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Opinions please

Blueroses

Well-known member
You may think this a strange thing to ask, but I am about to replace hall, stairs and top landing carpet which is badly in need of it I might add. I purposely left it be knowing I was bringing a puppy into the home, but now Alfie is 6 months old, has been housetrained for months, I feel I can take the plunge. My question is this, although I shall carpet the stairs and landing, I was wondering about having a wooden hall flooring or certainly laminate, for the sheer ease of cleaning as this is the main thoroughfare in and out of the house and into all the rooms. BUT, I know how their paws slip and slide on shiny surfaces, and I dont want him to hurt himself when he has his 'mad half hours'. Carpet would give grip but also get dirty very quickly. What have been your choices when replacing flooring taking into account this is going to be an expensive job either way ? !

Thank you for your feedback ( in anticipation )
Diana
 
Personally, I wouldn't have wood flooring - too easy to pull muscles running on a slippery surface (not very good for humans either, if you are visited by elderly people a bit unsteady on their legs). But if you have carpet, why not have a good size Turtle mat just inside the front door? They absorb dirt very well - specially made for muddy paws! - and can then be bunged in the washing machine and put back down very quickly. They have a wide range of colours and designs and last for ever - mine is by the garden door and shows no signs of wear after 7 years of muddy paws (and feet!) and regular washing. Google 'Turtle mats' and you should find them.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Thank you Kate, I'll go and look at that now



Personally, I wouldn't have wood flooring - too easy to pull muscles running on a slippery surface (not very good for humans either, if you are visited by elderly people a bit unsteady on their legs). But if you have carpet, why not have a good size Turtle mat just inside the front door? They absorb dirt very well - specially made for muddy paws! - and can then be bunged in the washing machine and put back down very quickly. They have a wide range of colours and designs and last for ever - mine is by the garden door and shows no signs of wear after 7 years of muddy paws and regular washing. Google 'Turtle mats' and you should find them.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Our whole house is timber floors (new Zealand boxwood) except for the bedrooms. Brooky does slide around a fair bit when she is chasing something or running around, buy is much better when we trim up the bottom of the pads on her feet.

I have a few area rugs about too which break it up. I love the look of hardwood...but it can be slippery (not to mention cold in the winter!). I like breaking up carpet with wood/tile/etc too...but it so personal! Carpet is more cozy, but area rugs and runners also help with that too.

Oh fun, I love projects like these and nothing beats fresh new carpet to snuggle into!
 
Our entire house has wood floors, so that is all Sonny has ever known. He slips a little bit during his crazy hour when he is running around, but during this time I usually try to take him outside to run around. I agree that if you have wood putting down an area rug can be great to break up the area. If you are thinking of wood in the hall, you could get a runner rug for the space to break up the wood area. Good Luck!!! I'm sure what ever you do will look great. House projects are so fun!!!:-D
 
If you wanted wood flooring there is a special clear paint you can get which keeps the floors from being slippy. I don't remember what it is called. It was advertised in your dog magazine.
 
If you wanted wood flooring there is a special clear paint you can get which keeps the floors from being slippy. I don't remember what it is called. It was advertised in your dog magazine.

I have seen this in Your Dog Magazine. I will look it up later.
 
We have all wood floors with area rugs in some rooms, and only wall-to-wall carpet in the family room. Sophie manages quite well and I keep the fur between her paw pads trimmed for better traction. It really hasn't been a problem for us, nor our previous dogs. I like the wood, as when I vacuum I know I'm getting all the dirt, dust and dog hair up, which is important for my allergies. Carpet traps that stuff like velcro and even the best vacuum cleaner cannot get it all. It all comes down to personal preference. If you don't have allergies, it's not as important.
 
Personally, I wouldn't have wood flooring - too easy to pull muscles running on a slippery surface (not very good for humans either, if you are visited by elderly people a bit unsteady on their legs). But if you have carpet, why not have a good size Turtle mat just inside the front door? They absorb dirt very well - specially made for muddy paws! - and can then be bunged in the washing machine and put back down very quickly. They have a wide range of colours and designs and last for ever - mine is by the garden door and shows no signs of wear after 7 years of muddy paws (and feet!) and regular washing. Google 'Turtle mats' and you should find them.

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Agree with Kate. When we first got our little monsters our intention was to put wooden floors down. In view of some of the joint problems Molly developed, we felt she had enough to deal with without a wooden floor.
 
I have wooden flooing through out my whole flat.. It was here when I bought it and haven't got money to out carpets down but I do agree that hard floors can be hard for dogs to cope with so I have comprimised with a very large rug in the liing room so they have traction with jumping on and off the sofas (although they have steps to get on too) and one in the bedrooms too so they can get on and off the bed with out slipping.

Ruby wouldnt be with out the cold floors in the summer though! Her favorite place to stretch out is in the kitchen on the tiles!
 
We have hardwood flooring and tile throughout the house, with some area rugs. The dogs seem to do just fine and don't slip and slide- even my girl with SM. What I like is that it's so much easier to clean than carpeting-- both hair and if anyone has an accident (and at 6 months I would wager that there may still be a few potty accidents in your future! :)) I used to have carpet in my bedroom and it never felt totally clean to me, even after I had just run the vac over it. If you have a choice, I would hands-down say hard wood flooring.
 
I agree that area rugs are the way to go. We provide a pathway of area rugs for Nalu to run around the house. My husband came home recently to find diarrhea everywhere and he dragged the rugs outside and hosed them off. Easier than cleaning carpeting.
 
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