I meant we dont want to do the sand/stain thing with "unfinished" not "prefinished"

I dont want to give you false hope. But when i am facing a floor with pet stains i always attempt to grind out the stains first before i go and take out boards. Its basically a coin flip if they will sand out. But it can save time and money by trying to sand them out first instead of just replacing. And if you already have stains i wouldnt waste money on a temporary floor that you might just rip up once the dog passes. Just do your best to dry to catch all accidents in the meantime and then address the stains. Less money spent going this route.

Thought I would also update this thread since it popped back up. We moved into our new build 2 months ago and ended up choosing engineered wood for most of the house, except the mudroom, laundry room and their connecting long back hallway, which got tile. I can close this area off and the dogs stay here if we are gone for several hours. Their food and water is also kept in the laundry room. The floors are Duchateau - Riverstone collection - Sava color. So far they have not shown any scratches from the dogs making the crazy run to the front door when they hear the doorbell and/or fedex! The floors have a rustic look and slight texture that will make it easier to hide any scratches and dents.

As others have posted, the issue of durability for engineered floors versus solid hardwood is moot for all practical purposes. Engineered floors of medium quality have a wear layer that can be refinished at least once if not two or three times. As posted, almost no one goes through the incredible hassle of refinishing a floor while living there. Typically floors are refinished - if then - when people move in. I just replaced my wood floor during my gut remodel because refinishing it would have been a logistical nightmare. I have NO intention of ever refinishing my current engineered wood floor which is why the actual finish was important to me since that goes to the durability - engineered floors (or at least the higher quality ones) have extremely durable finishes. As recommended a light wood finish is far more forgiving than a darker wood both in terms of showing normal wear and tear as well as not showing every speck of dust. I have some inevitable dings in my floor but they are really not noticeable. I grew up with wood floors and we had dogs as well.