# Hard wood flooring 101



## MySugarBaby (Jun 28, 2006)

Alright so we are purchasing a house and most of it is carpeted. But the living room with the fireplace is hardwood floor. It looks so beautiful and just needs a shine so we thought about keeping it rather than putting a rug over it. But we have never had hardwood floors before, they never really appealed to us before but it is just so beautiful in this new house.
So having dogs, several, what do we need to know? Will they scratch it up easy or will it be alright since we keep their nails trimmed all the time?
And what about accidents? You clean it up right away but don't you still need to use a cleaner to get the smell out? And would that be safe on the wood or would it ruin it? And would the pee go through any cracks or is there a way of sealing it?

If anyone could help educate me on hard wood floors with having dogs and how to care for it, I would appreciate it sooooo much!!


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## LitGal (May 15, 2007)

I have hardwood flooring everywhere in my condo (except the bathrooms) and it stands up very well. You wondered whether the dogs' nails would scratch the floor - I guess it would depend on how large the dog is. My malt certainly doesn't scratch the floor, but if you had a large dog it might be an issue, I'm not sure.

I housetrained my dog on hardwood floors, so there were many accidents. I soak them up and clean the area with straight vinegar then wipe with a damp paper towel. I've had absolutely no problems. My floors are old, but were re-finished before I moved in about a year ago; if the finish on your floors is worn, you might want to consider having them re-done so that accidents don't soak in.

Hardwood floors are absolutely wonderful - enjoy.


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## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

I hv hardwood in alot of my house too.
I am always ready to hear about how to keep the pee







from ruining them.
Don't worry about every little scratch, just keep them from having water or liquids stsnding on them.
I used to worry about any dents from heels or other imperfections but those floors hold up really good and besides those floors look beautiful in any condition. Styles are all over the map with them.









Plus I think they are more comfortable to stand on than tile!


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## MySugarBaby (Jun 28, 2006)

The flooring is beautiful but it does need a good shine. We will probably have it sealed and finished before we move in.

We do have Daisy who is a bigger dog, a border collie mix. I guess we will really have to watch her when she is in this room because she loves running through out the house but she tends to dig her claws in when she is running. So we will have to make sure she doesn't do any running in this particular room.

So the vinegar is safe to use on the flooring and it gets rid of the smell and stops it from staining, correct?
How often would you say that you have to get the flooring re-finished?

Thanks so much for the advice!! I appreciate it very much as this is new for us!!


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

I have wood flooring all over my house my husband hates carpet so he didnt want any part of it. Nemo doesn't scratch up the floor at all, but he does slide on it







and that can cause Luxating Patella from ..
When he runs sometimes he can't stop did u ever see a cartoon where someone or something is running and can't stop well thats Nemo. You really need to watch them and be careful they dont hurt themselves..
Andrea


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## THE GiZ&THE CHAR (Dec 14, 2006)

I don't have wood floor at my house. What I do have is tile that "looks" like wood floor. It's really cool. My boyfriend has wood floor at his house (his parents house) and whenever I take Gizmo and CHarlie over, they tend to slide on the floor alot. The floors at his house are kinda messed up though. Some parts are lefted because the pipes undernearth the floors or something leaked by the kitchen faucet. When they run especially, they go sliding and like they're legs are gonna split. So like I found Nemo mentioned, becareful.


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

I have wood floors, and when Perri first came he was confined to the living room. I rolled the floor rug up before he came, so he wouldn't ruin it with potty accidents, so everything went on the wood. I always used Nature's Miracle to clean his accidents up from the floors and it got the smell up and didn't harm the flooring at all. As far as scratching, the tiny nails of Malts and Yorkies won't do anything, but if you're concerned about your big dog's nails, I've seen little rubber nail caps you can put on them if it becomes a problem.


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