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[patticakes]

We have two dogs. A large yellow lab who sheds constantly and a small white terrier and we're getting ready to replace some flooring which presently has Berber carpet. I'm thinking I'd like to have wood floors but don't know the advantages or disadvantages with our situation. We also have four out of the five of us with pretty severe allergies. What do you think and what has been your experience?

[Fressa]

I have a ton of allergies and always have a big German Shepherd that sheds all year.( Our last one was a long coat so it took the shedding to a new level.) When we bought our older home it had carpet in every room. My allergist recommended that we get rid of that and go with hardwood, laminate or ceramic tile. I took his advice and my favorite floors are the laminate or engineered wood floors. They are easy to maintain and take a beating with dog nails and water spills. I bought wool runners and area rugs for certain rooms. The hardwood floors don't seem to tolerate as much traffic with dogs or spills. The ceramic is my second favorite because I use the Hann Steamer to clean it and it's a breeze.

Some dogs have to get acclimated to the laminate floors as well as the hardwood. It just depends on the dog. I put a small rug at the top and bottom of the steps for her and then she was fine.

I did notice instantly that as each room was rid of the carpet I could breath so much better! My eyes weren't itching as much, etc. It's amazing what a difference that it made for me.

I did carpet the family room because it is on the ground floor and gets cold in the winter. Now, I'm sorry that I didn't just put ceramic tile down there and some area rugs.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[k9mama]

We have had between two and four large dogs for the past ten years, and currently have three (hence the nickname!). All human family members have allergies and asthma.

When we moved into our home, we removed all carpeting, and replaced it with laminate flooring (Pergo). It has held up VERY well, and is easy to clean and maintain. We do have a few area rugs, as well.

Parts of our home have hardwood floors, and I feel like they are more easily damaged by the dogs' nails. We have one room with ceramic tile, but the dogs are very seldom in there.

Best of luck, and enjoy your dogs!

[patticakes]

Thanks, so far the responses are so helpful. I forgot about the asthma. Two kids have it, as well. I haven't looked at the engineered wood. How is that different? We would probably get some area rugs, as well. If you don't mind, about how much can we expect to pay for engineered wood installed? Fortunately, we do have bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room with tile so we wouldn't have to do the whole house.

[Fressa]

I'm just hearing the term engineered wood but my impression is that it is some type of hybrid. I haven't researched it because I don't need floors. Lots of other projects but not the floors.

When I purchased our floors the installation was included in the price. That was years ago. There are different grades of laminates sold at home improvement stores, furniture and carpet stores. Check the guarantees and bring a few samples home. Installation will probably vary depending on the selection and store but for budgeting purposes I would figure between 20-30%. I would not pay more than that because it is not as difficult as installing carpet.

Hope this helps you.

[mousiegirl]

I put in hardwood when we moved here precisely due to all of the animals shedding, I was in rescue, and allergies. If a cat gave up a hairball on the wood floor, no problem, on a carpet, big problem. Have a good vacuum handy as you will see whatever debris is on the floor immediately as opposed to a carpet. You will know where your dog is as you will hear the clickity click of their nails.

[Kachina624]

The latest thing in practical flooring is vinyl plank. They are almost indistinguishable from hardwood but can be scrubbed like vinyl. I was watching an episode of House Hunters and the buyer asked a question about the ""hardwoods"". The realtor told him it was vinyl. I put cork in my house a few years ago and it's been a disaster with my 3 big dogs. I wish I'd waited until the vinyl hit the market. I'd love to have it. It's perfect for dogs and allergies.

[RedTop]

My husband has COPD, both daughters have asthma, and the only pet we have in the house is a chinchilla. We got rid of all carpet nearly 10 years ago; all bedrooms, hallway and living room have laminate, bathrooms, kitchen and dining room have ceramic tile. We all noticed an immediate difference once the carpet was gone, in terms of breathing, sneezing, headaches, and how we felt overall. It is much easier to control the dust inside the house, and we start swiffering at one end of the house, and move through every room until we are done. Laminate flooring stands up better to inside pets than true hardwoods, as far as scratches from their nails. Even without pets, we swiffer every other day, due to visible hair and dirt on the flooring. I would expect this to be a daily job with pets. Also, once our carpet was removed, we noticed the echo factor in our home was much higher, and every sound was amplified. In your situation, you will be much more aware of the sounds your dogs make as they move throughout the house.

[Rowan123]

I've got allergies, 2 German shepherds, a cardigan welsh corgi and a cat. All 3 of the dogs are champion shedders. I've got tile in 1/2 of the house and pergo in the rest. The pergo is 10+ years hold and has held up well. If you have big dogs, I'd stay away from hardwoods as their nails will tend to scratch it. I also didn't want to have my floors refinished from time to time as you do with hardwoods. I'm planning on replacing the pergo in a year or two and right now I can't decide if I want to go with pergo again or tile. I'm leaning towards tile at this point but who knows what I'll feel like when it's time to replace it.

Getting rid of the carpet (about 15 years ago) was the best thing I ever did. I will never live in a house with carpet again.

[Slainte]

I have had four dogs over the years, a 65 lb black Lab, a 75 lb yellow Lab, a 60 lb mutt, and a toy fox terrier mix. After cleaning up too many "accidents" of various kinds, I went with Pergo laminate and have never regretted it. I do have some hardwood floors in bedrooms, but the dogs nails have scratched it up. The Pergo shows no scratches and is a breeze to clean.