If you have a dog that loves to chew on things, your wooden furniture can take a beating. Table and chair legs can become tasty chew toys for a curious puppy or bored older dog, and even the feet of couches and chairs in your living room can become targets for a dog that loves to keep their chompers busy. It may seem impossible to restore your furniture to its original condition, but you can fix many problems with your wooden pieces with the right tools and tips. Here are some ideas to help you repair your furniture to attractive appearance again.

Sanding

Sand down chew and claw marks with a powered sander with fine grain sandpaper, or use a sheet of fine sandpaper and file down the damage by hand in small circular motions. Feel the wood as you sand for grooves and splinters and when the area feels smooth, you know that you have accomplished removing the majority of the damage. If you plan on staining your wood pieces a new color, then you will want to sand all your furniture so it will 'take' to its new hue more evenly.

Finishing

Once you have sanded down the chewed up wooden pieces, you will want to finish them so they match the unaffected areas of your furniture. A stain in a matching hue will give your bare wood an attractive sheen. Follow up by waxing the entire piece of furniture so it shines and has an added layer of protection. When placing any kind of sealant, polish, or stain on wooden furniture make sure to ventilate the room you are in to prevent accidental fume inhalation, which can make you or your pets sick. If the weather is nice, finish your wood pieces outside to keep fumes from entering the home and to allow the work to dry more quickly.

Prevention

You want your wooden furniture to be free of further pet damage. The best way to do this is by training your dog to chew on something else, such as a toy filled with peanut butter or a natural elk or deer antler chew (found in your local pet store). If your dog still finds your furniture more tasty, invest in a bitter apple spray which you can place on the areas where your dog gnaws the most. The bitter, yucky taste will quickly deter them from chewing and they will begin to lose interest. You can buy a bitter apple spray, which is nontoxic ad not harmful to most surfaces, at your local pet supply store.

For more information about repairing your furniture, contact a company like Granddad's Refinishing, LLC.