Best Flooring Options for Dogs

Tap to Read ➤ Kanika Khara

Besides the food, water, resting place, etc. another important element to be considered by any dog owner is the flooring. Let's see the best flooring ideas for dogs, which will help you choose the most appropriate one for your pet.

Having a dog at home is not only a wonderful experience, but also a huge responsibility for any dog owner. As they are completely dependent on their owners, one can't afford to give them anything less than the best flooring. And when it comes to flooring for the home, one has to consider whether the dog would be comfortable walking on it.

However, with so many flooring options available, it becomes very difficult to decide a flooring that not only your family will enjoy but will also be a pleasant underfoot for your dog to walk on.

Depending upon the dog's size, health, and habits like scratching, digging, and urinating indoors, pet flooring requirements may vary.

For instance, larger dogs have more potential to damage the flooring with their nails digging in the floor, while small dogs can damage wood flooring, but not that much. Hence, before deciding what is the best flooring for your dog, consider the pros and cons of different flooring materials for dogs.

Ceramic Tile and Stone

These tiles are impervious to claw scratches and potential damage, look good throughout the year and are easy to clean, but they are not very comfortable for the pets to lie on. For older dogs, it can be slippery, causing pain and injury to their joints.

Bamboo flooring

Solid wood or bamboo flooring isn't very scratch or stain resistant as stone or tile, but applying a hard urethane finish can somehow understate the damage.

Moreover, some wood products come pre-finished and have the durability to withstand the damage done by claws and nails. However, they are not very comfortable for the pets to lie on, but this problem can be solved by covering a few areas with rugs or carpets.

Laminated Flooring

Though laminated floors can very well resist scratching, they can be hard and very slippery for dogs.

Hence, they are considered to be one of the most non-recommended options for people with dogs. Moreover, they are not even very comfortable to rest upon, hence one has to invest in some rugs or carpets.

The Best Flooring Option

Hardwood is a pet-friendly flooring which offers maximum benefits. They provide a smooth, flat surface, which is easy to clean without leaving any smell or trace, especially if you wipe it up soon after your pet has urinated or defecated.

However, if you have a large dog with an obsessive digging habit, you may have to worry about your hardwood flooring being scratched. In this case, you should opt for flooring made of oak and maple, the two hardest wood that can survive any kind of scratching or staining.

Choose hardwood flooring with many layers of a proven durable finish like urethane with aluminum oxide, to increase the durability and longevity of the flooring. This finish should be maintained regularly by cleaning and applying sanded and single-coated polish to restore luster that may get lost by scratching paws.

Also, hardwood flooring is not as cold as stone or ceramic tile floors, and so dogs prefer to lay on it rather than on carpets in the summer months.

Whatever flooring type you choose, you can overcome the different problems by keeping the dog's nails trimmed. And to avoid any smell or trace, sweep or vacuum the floor weekly, and wipe up any stains or spills instantly.