A Dundee student has come up with an invention in the war against paw-prints a doormat that gets dogs to wipe their own feet.
Harry Cotgrove, 21, had what he called a eureka moment one night last December after watching his dog, Skipper, pawing for a treat under the doormat.
The border terrier had come in to the house with particularly muddy paws that evening and had left muddy prints all over Harry’s house.
Noticing that Skipper’s paws appeared to clean themselves as he dragged them across the mat, Harry drew up plans for his prototype that very night and the “Paws and Go” was born.
The mat has a flap under which a treat can be placed and after some training dogs will wipe their feet as they search for it.
Harry said: “It was a eureka moment. My dog Skipper was taking ages to come back in to the house and when he did he had trod mud all over the white carpets.
“After that he started to wipe his feet across the door mat while looking for a treat or food.
“I started to draw up plans for my Paws and Go mat that same night.
“Within one or two days, Skipper was able to use the mat to clean his feet. We trialled the mat on four or five other dogs, big ones and small ones, and they could all use it to wipe their feet after being trained to use it.
Harry said he hoped to expand the business from the website, and is appealing for funding through his Kickstarter website.
The young entrepreneur is initially hoping to raise £5,000, which he will use to fulfil orders and cover manufacturing costs.
“It would be good to move the business into bigger retailers, such as large pet stores,” he said.
“To be honest, I had never pictured myself being in the pet retail trade and I didn’t think I would be designing pet products.”
Harry is still studying at Dundee University and is looking to graduate with a degree in business management this summer.
You can visit his Kickstarter page and invest in his venture by going to pawsandgomat.com.