a ? about dogs' nails vs. leather furniture

12 years ago

We have a 20 pound dog who unfortunately was never trained to stay off the sofas. She is a big shedder and our current fabric sofas have always been a magnet for her dog hair. Since we're replacing them now, I'm thinking I'd love to have leather reclining sofas. Although her dog hair will still fall out on the sofa, at least it won't be able to imbed itself the way it does in fabric upholstery.

My worry is whether or not her nails will scratch the leather and ruin it. I'm not looking for ultra high quality (buttery) leather, but just a standard quality. If anyone with dogs and leather sofas can give me some feedback, I'd appreciate it!

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heather_on

12 years ago

I have two mini-poodle mixes a little larger than your dog and so far our leather furniture has remained perfectly intact. Mine are always up and down on the furniture. Ours are lazyboy recliners and sofa. I do use a conditioner on the leather periodically.

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Comments (10)

nodakgal
12 years ago
A friend had leather furniture, and two large dogs. She claimed real leather wouldn't be hurt by dogs nails. I can't ask her now as she's moved and lost contact with her. I'd be asking more than one furniture dealer.
maire_cate
12 years ago
I'm not sure how short you keep your dog's nails but our dogs did scratch our leather chair - and they weren't even allowed on the furniture. There are times I accidentally scratch the leather with my watch or ring. Our leather chair was very expensive so I don't know if there are different grades of leather that might be more resistant.

Google 'weathered leather couches' and you'll see some examples of a more rustic look - maybe that would work better.
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chubby_rat
12 years ago
You could get some Soft Paws to put on her toenails.Very easy to put on. Look on ebay for Soft Paws. I use them on my one cat that claws the furniture.Stops her from damaging it.
maire_cate
12 years ago
'Distressed leather' is another search term you could use.

Here is a link that might be useful: weathered leather couch
two25acres
12 years ago
It really comes down to the type of leather your talking about. We have a very large sectional- all leather- camel color. We also have 10 cats with nails. Do they scratch it, yes. Not just to scratch but there are those occasions when they become startled and accidentally scratch the leather. We knew this could happen when we purchased it 5 years ago and today, it looks better than it did when we brought it home. It's scratched and sun faded and now looks lived in. But we are lived in kind of people, some people don't like that look. If your one that handle it, go for it - you won't be sorry.
lydia1959
12 years ago
I do think the grade of leather matters. My cat has really scratched our leather recliner up, but it is a thin leather. People with better quality leather have said their cats don't leave any marks. I probably wouldn't have leather in the house again and If I did, I'd chose a distressed leather so any claw marks couldn't show.
terilyn
12 years ago
We have three large boxers that have full run of the house, bed, chairs, couches, we keep their nails trimmed and smooth, no problems with leather.
Marcia Thornley
12 years ago
Jaggs is 30 lbs. We have a leather sofa and chair. His nails have not done any damage at all! I love my leather. No using duct tape to get the hair!
We do have friends who had to get rid of their leather furniture because the cat was chewing it! Go figure.
amicus
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you for your responses. I looked at the link for distressed leather, but it just doesn't appeal to me, so I'll have to take my chances with regular leather. I'm happy to hear that some of you have dogs who haven't done any damage. Maybe I'll ask the salesman if he has a swatch that I can run my key against or something, just to see how easily it might mark!

a ? about dogs' nails vs. leather furniture

heather_on

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a ? about dogs' nails vs. leather furniture

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