dog's specific nonsense, the same way I built Sherlock's around his tennis ball, his stick, his cheese, his treats, and his bunny nemesis.
Design your dog's feeding mat →
Every dog's list is different. That's kind of the point.
Now that you know the "why," come see the "what" — browse our Dog Recipes and Pet DIY for more ways to spoil your pet.
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