Well, we put in rustic oil-finished engineered hardwood. It is the kind that is wirebrushed and has knots and gauges in it. I love it. You can't see scratches.

We installed natural hickory 6 years ago & had 2 (now 1) 40 lb. dogs whose nails I don't keep up with. The light patterned hickory hides the scratches well when looking over the floor, but I can see all the scratches when staring down at it in the light. The hickory is hard, but the scratches are in the finish. With the light color & knot pattern, I am still extremely happy with the floor. The traffic area thru the kitchen is worse, because we wear shoes in the house. I was told at the time that light wood with a pattern is better at hiding scratches. Luckily I like light wood & love the hickory in my ranch house, but I am sure it is not for everyone,

Hardwoof Flooring by Nydree.

https://nydreeflooring.com/hardwoof-flooring/

I have a part Mexican Jumping Bean, a.k.a. Jack Russell that jumps 3 feet high. Our oak floors are holding up. Yes they get scratched but in my opinion, it adds to the warm and lived charm of my home.

It is the finish on the floor that takes a beating with dogs I have 2 big dogs have seen the damage in my clients homes from dogs and hardwood so went with a laminate in this house that looks like slate 10 yrs later still loks like new , we also put vinyl plank in our walk out where the dogs have a free access dog run same length of time mop and its good to go.

Wood look tile or vinyl plank that mimics wood are your best options if you're worried about scratching. Otherwise hickory will be one of the strongest and affordable woods on the market.

Customers had good experience with hand textured Hickory floor finished with a flat uv oil floor. Like this one here.

MILLENNIUM HICKORY OILED STRIP

I know low gloss is all the rage....but people have issues with oily paw prints showing up with matte polyurethane finishes. The Hardwax oil finishes have had issues with DOG DROOL turning gray/brown/staining.

Personally I LOVE a light/natural coloured floor (like hickory or character grade white oak) that has lots of movement (no stain) in a satin or semi-gloss finish. A factory finish SOLID hardwood is a great option as the factory finishes are often made using aluminum Oxide or ceramic infused nanobeads = SUPER TOUGH finish (hard to scratch).

The LIGHT/natural gold tones are VERY forgiving.

The MODERATE gloss levels like satin and semi-gloss are VERY forgiving.

The FACTORY FINISHES with either Aluminum Oxide or Ceramic infused polyurethane are VERY tough.

So....simply ADD all those qualities together and you get this type of purchase:

Solid prefinished (aka factory finished) natural hardwood (no stain) in a satin or semi-gloss (personal choice). That's what you are looking for. Have fun.

@SJMcCarthy Curious if you have a hickory manufacturer recommendation? - Thanks!

I hate the flat matte finishes. And I won't ever do oiled floors. The floor I loved from Craft Floors has a matte finish now, so I guess I have to start looking all over again. :-(

Hickory doesn't need a 'manufacturer'. The tree does all the work. Solid, site finished hickory is a stunning floor. Of course hickory is more dynamic (it moves more) than some of the other hardwoods (more than red or white oak). That means you want narrower boards.

Again, any well placed installer will have the ability to find a good hickory product that can be site finished.