Flooring With Dogs

[brin]

I agree with the 3/4 inch oak flooring for dogs...ours was not prefinished. It is solid Oak 4 in. planks that were finished after the installation and we have a Brittany and no damage at all but it is funny watching him try to get traction and sometimes he slides into the door when he is excited about going out. When we built our new house 5 yrs. ago we went with all Oak floors . After 30 yrs. in our former house and replacing wall to wall carpets 3 times due to traffic patterns we opted for the hardwood floors and I only wish we had done it many years ago in the old house. Carpets look nice but hold flees, collect everything and worst or all show all traffic patterns after just a few years and we did not have cheap carpeting...

 

[Baldyonthehill]

We put down tile, hardwood and carpet in our new house. Our 70 pound dog dented the oak flooring in our old house and we were concerned about how she would affect the flooring in our new house. The hardwood we chose for our living room, entryway and master bedroom was Ipe or Brazillian Walnut with a 50 year finish. It is the most dense of all the hardwoods sold for flooring and has proven to be the best choice for us. We have since inheirited two more dogs, one of which is around 80 pounds. No scratches, no dents; the floor looks perfect!

When we had the flooring installed, the hardwood was less expensive than the midgrade commercial carpet we chose for our family room and guest bedrooms. I haven't checked the current prices so don't know what the difference is now.

The drawback to our hardwoods is being able to see where the dogs moisture from their breath lands and dries. It is easier to clean than their hair from the carpet though.

Our tile hides their "perspiration" spots and is easy to clean also. We installled it ourselves for less than $4 a square foot. When one compares the cost, ease of maintenance and wear, it is by far the least expensive way to go. Factor in beauty and, to us, carpet and hardwoods are more attractive.

Have fun with your decision process.

 

[JCB]

Martin,

I've had medium luck with a medium dog and walnut laminate. The floor is fairly dented by the doors where the dog gets active, but looks fine otherwise. Guys with solid wood floors seem to have have better luck.

Our tile is impervious, and easy to clean, but tiresome to stand on all day long.

Joe

 

[SLOBuds]

Thanks everyone. As I expected, got answers all over the board. (Ha!)

Our farm is playground for our 2 dogs. We have a 3 acre portion that is fenced off with dear fencing, and they have free reign over all of that. They dig holes everywhere, going after gophers, and all that gets dragged in.

I won't be able to consider carpet, even though wood or tile or cement will leave me with a slick floor that could potentially harm them. Unfortunately guys, my dogs are completely spoiled and kind of left free to run all over our city house - carpeted. All that behavior will have to change.

My city carpets DO harbor fleas. It's terrible for the dogs, particularly when they are away for awhile.

Thanks for the info about Ipe. Sounds like a good choice if we go with wood.

 

[2manyrocks]

We had a flea problem when we moved in our house years ago. Got some flea control with precor in it and sprayed the house. Then hit it again a few days later to kill the eggs that hatched in the meantime. That got them under control To my knowledge, one application won't eliminate them.

One thing that will help reduce carpet cleaning is an entry mat. The more you get off your feet before you track it in, the better.

 

[Dusty1]

A floating-style floor (like Pergo) is very hard and resistant to any scratching by paws. It is very good but I also prefer hardwood because it will actually add to the value of your home where the engineered products don't. Just get a rug that you attach using double-sided tape. It will keep the animals on their feet, and in the summer you can take it down and clean it to get the fleas out of it (I prefer to pressure-wash them once outside). Hope this helps.

 

[Kaizer Peas]

I just installed commercial grade floating cork in our bedroom and we have three large dogs, two at about 100 lbs and an 80 lb German shepherd and no problem with their nails.

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It's not that expensive. Can be had on line for around $5 per sq ft. It's easy to install and is anti static and anti microbial. It also insulates and deadens sound. It's great stuff!!

 

[QRTRHRS]

For many years, I lived in a house with vinyl flooring. I mostly had boxers though that time and never noticed the floors to be too slippery.

After a divorce and a few dogless years I remarried and we purchased a rancher in need of upgrading. I laid down Pergo in all areas but the bedrooms which I had carpeted. We took in a rottie who did fairly well then later got a couple of shepard type breeds who did not.

The Pergo was silky smooth as opposed to the Bruce flooring that we have in our present house save for the kitchen and baths which are ceramic. The Bruce has kind of a "grain" to it which affords at least a little traction for the dogs.

If I was going to design and build a new house, for the kitchen and laundry or mud room areas, I would lay down what I know as Perelli tile. It is a rubber composition with what appear as one inch diameter raised circles in it. Easy to clean, easy to stand and walk on.

Beyond that, throw rugs and a heavy duty washing machine help.

 

[Wildbill34]

We have seven dogs. When we built the house we considered what floors to use. We put down over 1400 sf of textured tile. Then about 700 sf of cork. The rest of the house has carpet and the dogs aren't allowed in those areas. We did it for wearability and easy clean up especially in winter and early spring. With that the dogs can come an go as they please as they have their own doggie door going in and out. I got tired of getting up and letting each dog out every 15 seconds. It has served up well. We installed the tile and cork floor to save on the costs. But it wasn't one bit fun installing the tile floor....while the cork floor was a snap.

 

[jimmyj]

We finally gave up and tore out all the carpet and hardwood except for some really hard oak in the kitchen of the house. We've put porcelain tile down (with some area rugs) and also the "click laminate" stuff. The reason we did this was it's much easier to keep clean, no fleas, no stains, no smells and no dog nail dents. The laminate is cheap enough that we can throw it out in X years if need be (I know that is a bad attitude but we'd have to throw out whatever else we were putting down too) and if we do sell the house one day the floors that are not tile will be replaced anyhow.