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

Even the smallest and well-nigh ambrosial of dogs has incredibly hard, sharp claws and they can easily ruin your favourite furniture and doors. When dogs go restless, they are naturally inclined to scratch at things, and it doesn't take much for them to go out unsightly claw marks at the lesser of your door.

Some pet owners pre-empt this by installing pet doors so that their pets can get in and out easily, eliminating the demand to scratch. If you lot can't do this, don't despair. You can railroad train your dog non to scratch, and information technology's usually possible to repair the damaged wood.

Fixing a Scratched Door

Commencement by assessing the harm. Lite scratches can treated easily only past sanding down the damaged area, wiping it clean, and and then repainting. Deeper scratches, however, will crave more thorough handling.

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

A picture of a cat scratching a brown wooden door

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

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Matching Colours

If you can't discover a paint that matches the original colour perfectly, purchase some gel stains and blend them to go a match that is equally close as possible. When attempting to blend colours, first with a lighter stain and gradually make it darker. It'due south much easier to correct a too-light colour than information technology is to lighten one that is besides night.

Once you've found a good match, use it to the sanded role of the door, and lightly feather that paint into the area that has the original stain. Permit the paint dry, and see how it looks. Yous may find that the gel has a dull end, compared to the original paint on the door. If this is the example, y'all tin arrive look glossy by spraying the gel with a clear cease.

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's piece of cake enough to fill in deep scratches and paint over the filler if your door is painted rather than stained. Notwithstanding, stained or varnished doors are harder to take care of. Don't use traditional filler with varnish. Instead, try to sand downwards the damaged surface area and so lucifer the existing varnish with a fresh glaze.

If you are able to practise so, consider fitting a pet door at the aforementioned time equally y'all repaint the existing wood. You may not take the option to exercise this if yous are living in a rented property, but it is something that is worth investigating. Your pets volition be much happier if they have the freedom to let themselves in and out.

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