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Permalink Reply by Jane on June 13, 2011 at 11:14am

I have natural looking tile in my kitchen/dining area that I really like. It's textured so it's not too smooth or slippery, but I do put rugs down in their favorite frapping paths just to be safe. I have a friend that has the fake wood stuff and her floors still look great even with a 100+lb golden retriever running on it.

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Permalink Reply by Roger/Laurie on June 13, 2011 at 11:15am

I love my hard wood floors,  they clean up  easily.  Just vacuum up the hair and damp wash them occasionally.  The dogs do put scratches in them when they run around crazy sometimes.  I have had my floors for 2 1/2 years and I think in another 2-3 years I will probably need to have them lightly sanded and restained.  But I don't think that is more expensive than carpet cleaning all the time. 

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on June 13, 2011 at 12:27pm

I am in a similar situation and will be reading the responses to your question with interest.  I am leaning towards wood floors, as I've had them before and you can really clean them.   My son and daughter in law had Bruce Hardwood flooring, which is pre-finished, in their large kitchen -  family area when they bought their house and I was skeptical of it.  I've watched their 3 boys and many dogs and other pets give the area as hard a testing as can be imagined. Plus they always have a houseful of people.  They eventually had the floors redone, but that was after 10 years and, at that time, they changed other areas of the house that were carpeted to the matching wood flooring.

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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on June 13, 2011 at 12:59pm

I absolutely love having wood floors.  Accidents and spills are a breeze to clean up and hair is easy to see and vacuum.  It's true that wood will get scratched, but if it gets too bad you can always just sand and refinish.  I'm not fond of linoleum as it has a tendency to peel (thus making it a target for dogs who like to chew). 

 

As far as tile goes, I'd go with natural stone or something similar that has a rougher texture to it.  I've seen some manufactured tile that has a really natural look to it.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on June 13, 2011 at 1:01pm

I spent a lot of time and money ripping out the horrible old wall-to-wall shag carpet and installing oak hardwood, which after 20 years shows wear, heavy in places, because we're slobs and don't clean often enough -- sand and dirt wear wood floors quickly.  I believe dog claws are not nearly as significant as sand & dirt as a cause of wear. 

Hardwood floors can actually be cleaned -- you never really get all the dust out of a carpet -- but it's not "easier" to clean, because I have at least a dozen nonskid rubber-bottomed throw rugs that I have to pick up and shake outside.  Vacuuming the carpet was possibly quicker, though less effective.

The throw rugs are necessary for takeoff and landing zones.  Smooth flooring is not dog-friendly.  Carpet  offers traction and is much quieter (think of your downstairs neighbors), also traps dust and is flea-friendly.  The dogs do learn to slide on the flooring, like a skating rink. 

Ours was the original lacquer-thinner-based Swedish finish.  We had to move out for 3 days.  There are water-based floor finishes. which I do not believe hold up nearly as well.

You can do yoga on a smooth floor -- on carpet, you never get good enough foot grip.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on June 13, 2011 at 6:38pm

We have the pergo type stuff, and it is great.  Easy to lay, easy to clean.  And it's held up well with the dogs.

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