It might seem a minor bugbear, but Jaguar Land Rover says many owners use their Defender to transport dogs, and the left-behind scratches are an unsightly annoyance.

That's why engineers at the company have come up with a way to imitate how dogs scratch the shiny paint surfaces of the rugged off-roader.

With the help of a real dog and lots of algorithms, they created a high-tech, 3D-printed paw to test the long-term endurance of a car.

The data came from a Labrador called Yogi which was was tasked with jumping in and out of the Land Rover Defender's cargo space while brushing past the side-hinged door.

Each step was recorded by pressure mapping technology and Yogi's paw was used to model and 3D-print a spring-loaded replica, allowing the claws to follow contours and apply pressure evenly across the bumper.

The spring-loaded claws also proved a cost-effective solution as they are easily replaceable - unlike Yogi's.

Results showed the car's bumper can withstand more than a decade of scratching by dogs, said the maker.

The life-like paw is now used by the company to complete a standard 5,000 cycle abrasion test during which robotic paw scratches a panel at random ten times followed by a linear scratch to one side, before repeating the process.

 - dpa