Quiet enrichment toys for Whippets with a new baby

A new baby and a Whippet who needs his evenings sorted — that's a very specific and very real challenge. Mental stimulation is honestly just as important as physical exercise for most dogs, and for a sighthound like a Whippet it's often the missing piece when they start getting restless or anxious. The right enrichment toy really depends on the dog's personality, what problem you're solving, and what you've already tried. So — tell me a bit more: is your Whippet more of a calm, easy-going type or does he ramp up in the evenings? And what's the main thing you're hoping the toy solves — keeping him settled while you're doing the baby's bedtime, reducing general restlessness, or something else?

That's really helpful — and honestly quite common with Whippets when the household dynamic shifts. They're incredibly people-focused dogs, so being sidelined during a new routine can genuinely unsettle them. Kongs are great but they tend to get emptied fast and require freezing prep to last any real length of time. What I'd actually recommend here is a LickiMat Soother. It's a textured rubber mat you spread with something like plain yogurt, peanut butter, or wet food — the repetitive licking action triggers a calming response in dogs, almost like a de-stress mechanism. It's completely silent, floor-level so he can settle down with it, and a thin spread on those grooves can easily last 20-30 minutes. It's also dead simple — no freezing required unless you want it to last longer, and easy to wash. For a clingy, sensitive dog like a Whippet who just needs something to anchor him while you're busy, it's genuinely one of the best tools going.

It's completely safe for daily use — the licking itself is self-rewarding so most dogs don't really tire of it the way they might a puzzle toy once they've figured it out. The key to keeping it interesting is rotating what you spread on it. Plain Greek yogurt, a thin smear of xylitol-free peanut butter, mashed banana, or just his regular wet food all work well. You can also freeze it overnight so it takes longer to finish — that's worth doing a couple of times a week if you want to extend the session. Whippets tend to stay very engaged with food-based enrichment as long as the flavour changes, so you've got a lot of variety to play with.

Stick with the Soother for this use case. LickiMat does a few versions — the Wobble is a bowl shape, and the Buddy has a simpler flat texture — but the Soother has the most intricate grooves, which means food gets trapped in more places and the licking takes longer. That's exactly what you want for a 20-30 minute settling session. It comes in a range of colours, they're all the same product functionally, so just pick whichever. Around £8-10 on Amazon UK and worth every penny for what it does.