Terminal updated on November 17th, 2022 at 05:25 pm

Fifty-fifty the smallest and most adorable of dogs has incredibly hard, sharp claws and they can easily ruin your favourite article of furniture and doors. When dogs get restless, they are naturally inclined to scratch at things, and it doesn't have much for them to leave unsightly claw marks at the bottom of your door.

Some pet owners pre-empt this by installing pet doors so that their pets can arrive and out easily, eliminating the need to scratch. If you can't do this, don't despair. Y'all can railroad train your dog not to scratch, and it's usually possible to repair the damaged wood.

Fixing a Scratched Door

First by assessing the harm. Low-cal scratches tin treated easily merely by sanding downwardly the damaged area, wiping information technology clean, and and then repainting. Deeper scratches, however, will require more thorough treatment.

To fix more serious scratches, sand off the pigment around the damaged surface area (and a trivial untouched wood too), and then use a wood filler to mask the deepest scratches. Allow the filler dry out, and then repaint the door as normal.

A picture of a cat scratching a brown wooden door

Paradigm source:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/shamanic-shift

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Matching Colours

If you lot can't find a paint that matches the original colour perfectly, purchase some gel stains and blend them to get a match that is equally close as possible. When attempting to blend colours, start with a lighter stain and gradually make information technology darker. It's much easier to right a besides-light colour than it is to lighten one that is as well dark.

Once you've found a good lucifer, apply it to the sanded office of the door, and lightly feather that paint into the expanse that has the original stain. Allow the paint dry, and run into how it looks. You may notice that the gel has a wearisome finish, compared to the original paint on the door. If this is the case, y'all can make it look glossy by spraying the gel with a clear finish.

A picture of a pile of colour swatches

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedalogs

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Tips and Warnings

Information technology'due south piece of cake enough to fill in deep scratches and pigment over the filler if your door is painted rather than stained. Still, stained or varnished doors are harder to have care of. Don't use traditional filler with varnish. Instead, endeavor to sand down the damaged area and and so match the existing varnish with a fresh coat.

If you lot are able to practise then, consider fitting a pet door at the aforementioned time as y'all repaint the existing wood. Yous may not accept the pick to do this if you are living in a rented property, but it is something that is worth investigating. Your pets will be much happier if they have the liberty to let themselves in and out.

Wait until you are confident that your dog has conquered its impulse to scratch before taking the time to treat the door, otherwise yous'll finish up needing to varnish or repaint again and over again. Naturally, after you lot have repainted the door, information technology's important to keep your pets away from it while the new coat dries.