Dogs and hard wood floors?

[ScreamNdemon]

I am about to rip out the o'l carpet in the living room and put down a hard wood laminate floor. Does anyone have a floor type like this, if so, what do you think? Any problems with the four legged friends having accidents on it or wear and tear problems? Thanks.

[jelly8bean]

I have some tile and hardwood in my home as well as carpeted areas. Yes, they do slip alot on these surfaces.. mostly because they are moving way to fast! You get those dobies to walk around in a dignified manner and they would be fine. But no, they have to rush around chasing each other and going to see everything at the trot or hand gallop. HA ha! :) Be sure to put down some rugs to help them transition.

[ScreamNdemon]

What about when they have accidents on the hardwood laminate? does it clean up good and does it hurt the floor?

[jelly8bean]

Haven't had that situation, unable to comment.

[DynamicDuo]

I have a Pergo laminate floor on our lower level in our home. I love it! It used to be the kids play room and has now transitioned into the dog/kid play room. Everything cleans up real well. Liquids puddle and stay until wiped up and I still don't have any stains. Just to give you an example of how it holds up, Samantha had a litter of 7 pups last Spring and we put her whelping box in that room. The kids were always playing with the pups as they got older and the floor held up great. All "accidents" were easily cleaned.

It can be slippery though. My dogs occassionally make a run thru the door and slide all the way the the stairs.

[Slaboflab]

I find it hard to believe that any surface can be as hard to clean as carpet.

[SnuzerDog]

Not quite sure what you mean by 'hardwood laminate' floor... but I have both hardwood, and laminate flooring in different areas so I can speak to both types individually.
First, my boy Deano has a hard time doing much more than a walk on either, due to the slipperiness and the dog's high center of gravity. But they are certainly easier to clean up, and if you clean up quickly there is little chance of harm/stain to either. With hardwood, this will also depend on how well sealed it is- we put down 5 coats of polyurethane on ours (our kids were small at the time and we expected the worst) and they remain beautiful to this day. The laminate (Armstrong) has been down for several years now and also is wearing well despite being in high traffic areas. The manufacturer says it should only be mopped with a moist mop, not (juicy) wet as standing water could infiltrate the seams and soak into the fiber. We have had no trouble with small puddles from, say, snow off of shoes/boots, etc. I would recommend it for ease of installation, cleaning and wear. Hope this helps!:o

[lwkylersmom]

Don't have a dobie yet, but if my mastiff gets the urge to try and run in the house he will slip and fall in our kitchen. We have linolium tiles in there and he is not graceful at all.