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Old 06-08-2017, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,702 posts, read 79,356,279 times
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We have 100+ year old maple in the kitchen. We had it refinished with a commercial grade two or three part super strong finish (sometimes used for gymnasium floors). We had 2 200 plus pound dogs.


It did not hold up.
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Old 06-08-2017, 06:32 PM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
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I have no problem with engineered flooring and that's not the point of this thread thanks. It is a real wood floor and scratches like a real wood floor. Supposedly Brazilian cherry is harder than red oak. Besides, I like the cherry far more than oak.

The dilemma is that we want a dog but I do care about excessive scratching and wanted dog owners to weigh in.
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Old 06-08-2017, 10:14 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by riaelise View Post
I have no problem with engineered flooring and that's not the point of this thread thanks. It is a real wood floor and scratches like a real wood floor. Supposedly Brazilian cherry is harder than red oak. Besides, I like the cherry far more than oak.

The dilemma is that we want a dog but I do care about excessive scratching and wanted dog owners to weigh in.
We've had engineered wood floors for over a decade. Until two years ago, we had THREE dogs, including a 60 pound German Shepherd mix. As someone said above, we have scratches here and there from chairs that we didn't properly cushion but we do not have a single scratch for our three dogs that I am aware of (it's possible they are a few scratches here or there, but I do not see them).

The two bigger concerns with dogs are (1) house training a puppy on wood floors - there will be accidents. But, "accidents" are much easier to clean up on hard fllors than on carpet. Still, you do have to be a bit more proactive about quick clean up when there are puddles on hardwood than you would on say, tile or vinyl or laminate. So, you'll want to think about a plan for house training your pup (with our youngest, who we got after we put in hardwood, we used a baby pen to confine her to a plastic covered area when we couldn't be home with her. The other issue (2) is dogs do tend to slip around on hardwood and they CAN hurt themselves in the process. One of our dogs had hip problems that were exacerbated by a fall she took when she slipped running around on the floor. We solved this by putting down some area rugs in the rooms our dogs hang out in the most. Our stairs are also still fully carpeted, but that was for our own and our kids safety as well.

There are a lot of responsibilities that come with dog ownership. I think every dog owner kind of comes to the realization that they can't keep a "perfect" house with a dog in it. So, if that is your priority, then dog ownership may not be the best choice. But, the trade off, to me at least, is worth it every time I look at my remaining love bug and see her big doggy smile.

Scratched hardwood can be replaced. But, having lost two of my three dogs in the last two years, I can tell you that dogs are irreplaceable and bring so much joy and fun into our house. If I had to choose between perfect looking floors and my dear dogs, I'd take the dogs any old day.

Good luck with your choice!

Last edited by RosieSD; 06-08-2017 at 10:22 PM..
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Old 06-08-2017, 10:25 PM
 
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P.S. Darker woods do tend to show any dings and scratches (and dirt/dust) more than lighter colored woods. We picked blonde oak, which looks beautiful.
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Old 06-09-2017, 08:27 AM
 
Location: Raleigh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by riaelise View Post
I'd be getting an adult (preferably middle aged/senior dog).

Wood is prefinished Brazilian cherry that scratches with the drop of a hat. I guess it's the finish, not the actual wood that's scratched. I dropped a broom and the handle dented/scratched the floor. sigh. i really liked our old laminate floors...they withstood our (now deceased) dog's nails no problem.

I guess trimming the nails once a month will do the trick, then?
Please put down an area rug and runner or two for the dog. Slippery floors are bad for their hips and as they age it gets worse.

My in laws have hardwoods all over their first floor, have been in the house for at least 15 years, have had dogs all that time, and are just now considering refinishing.
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Old 06-09-2017, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Western MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RosieSD View Post
P.S. Darker woods do tend to show any dings and scratches (and dirt/dust) more than lighter colored woods. We picked blonde oak, which looks beautiful.
and I think shiny surfaces also probably are more likely to make scratches more noticeable.
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Old 06-09-2017, 10:28 AM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
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Ok, thanks guys. Rosie I really liked reading your post. I'm so torn...we really want a dog. It's time. Our golden died six years ago and I've finally gotten over it. My kids want a pet and a dog is the best choice as rabbits are too skittish and I don't like cats.

At the same time, the floors did cost quite a bit of money and I'd be lying to you if excessive scratching didn't matter. Beat up wood floors look pretty horrible unless they're of the old, rustic variety (i.e. in an older house). These floors are finished with aluminum oxide (not poly, so I don't know how I can put more finish on them) and they're shiny. The floors were laid before the consideration of getting a pet :/

Brazilian cherry is really a nice looking floor but it's not light enough to hide dings and scratches and it is photosensitive, which also doesn't help when it comes to scratches as the scratch appears as a white streak on an otherwise reddish brown floor.

When we owned our beloved Golden, we had 12 mm laminate floors that didn't scratch.

I have runners laid in some halls..maybe I'll put more? upstairs is carpet, so that's fine.
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Old 06-09-2017, 11:30 AM
 
3,183 posts, read 2,376,198 times
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Don't clip the dogs nails, file them. This way they will be rounded and less likely to scratch. I like that you are considering an older dog, look for a more mellow one that doesn't run around a lot and do all the playing ball outside. If you have kids, I would think they would do more damage so area rugs and runners are great but for runners make sure you put a non slip pad under them so you don't take a fall . Also for minor scratches try Old English scratch cover in the shade appropriate for your floor.
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Old 06-09-2017, 02:26 PM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
13,437 posts, read 15,340,896 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthofHere View Post
Don't clip the dogs nails, file them. This way they will be rounded and less likely to scratch. I like that you are considering an older dog, look for a more mellow one that doesn't run around a lot and do all the playing ball outside. If you have kids, I would think they would do more damage so area rugs and runners are great but for runners make sure you put a non slip pad under them so you don't take a fall . Also for minor scratches try Old English scratch cover in the shade appropriate for your floor.
Ok. And yes, I have two kids Granted, they are barefooted on the floor and I just have to deal with possible spills here and there lol.

We do prefer middle aged/senior dogs, even if we won't get many years. In fact, the one I'm really drawn to is 10. Our rescue golden came to us at 6 years old, a graybeard, and died at 13. While I wish we did have more time with him, I was glad that we had him for as long as we did. Truth is, you're never ready to give a dog up be it six years later, ten years
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Old 06-10-2017, 06:58 AM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,783,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by riaelise View Post
The dilemma is that we want a dog but I do care about excessive scratching and wanted dog owners to weigh in.
As dog owner I would suggest a puppy and keep after it until it learns to go outside. I can understand people wanting to rescue dogs but you are really gambling, if a dog has the habit of urinating inside a house that is very difficult to break.

We have hardwood floors and two dogs, one medium sized and one smaller. They get a huge amount of outdoor time so nails are naturally kept trimmed, I don't even know if that would make a difference anyway. No specific damage caused by them I'm aware of.
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