there is no laminate or wood flooring in existance that I know of that is warrentied for pet claw abuse.

use at your own risk.

I only want suggestions as I am sure there are some out there better than others....I had heard quick step uniclick laminate was a good product. I will have an area rug over part of it, Any ideas?

I have laminate in the downstairs area, it is Pergo brand and with 2 goldens, it has been a good floor. No scratches, but I do keep the nails trimmed up. My dogs have a hard time sitting, as their feet slide. I have 2 other rooms with ceramic tile and I love the tile!

If I had to do it over again, I would install ceramic vs laminate

Barb

We had laminate with our golden for 8 years. It took some getting use to at first because he did slide on it a lot. He would always sit on the rug when he wanted to scratch himself because if he tried doing it on the laminate he would slide right onto his face!*L*
We loved the laminate floor. So easy to take care of. We would drop things on it and nothing would happen. Our Golden's nails never hurt the floor and there were plenty of times we said to ourselves "if that just happened with real wood floors, the floors would be ruined." The laminate we had was made by Formica. I don't know if Formica is making laminate floors anymore, but at the time, they were the only manufacture that would warranty their floor for bathroom use. We did not put it in the bathroom, but we thought it must be a good product if they warranty it near water. It was a great product, we loved it.

Laminate floors are associated with hip concerns in dogs, mainly large dogs.

Thank you all for your info on laminates.

Before you blame laminates on hip dysplasia in dogs I think you should look at whether or not your puppy came from a breeder with clearances from the sire and dam. These are (Orthopedic Foundation of America) OFA's hips and elbows, heart and finally eyes done annually. Also, ask if the breeder is actively involved in conformation or agility, hunting, tracking, or obedience. Is the breeder a member of a local club or National one??...Did the breeder sign a code of ethics. Is the puppy sold with a contract and Limited NON breeding AKC registration? Finally, is the new family educated as to the amount of exercise that puppy should or should not have and at what age could it be increased on the advice of their breeder. This is where I would look before I placed blame on flooring.

Just my 2 cents.

Debbie

True, it may bring it on faster, but I wasn't talking about that condition. I'm talking about torn ligaments and pulled muscles and even dislocation. It is like your playing tennis and do the splits. If your like me, I can't do the splits!!!

This has sort of gone OT, but I just want to reassure hunter21 that flooring type has nothing to do with hip dysplasia. This is not a condition that is "brought on," it is genetic, and possibly developmental. Also, for a dog to slip on a laminate floor, and that to result in a cruciate tear or other similar damage, there would almost certainly have been some sort of abnormality already present. And for a hip to dislocate or a hip ligament to tear, it'll take more than a slippery floor! That is just misinformation, though very likely well intended.

Slippery floors are tough as dogs get older, but that is another story.

As far as your floor surviving a herd of goldens, I have no advice!

We had a very large older dog and we installed laminate flooring. He never could get used to it. He simply could not walk or sit on it, so we ended up with carpet runners everywhere so he could walk without hurting himself. I wouldn't recommend laminate with dogs.

We have laminate with greyhounds in the house and occassionaly dogsit others when needed. If the dog has phobias/dislikes about certain floors to begin with they will automatically not like the laminate and try to grab it to get a grip which leads to bambi on ice scenarios. Most dogs will understand the slippery nature of it once they slip once or twice but it really depends on the dog.

Each dog is a little different in regards to laminate and how they perceive it. Our female had no problems at first till she slipped a few times and then was deftly afraid of it. She got to the laminate and would try to run across it to hurry up and get to a rug or carpeted area which would lead to slipping. We had to teach her to slow down (held her collar as we walked her across it), if she tried to hurry/run we would stop her and basically restart her. She is now used to it and walsk on it fine but still not trusting (won't go fast). My other grey blasts across it with ease and knows how to slow down on it (extends paws and slides but does not fall). Others have associated only certain areas as being slippery and won't walk in that area but has no problem anywhere else. Many more fall once and understand it's not like carpet and adjust accordingly.

I would say if you go with laminate that you should look into getting one with a true wood texture which will help a little. Columbia Castille Clic line has a hand carved texture which isn't as slick as typical cheap laminate, the same goes for the fairly expensive Wilsonart Red Label hand scrapped/distressed line and the DuPont trutouch series - quick step is also a very good company as someone suggested to you already. I don't think you would have any issues with a herd of goldens on laminate in regard to durability so long as you stick with a product that is rated at least AC3.

Since you stated you need to withstand water also, you may be better off with vinyl flooring instead of laminate. Laminate is not water proof, so you would need to make sure you wipe up the water. Those wet footprints will show up on laminate rather easily so you would need to use a damp swiffer to erase them if you don't do it right away. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Amtico vinyl flooring

Hi, I stumbled on this link searching for ways to help my dogs. We too live in S.W. Florida and have laminate flooring in most of the house, we also have a pool. I haven't had a problem with the wet dogs and the laminate flooing yet, although my dogs have a hard time sitting on the floor as their back legs start slidding out from under them. Also, when they are getting up from the laying position, they have no traction and their back legs slide out sideways from them and it takes awhile for them to get up. My husband and I have often wondered if this will cause hip problems, it looks painful.

Our Corgi didn't mind laminate one bit, but they're a much different shape than a Golden.

The Witex we installed was impregnated with wax, as many brands are, and does a very good job at resisting the water that might otherwise seep into the seams. (It doesn't stand up to carpet cleaner soaking into it overnight, though.)

The surface of the laminates will stand up to the dogs nails quite well. Consumers Reports had tests that proved as much.

Good luck.