Question:
We are thinking of putting in laminate flooring but I have concerns that our dogs would scratch the floor. One`s a lab and one`s a husky and if it`s raining outside, they`re playing inside. If anyone has comments from experience, I`d like to hear them.

Answer:
Rainbow,one good thing about laminate,is it will not scratch,it is very hard..
We actually put laminate on top of the old hard-wood flooring and I swear by it,easy to clean and it does definetly not scratch,no matter how crazy my cats get and I assume it's the same with dog-claws.
The salesman will tell you it's great if you have pets and it's true!!

Answer:
Hi we put laminate flooring in as well we have 2 dogs 1 lab/collie 1 puppy houndx wish I had all over the house so much better no scatching easier to get rid of dog hair

Answer:
In December we removed the carpeting in our living room and put down laminate floor. Not only does it look great it doesn"t smell. The carpet always seemed to have a doggy odor no matter what we did. Laminate floor is not suppose to scratch and so far so good. I have two golden retrievers and often have fosters so sometimes I have 3 large dogs playing and everything is fine. I was warned about getting the cheap 6mm stuff and to stick with the 7mm or thicker floor.

Answer:
we put in cheap laminate at least 5 years ago and i am not sorry in the least.
our house is open concept and our back door leads into the kitchen family room no worry about the dogs bringing snow or mud from the back is to clean. also kid friendly for when they spill drinks. i bought a light color just in case there was scratches, harder to see.

Answer:
I am starting to see a trend here....nothing but praise for this stuff.

I just put in laminate flooring in - all by myself this time I might add.

We had it in our old home. The flooring salesman that came out looked at Dalton, said he was a nice looking dog, asked if he was staying and then told us we DID NOT want hardwood. We took his advice, went with the laminate and not a mark. The only mark was when one of the girls dropped a large can onto the floor and it landed on the lip. It's super strong stuff and that's why I used it again.

Also it is so much easier to clean. I Swifter the floor and then clean with a damp cloth (hot water and vinegar). The Swifter wet left streaks but the damp water and vinegar cloth - amazing.

Go for it.

Answer:
When I took my 6m puppy for a check up at the vet, she asked what floors we have as her nails were nicely worn down, no need to trim them. When I said laminate, she said, that makes sense. It is very hard wearing.

The only concern with laminate is in an area where it can get too wet. If the water does manage to get down the join, it will swell and rise up a little. So make sure it is installed tightly or maybe seal the ridge before assembling. Or wipe any puddles immediately.

Answer:
I've also heard that laminate flooring is among the hardest, but we just didn't like it. We were going to go with bamboo instead because supposedly it's 30% harder than oak and 16% harder than maple... And it's closer to being a renewable resource..

Answer:
Originally Posted by Rivers
The only concern with laminate is in an area where it can get too wet. If the water does manage to get down the join, it will swell and rise up a little.

When we installed our laminate, we had put the scrap pieces in our trailer outside. It was the middle of winter. By spring time, we were ready to take the trailer to the dump to get rid of all the garbage. We looked at the laminate scraps, and they all appeared to be fine. Absolutely no swelling/damage from the winter freeze/spring thaw. I was amazed. The laminate we've installed in our living/dining rooms is constantly subjected to the dog tracking in large amounts of snow, and it's held up very well with all the melted snow. This is the brand they sell at Costco (I believe it's called "Allegria"?). Very durable. We only have one small dent where my son once dropped a large hammer. My sister has the laminate that looks like ceramic tile. She has had to repair two small chips because my dog has a bad habit of dropping very large marrow bones down her stairs (a dozen steps or so) in an effort to get the marrow out of the middle. Very easy to install, we've done ours and my sister's all ourselves. Very easy to keep clean, nothing other than a dust mop and Swiffer Wet once in a while. Highly recommended.

Answer:
I have the laminate that looks like ceramic tile,terracotta,in my kitchen and I just love it(as much as you can love a floor ).It comes in a strip of 3 12x12 tiles,very easy to install.
My whole house has hardwood underneath and we thought of refinishing it,but the mess and 3 -5 layer of varnish,plus 3 cats,made us go the other route.
Prin,bamboo is beautiful,but also 200% more expensive:(

Answer:
Yeah, true... I forget that because our house is to tiny.

Answer:
We haven't had a problem with our laminate, but also because we dry wet spots as quickly as possible. But friends of ours have laminate in their kitchen, and where the kitty water bowl is, the laminate gets wet everyday, and it has a visible hill from swelling.

Answer:
I LOVE it!! We have solid oak floors (refinished twice ) and the damage from cats, dogs (dog sitting) and a child, was unbelieveable!!
We put laminate right over it! The salesman said we could always easily take it back up and go back to the Oak once the child and pets are gone ( yes my child will eventualy leave home, but I will NEVER be without a pet or two )

Check Home Depot, they have some beautiful laminate (some of it looks real cheap) but some it gorgeous!!
as for the swelling when wet, the newer stuff is treated (also you can buy stuff to treat the seams yourself if not) at the seams, so you won\t have that problem.

It's sooooo easy to care for, and the cats and child have not marked it at all

Also if you get sick of it, it's really easy to take back up and put in a different room or sell it

Answer:
My laminate in the kitchen are,like I said wide boards of 3 12x12 tiles and I have no swelling,not even where the cats waterbowl is,but I have a plate under the bowl.

Answer:
Oh I forgot to mention, some dogs have trouble walking on it, if they were not raised with it. My BIL got the stuff Chico has (ceramic look laminate) in the kitchen and his Akita will not walk on it to this day He has carpet runners going across the kitchen, so his dog can at least get across it.
He has had it for about 3 years now.

You may want to take your dogs to a friends or family members who have laminate, just to se how your dogs react!

Answer:
We got our laminate flooring from home depot, I love it!!! At some point during the day there are 6 fair sized dogs(50 - 75lbs) in my house and it hasn't been damaged at all

Answer:
I think what helps dogs walk on it properly is if you keep their nails short and furry toes trimmed. Dogs have a tendancy to want to "dig in" when they feel an unstable surface. This worked well on the oak stairs we installed so we had to put in a carpet runner to prevent the puppies from killing the steps. The laminate doesn't have any "give" in it at all, so the dogs try to "dig" in to get a better grip, but they can't, so they start to panic (and that's when you get the catroon-ish scrambling going on). If their nails are kept short enough, and if you trim the fur on the bottom of their paws (if need be), then their pads can actually get a grip and they don't feel as unsure about the surface. Then again, some dogs just don't like it at all, so you might need a few strategically placed area rugs (like little islands of safety) to keep them happy.

Answer:
Thanks so much to all of you. I guess I can go shopping now.

Answer:
We had laminate downstairs and it was great with our puppy. It wasn't too expensive either. Unfortunetely we had a flood because of a sump pump failure and ruined 90% of it. during one of those freak rainstorms that dumped 7 inches last thanksgiving. (one of those things that may happen one in a million). But it is nice stuff and is usually scratch resistant.

Answer:
we recently put the $.99/sq ft laminate in from copps. we love it. but it does bubble at the seams if it's wet for a long time. it was a bit of a pickle to install, but sure beats carpeting!

Answer: