There's nothing worse than getting a brand new sofa only to find your furry little friends have made themselves a bit too much at home and scratched the material. As annoying as this behaviour may be, scratching and pawing is part of your pet's instinct. Animals naturally mark their territory, so when something new is introduced to their home their first natural reaction is to make it theirs, unfortunately, they do that by scratching and making it smell! Despite this, if you love your cuddly little friend you don't need to worry about banishing them to the kitchen, there's lots of ways to distract away and keep your sofa (mostly) intact!

Some sofa fabrics are more easily ruined by tiny little claws, but unfortunately no fabric will ever be completely animal proof. Despite this, high quality materials are much more likely to withstand damage. This doesn't mean that you have to fork out any extra cash though, some sofas are available with high-quality fabric at a low price, the Chigwell is perfect for misbehaving animals!

There's plenty of different products out there that can protect a sofa, from shawls and blankets to anti animal sprays and alarms. When pets get stressed, they're likely to mark their territory more often, so these products can be great temporary protections for specific situations. When your sofa first arrives, introduce your beloved pet slowly and gently. Often, pets, especially dogs, become scared of new furniture and may lash out and try to destroy it when you turn your back. If you let the animal see that there's nothing to fear, they'll be less likely to act out.

Sometimes our fluffy friends can get bored and this can cause them to damage the sofa because they think it's a toy. If you're worried your pet might be up to some mischief when you're away from home, consider getting something else for them to play with. For dogs, this could be as simple as a ball or squeaky toy, but some naughty cats could benefit from a cheeky little scratch post.