Hardwood Floors and Dogs: Bad Combo?

[Pat Germain]

I'm looking at replacing the carpet on the main floor of my house; small living room and dining room. I'd like to install a hardwood floor, but I have two beagles. It wondering if the beagles would just scratch up the floor finish.

Yet, I know many people who have dogs (big dogs) with hardwood floors and I haven't heard them complain of any issues. Are there particular types of hardwood floors or finishes which would work with dogs?

I've never had hardwood floors and would appreciate any input. I do know I'm not interested in the the formica floors (like Pergo?). I'd like to have actual wood or bamboo, be it a laminate, veneer or other types.

Thanks.

[Jim Tobias]

We have reclaimed heart pine floors on the lower level and brazilian cherry on the top floor. We have 3 dogs that are all inside dogs.Heart pine is 10 years old and was finished with semi-gloss poly in traditional manner. Brazilian cherry was a prefinished but is solid wood. We have found that any scratches from dogs (and there are not many) just blend in with normal wear and tear scratches on a floor. I will say that I am amazed at how scratch resistant the pre finished flooring has been. It has been for 2 years and is as shiny and scratch free as the day it was installed.
I would suggest that you go wiht semi gloss as opposed to high gloss (shows every scratch). I also understand tha if you are going the traditional finishing routine, you should do undercoats in high gloss (harder finish) and then go semi gloss on final topcoat for the look that you want.

Jim

[Michael Gibbons]

Just make sure you trim their nails on a regular basis. Nuff' said.:D

[Greg Funk]

I don't have dogs but I suspect you might have more problems if you went with a dark stain. Should be OK with natural wood.

Greg

[John Newell]

Quartersawn oak + some incredibly hard poly here; have not had problems with our lab's nails.

[Doug Shepard]

One other issue from the dog's point of view is traction. I've seen dogs trot into rooms and slide into things because they cant stop quite as quickly as on carpet. But that can also be a good thing. With smaller dogs you can spin them about on the floor and turn it into play for them.

[Matt Meiser]

Ours is holding up well. It was existing when we bought the house, and I suspect it is origininal to when the house was built 16 years ago. We are going to be putting more in our master bedroom, which will be the pre-finished variety. I would suspect the finish has more to do with it than anything. The aluminum oxide finishes are supposed to be rock hard.

For some reason our dog is fine on the hall floor which is an engineered floor, but he won't come in my office which has a <1 year old laminate floor unless food is involved. Maybe he's just a snob for real wood? :D

[Glenn Clabo]

We consider what our 2 labs do to our wood floors patina. In 10 years there are scratches on the newer parts of the floor...but it's not real noticable unless you get down close. The old floors...which haven't been refinished in 20 years...do take a little more of a beating. We'll just have to refinish them all some day.

[Pat Germain]

Hey, great input, everyone. Thanks much. I was thinking of going with a pre-finished semi-gloss anyway. Sounds like that would be a good option.

I do get the beagles' nails trimmed regularly, but even when trimmed, there's some floor contact.

LOML suggested tile. While I like tile and could install it myself, I think we'd someday have some trouble selling a house with tile on the entire main floor in my area. I'll probably go with tile in the kitchen and bathrooms which should hold up well to beagles and anything else.

There seems to be a new wood flooring product on the market every few months these days. I'll have to start perusing and weighing options.

[Jim Becker]

+ some incredibly hard poly here;

The whole reason that polyurethane is used is because it's actually softer due to the abrasion resistance properties it was bred for. A "hard" floor would scratch easier. ;)

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If the floor is properly finished, it should hold up to the dogs, especially if their nails are maintained as others have stated. But no finish will be totally immune from wear, especially in certain places.

[John Hain]

We have a 90lb Weimy and a 40lb Viszla. Our floor has NOT done well with these dogs. The wood itself is mostly OK, the finish the guys used has NOT held up well.

Fortunately for us, we are getting the entire floor resanded, interboard cracks filled, and refinished as a result of another contractors mistake. We'll be paying extra for a more durable finish coat(s).

