OT: question about flooring and pets

My husband and I have 8 dogs who range in size from 15 to 55 pounds. They spend a lot of time indoors and 4 of them sleep indoors at night (the rest sleep in their own condo in the back yard). Except for a puppy who's not completely reliable yet, the dogs are housebroken but as all you pet-lovers know, accidents happen. We have the  3 P's several times a week: piddles, poops, and pukes.

The flooring in our house (w/w carpeting and vinyl) was crappy when we moved in and already mined with the tantalizing scents left by the previous owner's dog. Twelve years later, it's much worse, and we've finally gotten together enough money (we hope) to replace at least the worst of the flooring, in the rooms that the dogs frequent: kitchen/dining, living room, hallway, laundry, 2 full baths, and a small storage room.

I'm utterly confused about what type of flooring to use. The choices are:
Laminate - attractive, durable, but any pet fluids could leak through the seams, damage the underside, and invalidate the warranty. 3 different flooring "experts" have warned me away from laminate flooring.
Hardwood - out of the question - I'm not Suzy Homemaker and I'm not taking care of that stuff.
Ceramic Tile - attractive, durable, can be installed without grout (I'm not cleaning grout, thanks), but not impervious to pet claws and accidents.
Vinyl - not so attractive or durable, but fewer seams mean few opportunities for leakage. We could use a design that looks like wood planks in the living room and hallways, and a simple tile type design everywhere else.

Anybody have any experience with this and/or any suggestions?

Thanks!
Jean

 

3 DOXIES HERE PLUS ALL MY FRIENDS ANIMALS!!!!

When liquids of any kind land on the laminate or hardwood floor you need to get it immediately or it goes into the seams and eventually can pull up. 

Tile is great with a good color grout, but remember it gets cold in the winter.

Vinyl is really best if you are into animals like I am.  No ruined floors, not scratches etc.    Vinyl has come a long way and also can be pricey.

Ann,

This is totally off my original off-topic thread, but I have a dachsund question for you. Our puppy, Babe, looks like he's part dachsund (face and ears), part bassett hound (feet and overall size/weight), and part something else. My family had miniature dachsunds when I was growing up and one of them had to have back surgery  (I was too young then to know the medical details), so I'm fearful of back problems in Babe. A few times recently, he's yowled in pain when he was off by himself (not being picked on by the other dogs), but I could find no injury or tenderness, and after one of those incidents, he seemed to be walking very carefully, as if favoring his rear legs. Could those be signs of a back problem? I know I should take him to the vet but we sure don't have money for surgery...Babe just seems awfully heavy (not his fault - he's not obese - he's just a big kid in a small package) to be stressing that long back by jumping up and down on furniture and other dogs.

What do you think?

Jean

It sounds like sore hips or back.    Time for hubby to make some ramps!  I have one to the bed and one to the couch.  the stair kind does not work as it is still going up and down.  A ramp that slopes is best!  Also at nite when you have a chance, cuddle and hold a heating pad on the back and it helps.  Some people give their pets dog glucosomine.   Or if you know someone with a pool, hold your dog get in and slowly (takes a few days) get your dog to float with your help.
Hope this helps!

Thanks for the suggestions. We already have a doggy ramp at the edge of our deck outside that Babe uses all the time - why didn't I think of indoor ramps? Poor Babe wants so badly to be one of the Big Dogs, I think he pushes his little body too hard.

Doggie stairs or ramps helps a great deal!!!  I have 2 for my dog, on the couch and on my son's bed (her favorite place to sleep)

We had ceramic tile installed probably 15 or more years ago.. still looks brand new.  I've never had to clean the grout.. but we had dark grout put in.  Hershey Brown and the tile is sorta tan/cream/beige color.

It does get cold in winter, and can be slippery when wet, but we've had 3 dogs living with it (albeit small dogs) and no problems with claws marking it up.

I'd go with the Vinyl, Jean.  We have it in the kitchen, down the hallway, and into the laundry room.  The designs and quality are so much better than they used to be.  I would suggest a medium to dark color, though.  My husband picked ours out before I knew him - it's white with grey borders, and has little dimples in it that collect and hold onto the dirt!  Between 2 dogs and the wheelchair, I've almost given up on keeping it clean!  It's being replaced soon, with something darker!  

 

Vinyl , I have two dogs and three cats.  My mom  had cermaic tile and like the others said its cold and if it gets wet you can fall and get hurt plus mom found out after she spent all this money on it that when her one dog got older and went blind it was scared to walk on it .

Older dogs dont like it mine didnt either when I went up to my mom's I dont know why but hers and mine hated it they would stand and shake on it .

a few labs & a corgi needing a lapband here.

i am ZERO carpet.
my upstairs is all mahogany distressed wood & attached to the wrought iron railing - we attached a similar looking doggie gate.   i'm fussy & didn't want something  that didn't look part of the house, yet kept the dogs off the wood.   after 3 months - the gate is open & they don't even bother going upstairs.

downstairs - all slate tile.
how i lived w/out basically being able to hose down the mess is amazing.

we live on several acres & my dogs are outside most of the time.
when inside, they know it's nap time - and they go find their doggy snooze (great off the floor dog bed for lgr breeds).

i went with a darker grout than my contractor advised & glad i did - i'm not cleaning grout either.

i'm partial to tile when it comes to dogs myself.