What type of flooring is best for dogs?
As a pet-owner, choosing the proper flooring when doing a renovation is a crucial task. Many pet-owners have concerns about scratching, and rightly so. Though the extent of any scratching can vary depending on the pet, usually a cat or a dog, or what breed of dog, it's always practical no matter what pet to ensure the flooring you buy can withstand the wear and tear.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Engineered hardwood flooring is a durable, long lasting flooring option. A practical alternative to solid hardwood boards which can be installed in more rooms such as conservatories. However, this is not the most dog-friendly flooring option. Wood floors do not to do well with regular spillage. Wood likes to absorb water, so if a dog is trailing in water from outside, or urinating on the floor, over time the wood flooring can be damaged if the spills are not cleaned up quickly.
Wood floors are usually fine with scratching, as any scratches can be repaired by sanding and refinishing, making the surface layer of the wood as good as new. However, on an engineered wood floor, the veneer of hardwood is significantly thinner as opposed to a solid wood board, so it can only be sanded and refinished a couple of times before the veneer is worn out.
If you do select engineered wood flooring as an option, then it would be wise to keep the nails of any pets trimmed so that they don’t scratch as much when running around.
Solid Hardwood Flooring
Solid hardwood flooring is not an ideal flooring solution for homes with pets. Solid wood flooring does not respond well to water, and if absorbed in large enough quantities, is liable to warp and buckle, as well as staining. The one advantage it has is that it can be sanded and re finished a lot to make it as good as new, but for the cost of the product and the amount of wear it will take during its life time, it would be worth getting a more durable product for pets.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is a budget-friendly alternative to real wood flooring. This is a suitable option for pets as laminate floors are a diverse product, with a wide range of lower-end cheaper laminates to high-end hard wearing laminates. Both are suitable for dogs, if it needs to be down as a somewhat temporary solution and you don’t mind it taking the damage, or the harder wearing options, which are constructed to be more scratch resistant than real wood, and sometimes come with waterproof surfaces. Most laminate flooring is not waterproof, but it is easy to clean and can take the occasional spillage providing it is cleaned up quickly.
Vinyl click/ LVT Flooring
LVT Flooring, or vinyl flooring as it is sometimes called, is the best option for pet-owners. Thinner than real wood flooring or laminate flooring, yet harder wearing than either, vinyl click can come as the traditional product which is made out of polymers and resins, or a variant known as SPC rigid core flooring, which is made from limestone powder. Both have the same merits and do the same thing. Built with a scratch resistant wear layer, they will take more damage from your pets and foot fall than the other flooring options, and vinyl floors are fully waterproof! Any spill can stay on them for any amount of time and the floor will not be damaged.
Regardless of the flooring you choose, regular maintenance and care will be needed with any option to get the most out of your flooring and keep it in top shape for as long as possible. Floors naturally have a long lifespan, but they can always be helped along by their owners! Here are some tips:
Clean spills as soon as possible
Maintain your dog’s (or any pets) eating/drinking area
Keep dog’s nails trimmed
Sweep and vacuum the floor on a regular basis