I did precisely that because the dogs blew out the holes in very short
order. I also added a strip on the underside (though not inlaid) for
where the dog end comes through the bottom of the table. No problems since.

J.

N Hurst wrote:
Could you rout out a 1.5" channel along your bench, and mount a nice
3/4" thick strip of oak or maple or something in there for your bench
dogs?