Rental property? Leave well enough alone. The owner could be po'd that you touched it.

Not a rental. These sills are really badly damaged. As of now they are not painted. I am wondering if painting only the sills would look awful. I don't wand to paint all of the surrounding wood framing.

Why did the dogs scratch the window sills?
I would want that to be fixed.
Keep calling or go up there in person.

You can get a stainable wood filler. Would look better than painting just the sill imho.

tjbean2004
Dogs like to look out windows. They jump up and put their paws on the sill which wreaks havoc with soft woods.

I assume OP's sills are pine or something similar. If the OP doesn't not have any dogs and is going to paint then any paintable wood filler would work. It's not necessary to go to bondo IMHO unless you suspect that the sills might see similar abuse in the future. If the OP has natural woodwork and wants to stain, then IMO they are out of luck and need to replace the sills with new wood.

I saw where a cocker spaniel chewed big chunks out of window sills.

A good trim carpenter can cut them out and replace them - I'm assuming you're talking about the stools (stick out from the wall, extend past the trim on the sides) and not actual sills, which are part of the window frame.

Who are you calling? Did you just buy the house? Was there anything put in writing before the closing about fixing/replacing the dog damage?

Stainable wood filler never stains the same color as the surrounding wood.

The best non painting solution is to replace the sills. If painting is chosen, use the Bondo, not a wood filler---less expensive and better product for the use.

We bought the house two years ago. The p.o. had two large dogs who did the damage. I have called several companies in my area and do not even get a call back, or it's a no show. I am just fed up with getting someone in here to do the work, so I am considering trying to get the job done myself. And yes, it is just the stools that are damaged. All of the surrounding wood is in excellent condition. I did have one guy come and say replacing them might get complicated since the actual windows have been replaced with "tilt out" windows. He did not want the job! I am sure the stools are pine.

lesliep:

It may be possible to belt sand the scratches out, followed with a random orbital sander, depending on the length of the stools and the depth of the scratches. Pictures?

If the stools will be painted I would experiment with Ready-Patch or Rock Hard Water Putty.

I go with an epoxy wood putty filler!

Mixed the two components and apply, let dry and sand. Much harder then the wood and will last the life of the stool!

If every window sill is damaged then either the windows are really low to the floor or the dogs were climbing up on something to get up there. I have had dogs and have never encountered that problem.
my issue is with them scrathcing up the floors.

I don't have dogs, but can think of several breeds that could reach every window in this house other than over the kitchen sink and in three bathrooms.

The only thing they'd have to be up on is their own hind legs.

When the male of my sisters two german shepherds will stand next to me at their fence and put his front paws up on it, he can turn and look me straight in the eye. I'm 5'2"