Engineered Hardwood v. 2 Doggies weighing 18 lbs.,each.

We loved our Provenza Antico In Stonehenge (handscraped, med tone) - The floor in the family room had many surface scratches that were visible at a certain angle.

ISO the perfect floor..... I was considering Du Chateau floors, until I read about splintering problems.

We are considering LVP in a very light or white wash color. Ivory oak, beacon oak

My 3 dogs don't add up in weight to ODD's 1 dog! The house got a lot dirtier going from 2 to 3, specially as the last one is more inclined to dig and sit/lay in dirt or wet grass outside. Dog 1 likes to throw up randomly and dog 2 is a water drooler!

Wouldn't trade any of them for pristine floors.

But Spinoni have beards, and that means drools after every drink. The drools get evenly spread around the house since Penny is an equal opportunity drooler.

Bearded breeds are so darn cute!!! Love them. <3

My Leo is beardless, but he's got a mane... And this twin-river, drool shoe-strings enjoy hanging out all down the front of his chest, when they aren't wrapped around his head after a good shake. :-/ His shoulder hits my hip, and his strings have reached the floor without snapping.

Oooooh, another argument for tile: Vinegar in a squirt bottle removes the drool pools/strings nicely, and a steam mop (my new toy!!!) removes the slime.

I’m currently having this struggle as well. We have radiant heating. Existing floors are engineered wood, tile and carpet. Our house is 30 years old and I’m certain the floor isn’t level. Stairs are wood with no skid strips on them (ugly but effective). We have a two year old white lab who sprinkles her hair everywhere and drools at the sight of food. Existing engineered floor is dark and shows every foot/paw print, hair, water droplet etc. It’s a nightmare to clean, and I have tried EVERYTHING. I can’t seem to avoid a cloudy white haze on it no matter how I clean it. So it never looks good.

My ideal floor would be a wide plank white oak or French oak look. I just don’t know what product is the best option for us. And I have about 4100 square feet of flooring, so budget will enter the discussion as well.

We have 3 dogs (100# pit/mastiff mix, 2 - 60 -75# black & tan mutts) down from 5 just recently. And 5 cats.

We put LVT in, and 5 years later I'm not noticing much wear or scratches at all. It's a matte finish, so it never looked shiny. And well, bc it's not clean 99% of the time. It is every so often for about 2.2 seconds. :)

All manner of dog (& cat) liquids, so far haven't seemed to be an issue. However, I'm almost afraid to go under the house & look from the bottom. Which I probably should do soon. Note to self.

Good luck!

I still won't rule out a wood look porcelain tile throughout the house, just need to do some serious research on the engineered wood brands that are out there first.

We used a wood look porcelain in our guest house 7 years ago and it looks great. Our tiler laid it randomly with very narrow grout. It was a good quality, straight and level tile that allowed the random pattern with no lippage. Unfortunately that style and color, a nice medium brown, was discontinued.

Having sold flooring products in the past your best options are tile or LVP. Wood is not an option!!!

Wood is still an option for most. Majority of my house is wood right now and I have surface scratches. Surface scratches in certain areas aren't a reason to give up on a whole flooring type.

In ten years time the dogs might not be around, but the flooring will still be there. I would rather have the wood floors and refinish them at that time ... except I would probably feel sad at erasing the memories! :-)

This is tile. Narrow mid tone grout lines blend it still further. The color variation minimizes any dirt, and the matte plus finish has just enough sheen to not show footprints. TEC PowerGrout means it never needs to be sealed.

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Is tile comparable in price for installation with wood flooring?

That's beautiful!! Might be on my list when we replace ours down the road (many miles down the road I hope!)

I have engineered hardwood in my kitchen and I too have an 80lb golden doodle. I have scratches on my beautiful floor but they were from when she was just a pup

A lot depends on the "finish" of hardwood/engineered too. High gloss, dark, and solid color will show every little water spot, dent, scratch, and dust bunny. Matte, lighter, and more multi-tone will mask much better.

Solid and engineered are synonymous to me. Both have durable species

LVP (while I like it) is still fake. It still scratches (and you'll see foam instead of wood) but you can replace each plank if needed.

Wood-look tile I also have and like - usually it won't fool anyone, but it has its place such as a patio/balcony, screen room, mud room, etc. I like it, but I wouldn't put it throughout a house as if to pretend it's wood.

Dogs are tough - if you plan to keep large dogs for many years I'd steer toward tile/carpet and just embrace the scratches in wood if you want it

I have found that my site-finished hardwood floors with high gloss, gym floor finish are wonderful with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I've had as many as 5 dogs on these floors (which don't add up to the weight of a Leonberger!) and they race around, but the floors have held up. The floors in my back hall were re-finished 19 years ago after a 2nd floor pipe burst, and we put the floors in the kitchen 16 years ago. They all look like new. The secret is the high gloss,gym floor finish - it is just a "harder" finish and make going over it with a Swifter a breeze. The stain is a mid-range brown - not light, not dark. My newest boy that I got last summer at age 5 was housebroken to a doggy door; I don't have one so his housebreaking is still a work in progress. Pees wipes up easily and has done no harm.

