Well, here’s the scoop. An owner is responsible for keeping their dog under control and for any damage, period. The dog was scratching at the door. He had opportunity and unless you can figure out some other way the scratches happened, seems to me the dog is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The hood has to be refinished. If you want to file a liability claim with your homeowners insurance, you can do that and risk an increase, provided you opted for the dog coverage. That’s just part of the problems with dog ownership. If you want you can try a detail shop first and see if they can do anything, but if he gets charged by the dealership for a repaint job at turn in, neither one of you will be happy with the cost. Can a dog scratch a car? Yes, they can claw under a fence, through a wall, if given enough time.
Take it to a detailer you might be surprised at how inexpensive the repair will be. Might be just a light polishing or just reshoot clear.
If they go to the lease owner that’s just asking for trouble and the most expensive repair possible. They will be on alert and demand perfection.
What’s it worth to keep the peace and not affect your kids relationship with their play buddies? They are not going to understand why…
Now that you have provided more information, I think you are responsible. To cause the damage in the area described, the dog would not have to get up on the hood. He could easily reach this area standing on his hind feet and he may not have done this in a panic. He may have just wanted to see if anyone was in the vehicle.
The scratches don’t go down to bare metal and probably don’t even go down to the base coat. They probably roughed up the top coat and left a little collagen behind, so it looks worse than it is. First wash the area with a microfiber towel and water, rub the scratches pretty hard. If that doesn’t work, try a little cleaner/wax. A liquid or paste should work.
If that doesn’t solve the problem, then you will need a professional to do a touch up.