Many dogs find nail trims scary and stressful. If your dog wiggles, pulls their paws away, or becomes overly stressed when you trim their nails, there are other options than just using nail clippers, a dog nail grinder or medicating your dog for nail care. Namely, the best dog scratch pads will allow force-free, cooperative care nail trims that your dog can opt into.
According to Nancy Bureau, DVM, CVA, FFCP of fear-free certified Left Hand Animal Hospital in Niwot, CO, “Cooperative care is partnering with the animal and allowing them to be part of the decision to proceed or not with the care you are offering.” Bureau says that to train a dog to opt into cooperative care, you can reward them with treats, toys, or praise.
The most popular method of cooperative care for dog nail trims is to use a dog scratch pad to teach your dog to grind down their own nails. Using a marker system and rewards, you can train a dog to use their front paws to dig or scratch on the abrasive surface of the scratch board. This method allows dogs to have agency in their care and can make nail trims feel more like a fun game that they’re rewarded for instead of a scary thing they’re forced to do.
It’s also possible to train a dog to file down their back nails, though it may take more time (and foundational rear foot targeting training) than training them to file down their front paws.
What Are Dog Scratch Pads?
A dog scratch board or scratch pad is usually a wooden or plastic board with an abrasive material like sandpaper adhered to one side. Some scratch pads have additional features like treat compartments to make training easier, while others are puzzle toys with an abrasive surface built in for use while playing.
Dog scratch boards are used to train dogs to file down their own nails, without the anxiety that may come from using a nail clipper or dremel. Scratch boards are great cooperative care options for dogs who don’t like having their feet touched, since using them requires choice-based training.
Traits We Want in a Dog Scratch Pad
A product that’s designed to be pawed and scratched at should be durable enough to grind down thick dog nails and easy to train your dog to use. Here’s what to look for when buying a dog scratch pad:
A durable, abrasive surface: A scratch pad needs to be strong enough to grind down even large dogs’ nails, so a strong surface is a must. We tested each scratch board on this list and recommended the options with the most resilient material. If you need to constantly change out the sandpaper or other abrasive material, you might be less inclined to use the board often.
Easily accessible replacement surfaces: With regular use (especially if you have large dogs or multiple dogs), you’ll eventually need to swap out the sandpaper surface on your dog scratch pad. It’s a big plus if you buy a scratch board that comes with extra sandpaper materials or if there are options to purchase extras.
Extra features: Though not necessary, we did notice that extra features sometimes made training easier, depending on the dog. If you know your dog likes to dig, a built-in treat compartment can help them understand the scratch pad better. If your dog already knows how to target objects with their front paws however, extra features will likely be unnecessary.
*Editor’s note: Our previous top two picks, the Original ScratchPad for Dogs and the DiggerDog nail file were both discontinued at the time of writing. This story has been updated with new picks, though none were rated as highly as the previous best overall winner (the Original ScratchPad).
Read on for the best dog scratch pads tested for Whole Dog Journal:
| Whole Dog Journal Rating | Product and Maker | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Lovintry M-Shaped Dog Scratch Pad | $37 | This curved dog scratch pad does a good job of grinding down all of your dog’s nails evenly and has a sliding compartment for treats. It’s well-constructed and features a coarse sandpaper surface, but we wish the sliding compartment positioning was a little further down on the board. |
| De'Vora Scratch Square | $35 - $55 based on size | The medium size was too small for our tester dogs, but it’s not a bad option for very small breeds. It acts as a scratch pad, a fillable enrichment toy, and a tug toy in one, though these extra features may not be necessary for all dogs. |
| Dr'Vora Buddy Trainer | $35 | This scratch board has a good design and is easy to teach dogs how to use, but the abrasive surface isn’t durable, and the overall construction and quality could be better. |
| Zenly Paws Dog Nail Fil Toy | $35 | A complicated two-step puzzle toy that may be too difficult for some dogs. Our tester dogs had issues scratching, pushing the button to release treats, and then figuring out how to get the treats. |
Best Dog Scratch Pad: Lovintry M-Shaped Dog Scratch Pad
Flat dog scratch boards tend to grind your dog’s middle two nails down more than the outside two. Curved dog scratch pads make it easier to more evenly grind down all of your dog’s nails on each paw and the Lovintry M-Shaped Dog Scratch Pad did a good job of that when our tester dogs scratched this pad in the middle.
The Lovintry Dog Scratch Pad features a coarse sandpaper surface that’s comparable to our previous winner, the Original ScratchPad, and a sliding compartment for treats. The sliding treat compartment is helpful for training, since you can fill it with snacks and the dogs often instinctually paw at the slider to access the treats.
