Whats the best kind of floors for boxers? how are wood?

[Kathie11]

I would not suggest hardwood floors. My boys put many scratches on my parents hardwood floors so before we go over there we make sure the boys are exercised. If they are just walking around they are fine but once they start playing and burning the scratches are pretty deep. We put wood laminate floor in our family room and so far in the last 2 years we have not noticed any scratches. We are also redoing our floors in the next few wwkes and we have decided with laminate floors for the bedrooms and carpet in the rest of the house.

 

[BPMninja]

For preventing the scratching of the floors, you may want to look into something like softpaws.

I had cats for a while because I didn't have the means to get a dog, and they were great for protecting everything from their claws without having to do something as drastic as declawing them. Then they went and came out for them with dogs!

Quoted for emphasis.

:wink:

There are positives and negatives on all flooring possibilities, you're never going to find one that's perfect. It's just a matter of finding a way to cancel out as many of the negatives as possible.

 

[bradybunch]

what about that pergo stuff?

We have the Armstrong laminate flooring and it is GREAT! Spike has a bit of trouble with burns, but the whole downstairs is carpet and we usually try to get the "burning" done outside where he has plenty of room. I love these floors, they are so easy to clean and look wonderful. My dad has real hardwood floor in his house and made all of the cabnets in his new kitchen, and has a hobby of woodworking. The first time he came down to our new house he told me I should get the protectors to put on our chairs so we wouldn't scratch the floor. He had to squat down and take a closer look when I told him that they were not real hardwood floors. We are planning on ripping up the carpet in the bedrooms and putting this flooring in them. I would recommend them.

 

[DeLong]

I second the armstrong laminate. We did 1/2 the house 10 yrs ago and it still looks like new. We just finished the other 1/2 using armstrong again but now you can only get the click together stuff. i was concerned about no glue in the joints if one of the dogs had an accident so I called armstrong customer service. They recommeded using the bathroom directions to water proof which means a thin bead of glue on the tongue only.

My wife and I did 300sqft in 2 days.Once you get the hang of the angle needed to click it together you can really move alone.

 

[AJsMom]

We have hardwood and AJ has scratched it pretty bad. My dad has Pergo and AJ has scratched that also - but not as bad.

 

[EAO76]

We have hardwood through out our home. I absolutely love them. I will never have carpet again. They are so easy to clean and it eliminates a lot of problems with allergies because you can get all the dust and dander up (compared to carpet). For me the cleanliness issue is my number one reason for having wood. I swiffer every few days underneath all our furniture and beds and I’m always amazed at how much gunk accumulates in just a few days. If we had carpet that stuff would always be under there because it’s not like I’d be regularly lifting dressers & beds to vacuum.

Our floors are very sturdy. They are the original floors from when our house was built in 1940 (I honestly think things were made better back then). They are Oak and we had them sanded, stained, & refinished about 18months ago. I think the main thing is what color you go with. I wanted to stain mine very dark but I was advised not to because the darker (or very light) wood shows dirt & scratches more. We ended up going with a medium color and it has worked out great. There are some slight scratches in the high traffic areas but you can’t see them at all.

When you start researching do your best to find the best possible wood (don’t get bamboo it scratches very easily) and pick the color wisely. Also you can get different finishes (shiny, medium, etc) and so if you go with floors that aren’t super shiny that helps too.

Like another poster mentioned there is always the option of pergo/laminate. We have a one room addition in our home that we installed pergo in. The transition from our wood to pergo is pretty seamless. It almost looks exactly the same and the pergo is even sturdier than the wood, it will not scratch. Additionally pergo is much less expensive to purchase & install. The one problem I have found with pergo is that it seems to attract & show dirt more easily. The pergo floor needs to be cleaned much more often than our wood floors.

The dogs have never had carpet so I can’t say what they would prefer but I always laugh when they go sliding around a corner or when they try to run somewhere fast but end up going no where (like Scooby Doo when his legs move but he stays in the same place). I can also say that any accidents (vomit, pee, etc) are much easier to clean on the wood floors.

Anyway good luck with your decision...

 

[tesster]

We have stone tile flooring in our kitchen, and I'm convinced it's the best option for dog owners. Pergo laminate is also indestructible, but I prefer the look of stone better.

 

[mybubbieroo]

My super shinny mahogany hardwood floors have took a beaten from Bubbie Roo! The thought of covering them with anything is almost unbearable, but I will need to do something eventually. I would not recommend a hardwood floor. I also have some rooms with tile, and it is fantastic! Nothing hurts that floor!!

 

[SandyHG55654]

We have carpet and cerramic tile. It has worked well for us, also it's fun to watch them do a burn and then skid into the tile by accident! The look on their faces is priceless!

 

[Jiffer]

We have slate tile. The dogs can't do anything to it to destroy it. I think if you consider wood, do a lot of research. Some of the responses you got regarding wood were positive, but many negative. I think the older wood floors are probably a lot more resistant to scratches than the stuff being made these days, but maybe there's something out there that would work.

My sister had wood in her last house, which was a brand new home. I'm not sure what kind of wood it was. I never noticed any scratches but, man did you hear every step the dogs made with their nails on the floor. I'm sure you'd get the same noise with Pergo or anything of that sort. I don't have that problem with slate.