[Curt Fuller]

You might have more problems with the dogs than with the floors. Our old golden retriever has always slid and slipped on our hardwood floor. But as he's gotten very old now, he falls and can't get up on it. He wouldn't even go into the room anymore (our family room) so we had to lay some long rugs down for him. But with all his slipping and sliding over the years I've never seen any scratching from him.

[John Hain]

You might have more problems with the dogs than with the floors. Our old golden retriever has always slid and slipped on our hardwood floor. But as he's gotten very old now, he falls and can't get up on it. He wouldn't even go into the room anymore (our family room) so we had to lay some long rugs down for him. But with all his slipping and sliding over the years I've never seen any scratching from him.

Oh, it's the dogs alright. They are in the prime of their hunting life. We knew that the wood floor would need some "above-average" maintenance. They definitely do a number on it. Can't fault them for being excitable with energy........it's what makes them great hunting dogs.

[John Newell]

tile


Everything you drop will break... :(


The whole reason that polyurethane is used is because it's actually softer due to the abrasion resistance properties it was bred for. A "hard" floor would scratch easier. ;)

That's probably right...whatever the deal is, it has worn like...well, it hasn't worn!



traction


Yep, the poor dog does slide around a bit!!! :D

[Lee DeRaud]

One other issue from the dog's point of view is traction. I've seen dogs trot into rooms and slide into things because they cant stop quite as quickly as on carpet. But that can also be a good thing. With smaller dogs you can spin them about on the floor and turn it into play for them.There is nothing quite as entertaining as watching the dog do a "burn-out" on a slippery floor when he sees a cat/lizard/whatever out the patio door.:D

[Matt Meiser]

Everything you drop will break... :(

Not everything. The canned goods will eventually chip/crack the tiles.


There is nothing quite as entertaining as watching the dog do a "burn-out" on a slippery floor when he sees a cat/lizard/whatever out the patio door.:D

I don't know, watching them tear across the yard in an ice storm and try to stop just before the house is pretty good too. Or the time my dad had my brother wash the kitchen floor with car was soap making it so slick you could hardly stand on it in shoes much less socks. We put a rug out and threw the dog's ball so he would have to stop on the rug (same dog.) He just kept trying. :D

[Chris Stolicky]

When we bought our house back in 2004 I ripped up most of the carpet and put down over 1000sf of laminate flooring. I have a 80# weim and he has tried and tested the floor. I can say that it regularly lives up to his nails and a marrow bone bouncing (& sliding) on it. We have prefinished Brazilian Cherry in an addition and had to put down a large area rug because he was destroying it.

When I did the downstairs (which was carpet) I considered bamboo because of its reputation of being a hard and durable wood. I got a couple of samples, put them on the floor, and dropped a marrow bone on them. Every one ended up with a noticeable dent. ....needless to say, I went with the laminate again.

It is certainly not real wood, and is not acoustically pleasing, but its durable as can be. As for the slipping, my poor dog is scared of it sometimes. He'll sit there and stare at it while whining. But then he's fine with it when he's not thinking about it. I think its a mental thing. Good luck deciding.

Oh, just use a carbide blade to cut the stuff if you choose laminate.

[Brian Elfert]

If you use real wood flooring that is sanded and finished there is a finish that wears like iron called Formula One. It should stand up to dogs no problem.

I've seen this stuff at several of the home shows locally. They actually sand a sample floor with a floor sander and it doesn't look like it was sanded. No idea how they sand and refinish a floor if necessary.

You can find the stuff at www.krafthardwoodflooring.com (http://www.krafthardwoodflooring.com). This is a Minneapolis guy, but I'm sure he can refer you to the manufacturer or distributor that can find someone local for you.

I wish I would have known about this finish two or three years ago when I added more hardwood floor and had the rest refinished.

[David Tiell]

Built a house 6 years ago and put down about 1400 sqft of prefinished solid oak flooring. The finish has held up much better than I ever thought it would to an 80 pound Ole English Sheepdog and a 17 pound Peke. Go for it.

[Ben Rafael]

I've had dogs and wood floors for decades. Any scratches I have come from people. IF the dogs scratch the floor then I cant see the scratches. BTW, I'm talking oak floors finished with polyurethane.