There’s one minor design flaw with the positioning of the slider, but it will only affect some dogs. The compartment only takes up about the top third of the scratch board. If you’re using the side handles to brace the pad against you, your dog will likely scratch the board lower than the compartment. If your dog is laying down or if they’re very small and are sitting, they may not be immediately able reach the treats without standing up. This isn’t a huge dealbreaker but may make it more difficult to train some dogs to use it.
This scratch pad comes with two full sandpaper replacements of varying grits and you can buy additional ones on Amazon.
Best Dog Scratch Pad for Easy Training: De’Vora Buddy Trainer
The De’Vora Buddy Trainer has a similar design to our previous runner-up, the DiggerDog nail file, with a sliding compartment that’s placed in a better position than the one on the Lovintry option. Dogs naturally tend to paw at the compartment to open it, making it easy to train them to use. The placement of the compartment opening on this pick makes it easier for dogs to reach their rewards while using, even if you’re holding it semi-upright leaned against you.
However, the abrasive surface on this option isn’t the most durable and we wish the construction was higher quality. After one session, we noticed flakes of the sandpaper coating beginning to come off around the edge of the slider compartment. We also wish the sandpaper surface was coarser for stronger nails. However, this scratch pad did come with an extra sandpaper refill which was a plus.
This could be a good option for dogs who don’t have very thick, strong nails or for smaller breeds. You won’t risk them grinding their nails down too far since the sandpaper coating isn’t very coarse.
Best Scratch Pad for Small Dogs: De’Vora Scratch Square
The De’Vora Scratch Square is a solid scratch board for small breeds though we found that using it for the sizes it’s made for often wasn’t the best option. The actual nail file section seemed too small in the recommended medium size for our 40-45 pound tester dogs. There isn’t enough area for medium and large dogs to efficiently grind down their own nails, but for small and toy breeds, it’s more than enough. The abrasive surface on this board wasn’t as coarse as out best overall winner, but it was higher quality than the De’Vora Buddy Trainer, and the toy overall is well-built and durable.
Dogs can potentially use the Scratch Square as a tug and chew toy, but this doesn’t always seem necessary. The fillable enrichment section may work for some highly food motivated dogs. The idea behind this feature is to fill the middle of the Scratch Square with treats, then have your dog scratch and paw at the toy to get the treats. However, the treat compartment in this toy
isn’t directly correlated to the act of scratching or digging, so some dogs may simply go for the middle treat compartment, bypassing the scratching/pawing altogether.
Other Dog Scratch Pads We Tested
Zenly Paws Dog Nail File Toy
The Zenly Paws Dog Nail File Toy had too many features that didn’t quite work as expected. Built like a fillable enrichment puzzle toy, the Zenly Paws scratch pad has a central compartment that you fill with food, which acts as a big button when a dog presses it. The top of the button is covered with a sandpaper-like material. When a dog presses this button, food is released into smaller compartments that are covered with plastic doors that the dog then needs to open with its nose or paw.
The main issue with the Zenly Paws toy is that dogs who learn to scratch the sandpaper on the top may not actually put enough pressure on the button to legitimately press it and release the food. Vice versa, dogs may learn to simply press down on the button without using their nails to scratch at the sandpaper. Some of our tester dogs also had trouble with the two-step puzzle of this toy, since they needed to press the button, then lift the plastic doors to get the food. This is not a beginner level puzzle toy, and dogs who haven’t worked on two-step puzzles before will likely get frustrated or become disinterested in it.
Unfortunately, the Original Scratchpad for Dogs folks have gone out of business (though they will still provide email support to existing customers) and the DiggerDog site is inactive and the product is hard to get. I’ll use your general guidance to try to get the best scratch pad but are there any others that you recommend?
I am in the process of preparing a scratch tube (PVC pipe cut in half lengthwise) by using double-sided carpet tape to fasten sand paper to the inside of the tube. This has been suggested as a way to get more abrasion on the side nails, since scratching on a flat board often takes significantly more off the center nails. I don’t recall where I heard about this. I have used a home made board by fastening sandpaper to an old cutting board and did find that it worked much better for the center nails.
Rear paws are much more important for my girl, who doesn’t love having any paws bothered, but has come to tolerate front paw handling pretty well. Hates having rear claws trimmed even very gently with battery powered dremel to the point of vocal grumbling and refusing even highest value treats.
Hi Emerson! You can use a ScratchPad for Dogs scratch board for hind feet! It can take a little more time to train than front feet, but it absolutely can be done – just an option for you!
I was also wondering about the rear paws?
Hi! I founded ScratchPad for Dogs – we include a training guide for front and back feet as well as training resources on our website and free lifetime training assistance! 🙂
Are there instructions for how to teach rear paws?
Hi! Our original ScratchPad for Dogs includes a training guide for hind feet as well as front feet. We also have training videos and resources on our website in addition to lifetime free training help! 🙂