I must ask my Cavalier breeder friend in CT what she has on her kitchen floor - I've been there multiple times but it's been a few years and I don't remember. Two years ago, she added a lovely Leonberger female, named "Adele" to this household that has at leas 15-25 Cavaliers, including puppies, at all times, plus a few Tibetian Spaniels to liven up the mix. Adele is such a sweet, dear girl - so gentle with crazy Tibetians racing around and Cavalier puppies chewing on her and wanting to play. My friend got her to protect the dogs on her fenced 3 acres from foxes and coyotes and she is perfect for the job - gentle with her "charges" but sure keeps the varmints away!

this is why i have cats, but then we cant have any nice furniture, so they all have their plusses and minuses :)

Two years ago, she added a lovely Leonberger female, named "Adele" to this household [...] My friend got her to protect the dogs on her fenced 3 acres from foxes and coyotes and she is perfect for the job - gentle with her "charges" but sure keeps the varmints away!

Hold the phone!!! You mean someone else here not only *knows* what a Leo is, but has actually met one??? lol

Fantastic breed. :-)

this is why i have cats, but then we cant have any nice furniture, so they all have their plusses and minuses :)

lol

If my husband would let me, I'd love to have a Maine Coon. So that I could take her on walks. Maybe then, people wouldn't freak out, because right now, when people see a 100-pound chick walking a Leo, they go all stiff and their dogs go bonkers. :-( I have to walk him when no one else is out! (And yes, he properly heels at my side or slightly behind.)

200 pound Irish Wolfhound and 140 pound Mutt, both with beards. Very rural on acreage. Porcelain plank tile (except in BD's). Best decision I ever made.

200 pound Irish Wolfhound and 140 pound Mutt, both with beards.

Gorgeous! Is 200 pounds average for a Wolfie? 150 is actually small for a male Leo. :-D

We have two Great Danes and scoping out replacing the builder grade red oak floors with wood look tile. While danes are super cool dogs and we love ours they are really tough on the floors.

IMO tile is hard on our legs, feet and backs and on dogs. I have had vinyl plank in my walkout for 12 yrs with 3 dogs . 65Lbs, 7o Lbs and 125Lbs they run in and out of a dog door all day to a dog run in all kinds of weather the floor looks great with vacuuming and a damp mop. It was not expensive we put dri core under it for a bit of warmth it is Allure from HD.

Hey ODD, I also know what a Leo is and had a friend with one about 15 years ago! This one was a young female and very sweet.

@Anglophilia ah, Anne and her menagerie :) Small world, my cav had a few stays with her when we lived in NY. I did not pay attention to her floors at the time but the entire house was well kept up, would be interested to know what she went with.

After researching floors for months, I decided on an engineered pecan flooring with matte polyurethane finish (Bona Traffic HD), hopefully to be installed in a month or so. Hate the idea of cleaning grout so tile was out. Thought we would go with LVP but then seeing the actual number of repeats in an open room we decided that would drive us crazy, not to mention concerns with the LVP and sunlight (lots of large windows and FL sun...) so hardwood it is. Currently dogless, but won't stay that way for long once we get back in our house.

I got the cheapest LVT lumber liquidators had for a rental house I lived in. At the time I had three Anatolians (120lbs each), a Chesapeake bay retriever (70lbs) and three small dogs. It was phenomenal! No damage, easy to clean, didn’t make horrid noise like so many laminates. I lived there for two years after I installed it and no scratches. I would absolutely use it again

Do you have open concept or can you do a combination? We have 3 dogs and when we can’t supervise them they are gated in the tiled areas (kitchen/breakfast room/laundry room). The rest of our house is engineered wood floor - a medium brown with some distressing. We find this to be the best of all worlds but then again our home is not open concept. Here’s our gang :)

Ah, Michelle, you figured out quite quickly about whom I was talking! We've been friends now for about 34 years - met her at the first Cavalier show I ever attended. I have had two of her dogs - still have one --just wonderful! I usually see her and her husband for dinner on my way to Martha's Vineyard each year, and it's often on her husband's birthday. I'm very fond of him, too. Yes, she has quite the menagerie with the Himalayan cats thrown in! I'm particularly fond of that character, Hero and his many adventures.

I'm astounded that so many people who have replied know what breed a Leonberger is, too! I must say I think I had heard the name but had no idea what one looked like or was like, until Anne got Adele. I have yet to meet her, but she posts pictures/videos on her Facebook page often and one can see what a sweet, gentle girl Adele is.

