I’ve created a monster. Think ‘Cookie Monster’ — not ‘JAWS.’

I introduced little Dotty to our little snuffle mat. Adorable in every possible way. She figured it out pretty much instantly. There is nothing wrong with her nose, and, true to her breed, she loves a good snack.

[A snuffle mat is a nest of fleece strips. The human servant hides yummy treats among these strips, and the dog sniffs them out and devours them. It’s a chance to let dogs use their noses and enjoy some mental stimulation. And a snack.)

I generally give Orly a snuffle mat after she hikes, and sometimes we do it after (my) lunch even on days that Orly doesn’t hike. She sometimes asks for it, but is generally happy to get the offer but not insistent.

Dotty is different.

After two — two — snuffle mat sessions, she started walking over to the shelf and trying to pull hers down. She resorted to barking at it when she couldn’t free it from the shelf.

She goes over to the snuffle mats and demands (often quite loudly) that I prepare one for her.

I ignore that, but when I am preparing the snuffle mats, she barks instructions, wriggles, tugs at the corner, pops up to watch where I am putting the treats (or is she counting to be sure that she gets as many as, or more than, Orly?!). She dives for Orly’s as I move to set it down. She impatiently sits, wriggling and sometimes barking, as I give Orly her mat and turn to give Dotty hers.

Once she’s finished clearing the treats from hers — and has thoroughly examined Orly’s mat to ensure that nothing was left behind (as if!) — she has taken to dragging one — usually Orly’s larger mat — around the room.

Snuffle Monster.