Review Thursday 6: One for the Dogs

Welcome to another Review Thursday. Today’s product is for dogs and dog owners. This week’s featured item is a dog scratch pad. This will actually be a two-part review. The initial product review on size and the ease of training to get our fur baby to use it. This post will cover two similar products.

For most dog owners, claw trimming is an effortless task. The others struggle to varying degrees to regularly keep their dogs claw length managed. Some dogs slightly struggle while others, like ours, completely flip out. One of the last times that we took our dog to get her claws trimmed at a groomer, she death rolled like an alligator and pulled her claw off of the quick. After that, we had to pay for our vet to sedate her and trim her claws. Our vet’s prices in Northwest Arkansas were very reasonable, but the vet in our new area is steep compared to most. With all these factors in mind, we have had to try, and problem solve through trial and error, to find a solution that would work.

A few weeks ago, we decided to look into a scratch pad and order one. The first dog scratch pad we ordered was small. Vexahlia is a 70-pound lab mix. After a few times using it, we decided to try and find a larger product. Even though it lists in the product name that it’s for large or small dogs. In my opinion, it’s better for small dogs. The board is thin and lightweight. The broad surface of the board is decently small as well. Vex would frequently overreach and end up clawing our hands instead of the abrasive surface.

This prompted us to order a similar product. Homerays Bamboo Dog Scratch Pad was a little larger and the board was heavier and thicker. She still overreaches, but not frequently.

Training was easy with her. We have noticed that she is very receptive to training. Each dog is different and will be easier or more difficult to train depending on the dog’s temperament and speed of learning. We trained Vex by holding her paw and dragging her claws down the board while giving her the command, “Scratch”. After doing this with her a few times a day for a couple days, we then held the board at an angle in front of her and would give the command. At this point in her training, she would raise her paw and we would pull the board beneath her paw. Less than a week later, she began dragging her claws on the board while we held it in front of her.

We are proud of how quickly she picked up the behavior and grateful that this product will minimize claw trims. I highly recommend this product. Part two will discuss how effective the product has been at keeping claw growth controlled. Thank you for reading another Review Thursday. Have a safe and happy weekend.