OT: question about flooring and pets

After having cats and dogs on carpet, I replaced most with ceramic tile ( multicolored, marbrled, brown).  OMG, it is so much easier.  Wish I had chosen darker grout, and it does get chilly in the winter.  But any clean-up is a snap.  No claw issues at all.

I have two cats and two dogs and they all live in the house and sleep in the bed and our floors have it ROUGH. I have had every type of floor you mentioned in the various houses in which I've lived and I can tell you this without a fraction of a doubt... REAL HARDWOOD is the way to go. It is, by far, the lowest maintenance flooring we've ever had and with a quick vaccum (yes, vaccum, not sweeping) a few times a week, it always feels clean and still looks as new as it did the day we bought the house (and it was newly installed then). The 3 P's all clean up quickly and easily and there are no lingering smells or odors. I'm a huge fan of the real hardwood.

 Tiled my house several years ago, and love it. It is medium brown with matching grout. My kitchen was already tiled, aqua with pink grout. Always hated the blue. There is no blue dirt. Went from white to pink grout. There is no pink dirt either. The brown tile looks perfect after several years. It is cold in the winter, so I wear slippers. The dogs skid occasionally, but they love the coolness. One thing I didn't expect was the gap on the bottom of my interior doors. It used to bother me, but I got used to it. 

We installed laminate in our livingroom a few years ago and liquids and laminate do not match. Also it scratches ALOT easier than they lead on. I love my floor  and it is way better than carpet but we have now banned the dog (a pug) from the living room b/c like you said eventually there will accidents. He is confined to the kitchen/dining room and goes outside to potty and play .We had installed new vinyl in the kitchen that looks like tile and it is wonderful! No seams to stress about when you have accidents or spills.  Our laminate looks great but there are a few microscopic flaws only I see that forced me to bar the doggie to the vinyl floor.There is some great looking vinyl out there now too ! Oh the things we do for our furbabies ! LOL

I got plank laminate, looks like wood and it's no fuss. You don't have to wax it like real wood. I spray windex on it and run a rag over it. It looks real

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/hand-scraped-laminate-floo ring.html

Hi Jean,  great suggestions from everyone!  I had a dog years ago that became ill and had bloody stools all over my new white berber carpet. After he died, the next dog picked up the scents and started urinating everywhere.  I then adopted a second dog and the two of them carried on the habit!  They ruined my carpet in every room but the bedrooms!  What is worse.. they ruined the flooring underneath!  Unfortunately the second dog had to be put down but I still had the third.

Suggestion - if you can, pull up the sub flooring everywhere they have urinated!  If you leave it and they can smell through the new floor covering, they will continue to urinate.  It is gross but so worth it.

I had the sub flooring replaced, laid linoleum in the kitchen, laminate wood in dining room and carpet in hall and living room.  And I bought "Nature's Miracle" from the pet store!  I now have 2 dogs again.  There are the very occasional (rare) accidents or puke in the year since this was done.  Even a couple accidents on the area rug over the laminate.  So far it has not separated.  And for the carpet, "Nature's Miracle" after soaking up the urine with a thick towel!  It takes a few days to eliminate all of the scent but it really works!  The dog that peed EVERYWHERE, now only does so if I fail to let her out or if she isn't feeling well. Otherwise, it's outside.
Good luck with your decision.

One of the flooring guys I talked to suggested an underlayment with a moisture barrier layer, and another guy suggested putting Killz (stain blocking paint) on the sub flooring. We will definitely take every step we can to eliminate or block the old stains/scents. I'd hate to go through all this trouble and have the same problems all over again.

It'll be interesting (and probably gross) to see what the sub flooring looks like once the old flooring comes off...

Yes, underlayment is required with the laminate.  But it is a thin plastic coated type fabric.  Also, the Kilz might work but with the problems I had, I wasn't going to chance it. 
My friend was so very kind to pull that gross stuff up but I wouldn't have felt comfortable any other way.  And it has proven itself out - I don't think the urinating would have stopped if I hadn't had that sub flooring removed.

It is extra work but the thing is - it worked. 

Hi Jean...we have 2 pugs (Penelope and Ralph) and one Labradoodle (Eddie) and the only true pet-proof flooring is sealed concrete with a drain in the middle of each room, to enable hosing out as needed.
Last night Penelope, who is approaching 9 yrs old, peed on the carpet and it was red...poor thing has bladder stones and has to have surgery next week.  She never pees indoors, so just that was an indicator that things are not right. 
Most of our house is hardwood and since it is sealed, it is pretty pet-resistant, but does take a lot of work.
I would go with Vinyl....easiest to take care of with a pack.
Just my .02

only true pet-proof flooring is sealed concrete with a drain in the middle of each room, to enable hosing out as needed

LOL! The industrial look!