OT: question about flooring and pets

Hi Jean,
I li.ke tile as long as you do dark grout. It is so easy to clean and my husbands work boots are harder on the floors then any of the dogs. I have whilte tile in my kitchen and I can clean all the black marks off with a wet micro cloth. Whatever you decide will be way better than the carpet. We choose the tile because we could do it our self, but we would have had to pay labor for the vinyl.

We live in an apartment with Laminate. (only in the kitchen & bath)  It can be slippery in your sock feet!  You have to pass thru the kitchen to get to either front or back door.  Our lab, if she gets in a hurry, does a wipe-out rounding the doorways to get to the backdoor.  Also if she is running & has to come to a quick stop she kinda skids across the floor.  Tho we have found humor in it, we have decided to NOT put laminate in our place down in TN.  Gonna be a couple years before we move so we have time to decide. 

What a meanie you are, laughing at your poor doggy skidding on the floor!

I'd laugh too...

Hi Jean

I have lived in houses with tiles (mottled beige with dark brown grout), floorboards and laminate/carpet mix. The tiles were probably the best in terms of messes but showed up the dog hair and needed vacuuming almost daily. The floorboards were warmer underfoot but the dogs skidded and if pees weren't wiped up immediately the varnish started coming undone, making the boards warp a little. The laminate and carpet mix are fine as the dog I have now doesn't shed and he's only done one pee on the carpet in the last year. A miracle! He used to pee a lot on the floorboards, perhaps it was underlying pet smells from the previous tenants. If I had more dogs in the current house I would install a slate floor - if that is available to you in your state.

Hello Jean,
I am new to this site, but NOT new to the flooring business!  After reading your dilema, I would strongly suggest vinyl tile.  It is easier on the feet, and also very easy to install yourself.  There are some beautiful wood-look planks on the market now, as well as ceramic-look vinyl tiles.  Here are a couple of sites that you can check out:
www.nafco.com
www.earthwerks.com
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Good Luck!