Indoor Dog and Flooring

  • After Iowa State won the Big 12, a Cyclone made a wonderful offer to We Will that now increases our match. Now all gifts up to $400,000 between now and the Final 4 will be matched. Please consider giving at We Will Collective.
    This notice can be dismissed using the upper right corner X button.

DeereClone

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2009
8,281
9,647
113
Wife and I have looked into getting an indoor dog, but have some reservations with the possible damage they could do to our floors. We have carpet and wood laminate in our house. Will they scratch the wood laminate flooring? Any breeds that are worse than others for this? Any other tips/suggestions?

We would really like to get an indoor dog, but we ( me more than my wife) hate the idea of causing our floors to wear out faster/get damaged just for a dog.

Thanks.
 

1100011CS

Well-Known Member
Oct 5, 2007
15,722
5,421
113
Marshalltown
We had a somewhat large indoor dog and also have wood laminate floor in our kitchen. She had fairly long claws but never scratched the floor. She did, however, dig a hole in the carpet when she was a pup.
 

clone4life82

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Dec 17, 2008
3,272
2,934
113
Ankeny
Wife and I have looked into getting an indoor dog, but have some reservations with the possible damage they could do to our floors. We have carpet and wood laminate in our house. Will they scratch the wood laminate flooring? Any breeds that are worse than others for this? Any other tips/suggestions?

We would really like to get an indoor dog, but we ( me more than my wife) hate the idea of causing our floors to wear out faster/get damaged just for a dog.

Thanks.


Yup they will.... Unless you have a tile flooring, they'll add wear and tear to it. We had a pergo flooring in our last house and a dog and he added to the scratches on it. As well, the carpet seemed to wear down faster with him. Same with the wood flooring and carpet in our house now.
 

cowgirl836

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2009
47,200
34,758
113
Our realtor has a couple dogs, so she has pointed this out in nearly every house we've looked at (since we've mentioned maybe having a dog in the future). Laminate floors are very resistant to getting scratched up. But whatever you do, do NOT get maple floors. Those floors looked TERRIBLE when there was a dog in the house.
 

LutherBlue

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,296
625
113
Doesn't sound like you'd even enjoy the dog if you got one. So, what's the point?
This. "Just for a dog" is the wrong attitude. Dogs are a responsibility. That thing is going to shed, ****, puke and crap on your wonderful flooring (at least occasionally). If you're already worried about it ... you should get a cat or aquarium fish.
 

DeereClone

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2009
8,281
9,647
113
Doesn't sound like you'd even enjoy the dog if you got one. So, what's the point?

Me wanting to keep the floor I just paid for and installed in good shape = not enjoying the dog? Got it.

This. "Just for a dog" is the wrong attitude. Dogs are a responsibility. That thing is going to shed, ****, puke and crap on your wonderful flooring (at least occasionally). If you're already worried about it ... you should get a cat or aquarium fish.

I understand it will come with responsibilities, I grew up with livestock. "Just for a dog" is the right attitude in my mind. Like I mentioned above, I just put these floors in and would feel sick to my stomach if the dog ruined them in a few months.

Thanks to the other posters, it sounds like it won't be much of an issue, I appreciate the input!
 

aeroclone

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
9,770
5,768
113
In general, I think a smaller dog tends to minimize any additional wear to flooring. I have hardwood flooring and smaller dogs, and I haven't really noticed any issues with it.
 

BlackHawk

Member
Sep 30, 2010
469
59
18
We have two bigs dogs and have the dark wood laminate. Doesn't scratch at all and looks really nice. Can't even tell it's not wood. Definitely will continue to get the same laminate in other rooms as well.
 

cyinne

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Sep 4, 2009
2,065
603
113
O-town, Iowa
We have laminate hardwood in our house and not a single scratch with our dog (puggle.) Sometimes I like to chase the dog onto the laminate just to see her "spin out" trying to get traction.

I have been in houses that have a real hardwood and they are a mess showing all kinds of scratches when there is a dog involved.
 

