Asked on Jul 05, 2016

Window sill finish ruined from dog nails

Carol Ann Jones
by Carol Ann Jones
I have a large bay window with a low sill. Dog's nails have ruined the paint and I'm looking for another option to protect and finish the sill.
  31 answers
  • Jean Myles Jean Myles on Jul 05, 2016
    I would purchase a couple of pieces of wood to cover the top and front of the window sill. Screw them on in a couple of places that way you can save the window sill and replace the boards as needed.
  • Phyllis Phyllis on Jul 05, 2016
    take the dimensions, and have a piece of man made marble put on top in a color to match room or even something w/brown n'beige in it. u wont need to replace wood all the time . hope this helps
  • Ruidoso Ruidoso on Jul 05, 2016
    I would get someone who installs tile to go to your aid. Have him/her measure and cut a piece of ceramic tile to fit. We live in a rental home and a previous tenant put in something. It looked tacky so my hubs broke out his tools and put in two pieces of tile. They look great!
  • MN Mom MN Mom on Jul 05, 2016
    I like @ Jean Myles suggestion. I have a similar issue with my dog vs. a window sill and cured him from scratching by placing a small table under the window. He can't reach it now
  • Kimberly O'Hara Kimberly O'Hara on Jul 06, 2016
    You could buy the backsplash tiles that are connected and adhere them to your window sill. Would be very pretty.
  • Wjgp Wjgp on Jul 06, 2016
    We had this problem with our miniature daschunds...got pieces of acrylic sheet cut to the size of the window sills, re-finished the sills and put the acrylic sheets on top. We thought we'd have to replace the sheets every few years but so far 7 years in place and hardly any scratches. For us it was a cheap effective solution that still leaves the beauty of the wood will to shine through.
  • Wjgp Wjgp on Jul 06, 2016
    Oops ! That should be "still to shine through".
  • Anita Gian Anita Gian on Jul 06, 2016
    How about a piece of granite? You could also install sheets of river pebbles. Large ceramic tiles would be a sturdy option, too
  • Dwi5997718 Dwi5997718 on Jul 06, 2016
    Sand smooth the use an epoxy glue mix to fill in scratches. Smooth the glue with s flat putty knife or plastic smoother and let dry. May sand smooth. Then paint with paint and over with polyurethane.
  • C. Bousquet C. Bousquet on Jul 06, 2016
    Had the same problem.. After sanding and re-staining window sill just slip in clear plexi glass cut to fit.
  • Donna Donna on Jul 06, 2016
    You could also tile the sill with small tiles and make an interesting mosaic.
  • Diane Diane on Jul 06, 2016
    Home Depot and Lowes sell marble sills already cut for window sizes and you can just glue them on with contractors glue. If they didn't have your size, I'm sure you could have it cut down.
    comment photo
  • Patricia Patricia on Jul 06, 2016
    I had the same problem with my sliding door. i bought the thin metal plates they use on doors to push them open and it solved the problem! They're 3.5 inches wide by 15" and very thin. You can probably cut them to fit! They came in three colors too! They are about $7
  • J Ruhl J Ruhl on Jul 06, 2016
    I've had dogs for many years. The windowsills in my home are marble and they have been clawed at and walked upon with no damage.
  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jul 06, 2016
    Thank you...it never crossed my mind!
  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jul 06, 2016
    I had considered tiles but it was rejected because the sill is so close to the floor which is made of green variegated tiles. But with your thought maybe some other matching green tile could also be the solution. Thanks
  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jul 06, 2016
    These are great suggestions, thank you. I think I had become so frustrated my brain froze up!
  • Jab7280842 Jab7280842 on Jul 06, 2016
    We protected the paint with a thin piece of acrylic cut to the size of and attached to the sill with carpet tacks. The acrylic is clear about 1/16 " thick. Only 4 small carpet tacks were needed in the corners. It has lasted for many years.
  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jul 06, 2016
    Thank you I will add this idea to the others and work on one of them.
  • Barbara Barbara on Jul 06, 2016
    We had a similar problem and had a sill cut out of Corian that matched the woodwork. You could match your tile. This worked for us.
  • Kathy Vansickle Kathy Vansickle on Jul 06, 2016
    marble sill, or bricks. also think some sort of seat, bench if they really want to see out the window
  • Judy Judy on Jul 06, 2016
    I used a scrap of vinyl flooring in my bay window, glued on and then I added small vinyl molding to cover the outer edge: caulked the inner edge. Now my rottweiler can sun bathe and nap with no damage.
  • Wjo5975375 Wjo5975375 on Jul 06, 2016
    Our boxer not only left scratches on the sill, but tried to go through the window. After we sanded and stained the sill, we put up a low fence, just the right height to keep the dogs paws off the sill. We stained it to match the wood on the sill and frame and it not only kept the dog down, but looked really great!
    • Ruthy Ruthy on Dec 29, 2017

      Hi there, we have had two windows broken by our huge German Shepherd...what kind of fence did you use?

      Thank you!!

  • Buster Evans Buster Evans on Jul 07, 2016
    Ceramic Tile... comes in Many colors to accent the surrounding trim and woodwork... easily cleaned.. durable.
  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jul 07, 2016
    Thank you...my concern is finding something that will match the floor and unfortunately they no longer make that tile otherwise it would be an easy fix.
    • UpState UpState on Jul 07, 2016
      Matching doesn't always mean 'exact'. Find a solid color that matches one of the colors of the floor - or find a multi-colored tile that has one of it's colors the same as the floor tile. Pretty simple 'matching'.
  • Barb Wirey Grigsby Barb Wirey Grigsby on Jul 07, 2016
    Add the tile that has the netting glued on the back. You can change them out any time, no need to glue.
  • Gypsy Gypsy on Jul 09, 2016
    Plexiglass
  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jul 10, 2016
    Thanks, you and everyone has been so helpful.
  • Wjo5975375 Wjo5975375 on Dec 29, 2017

    We used wooden spindles that were high enough so our dog couldn’t get his paws on the sill. Also placed them on th edge of the sill to help prevent that. We had wood on the top and bottom....just like a banister for stairs. It looked like the fencing was a natural look. We stained the fencing to match the window trim. Depending on how high your dog jumps will be the height of the fence. It sure saved my 8 feet of glass from being broken. Good luck with your project.

  • Wjo5975375 Wjo5975375 on Dec 29, 2017

    It looked like an ordinary wood railing. Just like a banister on the stairs. We picked rails that were turned. The ones we bought were standard size, about three feet high. For the window fence, we cut them in half. When the banister was added, it was just the right treatment to keep,the dog away from the glass.

  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on Jan 01, 2018

    Thank you .... all of you. There are so many good thoughts. This project has been on hold awhile but now that hubby is retired he and I will read through and decide on an approach. Again thanks for the great ideas.

    CAJ