It really is a very small world...

Anglo, the title of the thread did say "dogs", so you are getting dog lovers who also happen to need floors! As a kid I had the old big glossy dog breed books and knew every single breed, but I'm probably not the only one in this thread!

pros and cons of all floor types

https://www.flooringinc.com/blog/best-flooring-for-dogs/amp/

We put down wide plank, engineered, wire brushed, matte white oak floors 3 months ago and so far they are fantastic! We have a large poodle mix and he hasn't done any damage. The wire brushed look isn't for everyone, but I wanted a floor that could handle him and the kids without me going crazy. The floors are gorgeous to me!

luckyblueeye, can you share the brand and color of the floor you chose?

Always good to look at materials that others are testing on site! Won't be building for another year, so I can come back and ask you how they are doing in a few more months :-)

We went through a local flooring company... the brand is Tropical Flooring and my color is "ubud". The installer said it was one of the nicest ones he had put down lately, thicker wear layer than most that I saw. The same floor was through out a Parade of home house last month and they said that everyone commented on the flooring. Glue assist was needed. The online pictures don't do justice to this flooring at all, much nicer in real life.

This is the parade home, not mine.

Lucky, thank you for the information. They do look nice. I would probably want something a bit darker, but the brushed look does sound interesting and more forgiving.

It is more forgiving and the floors actually read darker in my house than in the pictures...more like a medium rather than a light.

Beautiful I love those floors. I find lighter floors hide more too

For anyone who might be following...our floors have been down for 7 months now. Our climate goes through a huge change from 100F extremely dry (desert) summer, to a snowy 5-30F winter. Zero gapping, nothing to report. The floors like exactly the same as when they were installed. 4 kids and a large dog have managed to do NO damage.

@lucky998877 what maintenance is required for the oil finish?

there's an online source for it but makes me a bit nervous...

I'm not totally sure. I read somewhere that it needs to be reapplied after so many years, but that info wasn't for these floors specifically...just for UV cured oil finished floors. The info that came with the floors said nothing. My husband is a GC so we have access to good floor people in the future if we see a need for it. So far, these floors are fabulous!

@lucky998877, I've never been a big fan of anything but dark hard woods, but your floor is beautiful and just changed my mind.

@lucky998877, do you have any pictures of the floor installed in your house? We are replacing the floors in our house as a result of a remodel and addition we're about to being. I picked up a sample of the Tropical Ubud flooring the other day and I love it but I'm unsure if the color will be too warm for our new kitchen. My husband is also concerned that his feet will hurt after walking around on it a lot since the texture is rough. Have you experienced that at all?

Tropitango, that's great! Alexagrn, my husband has total baby feet...he won't walk barefoot even on grass. The texture is visual only, you cannot feel it at all. I combined the wood floor with a gray tile at the entry and the color can go both ways. Most of my planks have a slight gray undertone (in my house). This picture shows both the tile and the wood floor.

I would think LVP (corrected) would be a good way to go with the scratch resistance and thick top layer. something like shown here http://www.ohiorubberfloorsinc.com/store/c52/Timeless_Designs_Everlasting_Collection.html

Does anyone have wood looking tile throughout their whole house? is it necessary to have radiant heat with tile or will it otherwise always feel cold? (I am barefoot a lot and don't like cold).

@Tom those are LVP not engineered.

rjinga, that would really depend on your climate and the location of the tile, either on a slab, crawlspace or over finished space. In the northeast radiant would be a good idea under tile, again depending on the construction, but in Florida, not worth the additional cost and not really needed.

Do you have tile in your bathrooms now? Does it feel much colder than whatever hard flooring you have in other rooms? If you think it feels much colder, then you should probably plan for some radiant heat.

tile is very cold imho underfoot. I would much prefer LVP or engineered. I have tile entry and dining room [which is open to our kitchen so used daily].

Tile is also very hard on the back and legs in a kitchen where you stand a lot. We had tile in our old house and LVP in the new and I notice I can go in a cooking spree now without pain. That’s one of the reasons I chose LVP and the difference is amazing. LVP over wood (which I love) is also great in our snowy climate with three big dogs who are in and out through the dog door constantly. We have radiant heat and though the tile in our bathrooms conducts better, LVP conducts very nicely. Actually carpet in the bedrooms conducts the worst, but fortunately have good zoning and can up the temp in those areas.

@lucky998877 this thread is two years old, but looking into your floors and wondering if you still love them?

@tchfreedom Absolutely love them! And so does everyone who comes over and sees them for the first time. They still look exactly same as when they were installed.

Thank you so much @lucky998877! I really appreciate the reply and will try to see them in person. I've looked at too many...

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.

so pretty!!