IcSyU

Well-Known Member
Nov 27, 2007
27,752
5,939
113
Rochester, MN
For the most part dogs can't get enough traction on laminate to scratch anything.

Carpet on the other hand...make sure you have a good vacuum for getting shedded hair out. A lint roller will do the trick on most furniture (if you allow the dog on the furniture).
 

wxman1

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Jul 2, 2008
18,583
14,143
113
Cedar Rapids
We have a golden that is still young and can be rambunctious. No issues on our floors although we currently have no wood.

I understand your concern. My aunt and uncle have three goldens and have put coverings on their stairs going from the back door to the room they are allowed in. When you start doing stuff like that it is pointless to have a dog.
 

JP4CY

I'm Mike Jones
Staff member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Dec 19, 2008
64,021
77,112
113
Testifying
In general, I think a smaller dog tends to minimize any additional wear to flooring. I have hardwood flooring and smaller dogs, and I haven't really noticed any issues with it.

See, I might be on the other side with this. We have a small terrier (think Toto) and he runs all over chasing toys and puts his front claws up on the window casings to see outside a lot. A larger dog with eye level above those window sills probably wouldn't do as much damage.
We have lighter stained red oak hardwood and can see scratches when the sun hits it right or you are looking at it from a low angle.
All in all, I'm OK with all of it. It's part of having an indoor dog.
 

ChrisMWilliams

Publisher
Staff member
Bookie
Apr 10, 2006
24,704
41,638
113
39
Bondurant, Iowa
www.CycloneFanatic.com
Wife and I have looked into getting an indoor dog, but have some reservations with the possible damage they could do to our floors. We have carpet and wood laminate in our house. Will they scratch the wood laminate flooring? Any breeds that are worse than others for this? Any other tips/suggestions?

We would really like to get an indoor dog, but we ( me more than my wife) hate the idea of causing our floors to wear out faster/get damaged just for a dog.

Thanks.

We have laminate and our dog is as big/crazy as they some. Never seen a single scratch. Laminate is super durable. And I always tell people to go golden retriever. I'm biased but love them to death. Fantastic family dogs.
 

EnhancedFujita

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Jan 28, 2013
2,153
1,999
113
Johnston
See, I might be on the other side with this. We have a small terrier (think Toto) and he runs all over chasing toys and puts his front claws up on the window casings to see outside a lot. A larger dog with eye level above those window sills probably wouldn't do as much damage.
We have lighter stained red oak hardwood and can see scratches when the sun hits it right or you are looking at it from a low angle.
All in all, I'm OK with all of it. It's part of having an indoor dog.

We have 2 small dogs and I think its worse than if we'd had one big dog. The small dogs are hyper and run around a lot. It also depends on the layout of your house. We only really have scratches badly at the bottom of our stairs from the dogs running up and down them. Might not be a problem in a ranch. We are currently looking at laminate because of the dogs though.
 

LutherBlue

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,296
625
113
I understand it will come with responsibilities, I grew up with livestock. "Just for a dog" is the right attitude in my mind. Like I mentioned above, I just put these floors in and would feel sick to my stomach if the dog ruined them in a few months.
I also grew up on a farm where the dog had all kinds of space to run around and kick *** and be a dog. In my opinion, you need a different attitude with a house dog. If you are already thinking about how this animal is going to inconvenience you ... you might think about waiting until you value your flooring a little less.

Good luck, our laminate floors seem to be holding up well with 2 big dogs except where they slop their drinking water.
 

clone4life82

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Dec 17, 2008
3,272
2,934
113
Ankeny
I would like to add that ours would've been kept up better had we taken better care of our dogs claws. That helps tremendously. As well, make sure you get a really good vacuum. the pet version of the dyson is probably the best around.
 

dlouhy23

Member
Feb 22, 2007
43
1
8
The key is to put rugs at corners, base of stairs and near the back door. This minimizes unnecessary sliding, skidding and also the dreaded feet-are-moving-quickly-but-body-is-not-because-the-floor-is-too-slick.

We have laminate flooring and have no issues with scratches. We have two dogs; a springer spaniel and a smaller mix breed.