what kind of flooring?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Hopefully soon I will be getting new flooring throughout my house. I too HATE carpet and want it all gone. I had Pergo at my old house and loved it, I plan on putting that in all the bedrooms and in my husband's office. I don't like Linoleum, it's too soft and can get messed up easily, but because it's cheap I'll probably get that for my bird room. I plan on getting tile flooring throughout the rest of the house (living room, family room, kitchen, laundry room, bathrooms, and hallway).

[Freedom]

I just read through this thread, and a thought occurred to me. We are multi-pet households so . . . wouldn't it make sense to check with the vets and / breeders to see what they use? Not to say we will use it, but to get some ideas? every puppy I ever saw coming out of a vet after being neutered / spayed peed with excitement seeing owners again! So they must have some thoughts on this!

[Corinna]

As the wife of a hardwood installer , Logan is right real wood with a finish is just about the same price as Pergo. It just needs to be installed and finished by a pro. We have had to fix so many home owner jobs it is better just to start with the extra to have it done.
Ummm where does sister live close to you maybe a pet talk meeting if hubby wants to travel ... evil thoughts

[shais_mom]

As the wife of a hardwood installer , Logan is right real wood with a finish is just about the same price as Pergo. It just needs to be installed and finished by a pro. We have had to fix so many home owner jobs it is better just to start with the extra to have it done.
Ummm where does sister live close to you maybe a pet talk meeting if hubby wants to travel ... evil thoughts

yes she lives about an hour from me -

that's a long way to go for floor but Pettalkers will do anything right?
according to Gini I went to California for a piece of chicken.
(but got soooo much more! )
Thanks everyone. I have been letting her know what everyone is saying. I'll keep you posted!

[Pam]

Staci I have Pergo and love it. There are other laminates out there that are not real Pergo so there may be some differences from brand to brand. I have only had mine a couple of months now, and the only problem in the beginning was getting the dogs to learn that they would have no *traction* for their little chases and such. I don't know much about hardwood except that it is beautiful. There is, however, a thread somewhere on here, that I read last night, which deals with a pet owner having her hardwood turn black from cat urine. They were asking how to fix this problem.

Regarding do-it-yourself with Pergo or any laminate, I would opt to go with an installer. That is just my opinion, though, because our installer was excellent. My co-worker's hubby did theirs and it apparently went well, but of course there was some colorful language along the way! LOL!

Whatever your sister decides will no doubt be better than carpet. Bless your sister for keeping little Scooby Doo. There are so many people who would return a dog under such circumstances. Frankly, it boggles my mind how one can return someone they love, but they do.

[Rachel]

Considering the situation you described, I would be tempted to find a good looking vinyl pattern. Wood, laminate, or grout and urine (over time) are just not a good mix.

[shais_mom]

thanks again everyone!
I think what my sister is concerned about is that Scooby is 7 years old and starting to show some signs of arthritis in his hips. And he is extremely clumsy anyway. He is one of the most awkward dogs I've ever seen. Colorful language? lol - One day we were down at my sister's house and sitting on the floor watching one of my nephews open birthday presents and Scooby - as I mentioned is scared of my dad. Well, my sister was in the kitchen calling Scooby and he wanted to go but my dad was sitting on the floor in front of the doorway and Scooby didn't know where to go. So he just went for it - full speed ahead - house full of people and ran right over my dad....... And stepped on - ummmm- the family jewels. There was all kinds of colorful descriptions around the word awkward! I thought my mom was going to pee her pants laughing - she said she was off the hook for awhile!

[mruffruff]

I installed 4 rooms of Pergo this summer over a couple of weekends. Alone. If I had not been alone, it would have been easier.

I use area rugs in two rooms for noise control and comfort, and door mats to catch dirt and rain drips. The area rugs are fairly cheap ones that can be tossed if they get to be unbearable. So far, so good. As an added bonus, Samson no longer can get a grip to jump on my bed. For a change I have a clean quilt.

I would not be happy if water stood on it for any length of time and the seams warped. I am opting for continous vinyl in the kitchen since that's where the dogs drink. I have had urine on it, but I wiped it up pretty quickly so no warping or smell.

I would have preferred refinishing the hardwood I have underneath, but it would mean moving everyone out for a few days and that was not a viable option. The Pergo has a 30 year warranty, and hardwood needs to be redone every 3-5 years.

Wouldn't it be easier to train Scooby--or confine him when they can't watch him? Or how about a belly band?

[shais_mom]

Wouldn't it be easier to train Scooby--or confine him when they can't watch him? Or how about a belly band?

I think Scooby's hooman's are the one's that need training!
I don't know she talked to the vet a couple years ago b/c I suggested maybe a prostate problem (he is neutered) or a tipped bladder even a UTI but she said the vet just said that he has a small bladder.

[pnance]

Staci, I had laminate in my kitchen and carpet in my dining room and hated both, so I put in pergo and absolutely love it. My dogs don't pee indoors, although we've had 1 or 2 accidents and their slobs when it comes to their water. We also throw ice on it for them to chase and catch so the floor always gets wet. It's much easier to clean than carpet and in my opinion can get cleaner than both laminant, carpeting or even tile (grout drives me nuts, I am way to lazy to clean grout out... ). I agree that pergo can be slippery, my dogs have eaten it more than once when their not thinking about it, and Bear has some problems when he try's to get up from it, but we tossed a towel down and that seems to help, a couple of cheap throw rugs probably would also.