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My brother recently adopted a young pitbull-boxer mix and has brought him down a couple of times in the last few months to visit for the weekend. We have a cockapoo (less than half his size/weight), and the two enjoy being together, playing, and running to bark at whatever goes on outside. The problem is that her larger dog scratches up our wood floors when he runs around in the house. There is now an easily visible pathway of scratches from the family room to the front door that wasn't there before.
The house is relatively new. We have only been here a couple of years. The floors on the entire first floor are factory-finished hardwood laid by the builder. Does anyone know of products or techniques that might clear the scratches, or will we have to get them buffed out? If I purchased and laid one of those plastic runner sheets down on his primary path while he was here, would it help to keep him from accentuating his pathway?
For the future, I hate to tell her that her dog can't visit, but he is hyper (in a crazy-friendly way) and vigilant on that door thing, so he moves around a lot. After the first visit, we asked her to be sure his nails were clipped before he came to visit (and she said that she took him to the groomer and had them cut, which I believe), but he still scratched up the floor.
Keep the dog's nails trimmed short. Use carpet runners on the frequent pathways.
You can buy little rubber caps for the nails and if it is important to you, then insist that they be used whenever the dog is visiting,
If I had to choose, my dog is more important than a nice floor, but I can see how it would be a problem for you since it is not your own dog that is doing the damage.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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With two larger dogs in our house the wood on the main path in our house is totally worn out, we are going to have to replace it before selling. Save your floor by buying a set of booties, and ask that the dog wear them when it comes over.
I've found that, unless you file nails after cutting, they're a bit sharper after clipping than between trimmings, especially in big dogs with strong nails. They seem to 'round out' as you walk the dog, etc. You might be doing yourself a disservice asking them to cut the nails right before visiting.
Bring the dog over, and let him be a dog. If this means a scratch, then so be it. The flooring the builder installed, is “builders grade” unless you spec’d better. Once the floor is all scratched up, then it’s water under the bridge.
You might be able to train the dog, to become something other than a dog, but then you might get REAL destructive behavior.
It’s only a floor. It’s not like the dog is scratching it on purpose….
Found this article on the internet, and looks like somewhat helpful to me.
FWIW, you don't need anything the dog only wears indoors to be waterproof. Unless your floors spend most of their time wet . All you really need a sock or bootie to do is cover claws and possibly replace the traction the dog's uncovered pads would naturally provide. This dog is an occasional visitor, not a resident. You don't need "the best". There are simple DIY ideas using small sized human socks with non-slip bottoms and velcro strips.
Last edited by Parnassia; 12-15-2022 at 04:02 PM..
Our dogs go in-out-in-out lots of times during the day.... booties would be a giant pain in the rear, IMHO. And the dog will have reactions to them.
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. All you really need a sock or bootie to do is cover claws and possibly replace the traction the dog's uncovered pads would naturally provide. This dog is an occasional visitor, not a resident. You don't need "the best". There are simple DIY ideas using small sized human socks with non-slip bottoms and velcro strips.
