Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

DDog needs a scratchmat - does such a thing exist?

14 replies

ladybee28 · 16/10/2020 14:01

My lovely old doofus loves nothing more than running into thickets and bushes and pushing his way through the most dense parts so he gets a nice back scratch.

He'll also stand next to big grass clumps or piles of rocks, keel over sideways and then wriggle on his back all over them.

It's pretty adorable to watch, but I'm trying to minimise the amount he does it because the poor idiot doesn't know to shut his eyes when he does it and I'm just waiting for him to emerge from a bush with a branch impaling his foot or sticking through his ear. He rolled off the edge of a (small) cliff the other day not looking at where he was.

Does anyone know of something you can have at home that he can scratch up against or roll on top of without risking life and limb? Something semi-pointy and scratchy but not dangerous?

OP posts:
alpinia · 16/10/2020 14:10

If you can't find anything designed for dogs they definitely make these for horses...just google horse scratcher or horse scratching pad. Don't see why they wouldn't also be suitable for dogs!

pigsDOfly · 16/10/2020 19:55

ladybee28 Do you give your dog regular back massages?

Not suggesting it as an alternative to scratchy things, that's a whole other level, but my dog loves a good back massage.

ladybee28 · 17/10/2020 08:33

@alpinia those look fab –except they all seem to be made for corners and verticals rather than floors... am I searching for the wrong thing?

I think I was imagining some kind of spiky rubber grass!

@pigsDOfly I do –he has arthrosis of the spine so I have to go careful, but he's a big fan of any kind of back poking, scratchy or massagey!

So glad I haven't just been flat-out told I'm nuts for searching for this Grin

OP posts:
HolyMerlot · 17/10/2020 08:35

Would a piece of artificial turf work? You could choose a really basic, cheap, spiky/rough type that is scratchier than the more expensive and softer "real grass" looking ones?

alpinia · 17/10/2020 09:08

I think they fix to posts because that's the optimum scratching location for a horse. The ones I've seen, if you selected the slightly less firm ones (some are solid plastic for a hard scratch and some have some give in them) could just as easily be put on the floor.

If you also google horse rubber massage brush, our dog used to love the type with the cone shaped rubber spikes.

Happy scratching!

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 17/10/2020 09:11

They've been invented for cows... www.brushtec.com/products/cow-specialist-brushes/

BrownOwlknowsbest · 17/10/2020 17:12

Some outdoor door mats are quite rough. Would one of those work?

MrsJunglelow · 18/10/2020 10:43

How big is he?
I’m sure they do something like this for cats

ladybee28 · 19/10/2020 19:57

@MrsJunglelow

How big is he? I’m sure they do something like this for cats
He's about the size of a German Shepherd – if they made them for lions it might work! Grin

@BrownOwlknowsbest I think that might be the way forward - like a big scratchy version of a welcome mat...

OP posts:
IaltagDhubh · 19/10/2020 20:10

Something like this? www.thevetstore.net/shop/silicon-pin-mat/ Bit pricey for the size though.

BrownOwlknowsbest · 19/10/2020 22:43

Something like this? www.firstmats.co.uk/collections/coir-matting Looks like they do it by the yard/metre so you could have whatever size you need

ladybee28 · 20/10/2020 10:18

You lot are amazing Grin

There I was thinking I was being ridiculous, and you come swooping in with genuinely excellent ideas AND ACTUAL LINKS.

Thanks so much!

OP posts:
BrownOwlknowsbest · 22/10/2020 22:34

Or something like this perhaps? www.mats4u.co.uk/finger-tip-rubber-outdoor-entrance-mats.html?msclkid=2a905eed6c9e1e94acaa01

New posts on this thread. Refresh page