Canadian Business Awards 2025 | 15 The heartwarming tale of PawzNDogz began in 2019, born from Smriti’s love for her precious pooch, Princess. Prior to establishing her own business, Smriti had dedicated most of her working life to the corporate sectors of IT, non-profits, and retail across a range of geographies, from India to Canada. These various positions helped Smriti to gain necessary experience in business operations, resource management, problem-solving, and customer service, which she has taken and applied to her new venture. After almost a decade in the corporate world, the idea of starting her own business had already begun to simmer in Smriti’s mind, though she faced challenges. As an immigrant with no relevant connections or friends in the industry, she was unsure of how to proceed. As a lifelong lover of dogs and proud pet parent to Princess, Smriti knew that she wanted to create a product that would help to stimulate her pup’s mind whilst keeping her agile. After months of pondering, Smriti decided that it was time to create something to help canines live their very best lives. With a background in the fields of computer science and engineering, coupled with an unfaltering love for dogs, Smriti opted to convert her passion into her profession. After countless hours of researching and adjusting her products, Smriti took the leap of faith and established PawzNDogz in October 2019. “Being the very first business venture of our lives, it was a daunting challenge,” she recalls. “In spite of these challenges, we have risen and are now rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest name brands in the industry.” Whilst establishing PawzNDogz, Smriti tells us that she took the opportunity to understand various aspects of product management, including the consumer behaviour, price points, emerging trends, and product niche. Now, its award-winning snuffle mats are carried by more than 1,200 stores across Canada, the USA, New Zealand, the UK, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, and Taiwan. A snuffle mat is a toy or puzzle that actively encourages dogs to engage their olfactory senses and employ their problem-solving abilities to navigate through the fabric and locate hidden treats. This interactive activity allows dogs to embrace their innate instincts whilst remaining safe and comfortable in their own home. Ultimately, the product promotes canine enrichment, mental stimulation, and cognitive ability building. PawzNDogz conceptualises the designs and colours of each product it offers, keeping the breed, age, and temperament of canines in mind to ensure the highest quality snuffle mat for its clientele. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, PawzNDogz’s snuffle mats are thoughtfully designed, professionally manufactured through handstitching, and made from high quality material. Enrichment is a nascent concept that has slowly caught up over the last few years, as more pet parents are slowly and steadily realising the value of enrichment for their pets. Having a large impact on the mental health of our pets, enrichment can take multiple forms: physical, environmental, social, olfactory, and gustatory. Here, we take a look at PawzNDogz, a leading pet brand that specialises in providing in canine snuffle mats designed to stimulate the olfactory senses and provide endless enrichment. Founder Smriti Pratishruti tells us more below. Best Woman-Led Pet Accessories Brand 2025 & Leading Provider of Canine Enrichment Products 2025 Each mat has a different level of challenge for varying abilities and is based on knowledge of canine cognition and vision, completely backed by science. “We consider each customer our own; we provide solutions for a dog and its needs, making each product and service highly personalised and tailored to the individual tastes of our customers and their pets,” Smriti tells us. “We believe that our fur babies deserve nothing but the absolute best!” Built upon the core values of respect, quality, agility, care, and empathy, PawzNDogz strives to emulate these qualities in every one of its interactions. Delivering the very best products made from the highest quality materials with exceptional customer service, PawzNDogz and its outstanding offerings are highly renowned by retailers and consumers alike. “We absolutely love the snuffle mats!” exclaims JP. “They’re high quality, durable, and provide fantastic enrichment for our dogs. Not only do they keep our pups engaged and entertained, but the designs are also super cute and fun. Highly recommended for any dog owner!” “I’m so happy I found these snuffle mats!” writes Victoria. “They are one of the best dog enrichment activities that don’t take too much work and stimulates your pup’s nose and brain. All the mats are also beautifully made with such care, and they have so many colours, designs, and difficulty levels to choose from. I will be singing high praise for PawzNDogz’s snuffle mats to everyone who will listen!” Contact: Smriti Pratishruti Company: PawzNDogz Web Address: https://pawzndogz.ca/
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