WHAT'S THE IDEAL FLOORING WHEN LIVING WITH A DOG?

When you own and live with dogs, you don’t live like most other people. When real dog lovers make purchases for their homes they do so with their animals in mind. They are looking for durability and functionality without sacrificing too much of the products aesthetic appeal.

Having good flooring in your home when you live with dogs is a must. There are many types of flooring available to the consumer. But are all these types of flooring ideal when you own dogs? When the type of dog you own is a German Shepherd, then this presents new considerations that needs to be addressed. The German Shepherd is a large dog and most of the time is a very active dog. He loves to play and run and retrieve his toys or lay on the floor chewing a big bone. Besides the size of the animal, there is the hair that this breed is notorious for shedding.

Let’s take a look at some of the different types of flooring that is available. You could buy a carpet, linoleum, wood floors, laminated floors, or ceramic tile floors. Probably the majority of homes have some type of carpeting in their houses. Carpeting and German Shepherds is not the ideal choice unless you want to be vacuuming seven days a week! Because this breed sheds so much, the hair will get in the fibers of the carpet and you’ll find yourself doing more housework than you intended. Also carpets hold smells longer than other flooring. If a puppy has an accident, it seeps in to the fibers and even though you may use a sanitizing spray on it, the urine can get down to the padding of the carpet. Commercial carpets are better because of the tighter weave, but still not the ideal type of flooring to use with this breed.

Many homes have a linoleum kitchen floor. These are easy to clean up when an accident occurs and is easy to vacuum. If this is a heavy trafficked area in the house, the linoleum may start to show wear and tear sooner than a tiled floor and it can show scratches from the dog’s paws. Overall, it is a good floor when you have dogs because of the ease of cleaning it. However, you might find yourself having to replace this flooring more often than others.

Then there are the wood floors. Who doesn’t like the beauty of having wood floors in their home? How durable is the wood floor? To maintain the beauty of the wood floor, lots of polyurethane needs to be applied and even more so when you own dogs. Even still, these floors will get scratched and a buffing of the floor will in most cases restore it to it’s’ shine. However, who wants to have to buff this floor all the time? If you have more than one dog, this is not an easy floor to maintain.

How about the laminated floors? Here is a floor that can look beautiful like a wood floor but is usually easy to care for. It is very important when buying a laminated floor that you buy one that can withstand the size and activity of a German Shepherd. All laminated floors are not the same! There are two different types of laminated flooring. One is the high pressure (HPL) and the other is the direct pressure (DPL). They both contain the same layers (i.e. core layer; backing layer; wear layer; decorative layer); the layers in HPL are fused directly to the core layer under higher heat and pressure. This will result in a stronger, more durable surface. The best laminated floors will have an Abrasion class rating: AC3, AC4, and AC5. These are designed for heavy traffic areas like you would expect to find in a shopping mall. One must note that even this type of flooring can scratch, so keep your dog’s nails trimmed. Also clean any spills right away so it doesn’t cause the flooring to swell or warp.

The ceramic tile floor comes in a large variety of styles and colors to enhance your décor. It is expensive, but so easy to maintain. I had this in my kitchen and I loved it. The only drawback with a ceramic tile floor is that it can be hard on the back. It’s not made for comfort, but rather for its beauty and durability. I raised litters on it in my mud room off of the kitchen. It was so easy to mop up any spills.

The prices of flooring can be very expensive especially when you are considering wood floors, lamented floors or a ceramic tile floor. One must consider how long the flooring will last and the work it will take to keep it looking good. Linoleum is probably the least expensive flooring you could buy. Linoleum and rugs are something that would have to be replaced over time depending on the amount of traffic in those areas where you use it.

So what type of flooring are you using with your dogs?

My rating is not on the beauty of the product, but on the durability and value when living with dogs: carpet: (2), linoleum: (4), wood: (2), laminated: (3), ceramic tile: (4)