We are looking to replace carpet with HW, Laminate, Pergo, Vinyl, etc. (anything but carpet basically) and are trying to find the right option for us. We have 4 dogs that stay in that room when we're away and our primary concern is durability. Also, 1 of our dogs goes absolutely ballistic with load noises (thunder, fireworks, etc.) so we're concerned about her being able to pull up an edge if left in a room. We don't have a huge budget, but want to do this only once. Anyone have an input or experiences they could share?
Flooring choices for dog lovers?
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kjr928
Go fish yourself.
I have found that with Pergo and similar products, the sound from the dogs nails when they walk is amplified and sort of echos. I just dont like it. Hardwood is the best choice but of course very costly. Bamboo is a nice "green" option for hardwood and also looks really nice. JMO
From year of experience with lots of dogs, large and small. I highly suggest you crate train your animals and leave them there when you aren't home, or just need them to be "out of the way". That way they are safe from ingesting foreign materials, and your home is safe from being damaged.
However, if thats not an option you want to consider, personally Id go with hard wood flooring. Its durable, and not hard to install. If any of the dogs have accidents inside however, vinyl would be your best bet so it doesn't stain the floor or seep into the crevices. Properly sealed hardwood, you won't have the prob of it seeping into the crevices, but some of the other newer flooring that resembles hardwood, you may. With HW, you run the risk of staining if a liquid substance is on it for a period of time. For instance if you leave to go to the store and are gone a few hours, the dog pees, and you cant clean it up til you get back.
Ill say again, crate training is the way to go to keep your stuff safe, and the dog safe
. It takes a bit for dogs that aren't used to it to surrender to it, but I know of no dog that can't be trained for a crate. (Unless of course you put human emotions onto it and let it have its way 
). My rottie, and cockerspaniel are both crate trained, they sleep there, stay there when Im not home, and if I need them out of the way, say to mop the floor, they are crated and both go in willingly and consider it nap time. I also have a fenced in back yard and a 10x10 kennel that I utilize on nice days for them when Im home instead of crating them.
However, if thats not an option you want to consider, personally Id go with hard wood flooring. Its durable, and not hard to install. If any of the dogs have accidents inside however, vinyl would be your best bet so it doesn't stain the floor or seep into the crevices. Properly sealed hardwood, you won't have the prob of it seeping into the crevices, but some of the other newer flooring that resembles hardwood, you may. With HW, you run the risk of staining if a liquid substance is on it for a period of time. For instance if you leave to go to the store and are gone a few hours, the dog pees, and you cant clean it up til you get back.
Ill say again, crate training is the way to go to keep your stuff safe, and the dog safe
. It takes a bit for dogs that aren't used to it to surrender to it, but I know of no dog that can't be trained for a crate. (Unless of course you put human emotions onto it and let it have its way ). My rottie, and cockerspaniel are both crate trained, they sleep there, stay there when Im not home, and if I need them out of the way, say to mop the floor, they are crated and both go in willingly and consider it nap time. I also have a fenced in back yard and a 10x10 kennel that I utilize on nice days for them when Im home instead of crating them.
I dont know, kjr. Hardwood looks nice, but dog nails can do a lot of damage. I only have cats, and even they do some damage, despite claw trimmings. I would look into some of the fake woods. They have new plastic based "wood" floors, that look real, but might resist claws better.
We are reflooring most of our main floor with bamboo flooring. Tearing up the carpet and linoleum. Its prefinished, nail-down flooring so you just lay it down and its done. A little more work than the snap together floating floor type stuff, but it was only $1.99 per sq ft. I'm hoping it holds up to the three dogs well enough...we shall see. It seems pretty resilient. We got it from www.lumberliquidators.com, worth checking out, they usually have some pretty good sales going on.
kjr928
Go fish yourself.
I agree about the crate training at least until the dog is fully housebroken & you can trust it.
Having had numerous dogs and only hardwood floors ever - not to mention lots of accidents on the hardwood floors - I can say that in 17 years I've never had a problem with urine staining or ruining a hardwood floor in anyway. Even if it's been left there for hours and dries up.
ALTHOUGH, a friend of mine had a dog with a housebreaking "problem", and she had wooden parquet floors. The dog peed so much on the floors that the floors eventually absorbed all the urine. It stank, and the wood expanded and became all warped and had to be replaced. Don't go with parquet.
Having had numerous dogs and only hardwood floors ever - not to mention lots of accidents on the hardwood floors - I can say that in 17 years I've never had a problem with urine staining or ruining a hardwood floor in anyway. Even if it's been left there for hours and dries up.
ALTHOUGH, a friend of mine had a dog with a housebreaking "problem", and she had wooden parquet floors. The dog peed so much on the floors that the floors eventually absorbed all the urine. It stank, and the wood expanded and became all warped and had to be replaced. Don't go with parquet.
kjr928
Go fish yourself.
The thing with hardwood is that you can repair any damage and you'd never know it was there. They make wood markers for scratches (if you even get scratches), you could even go so far as to get your floors refinished every 10 years.
The problem with fake stuff is that it looks fake, and for many of them once it's damaged it has to be replaced, not repaired. And when potential homebuyers come and see your house for sale, and they see fake PLASTIC floors, they are going to think "OMG that is going to cost a lot to get hardwood put in", and they will deduct that cost from their bid. At least, that's what I did when I was looking to buy.
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