If you’re in the market for new flooring, you’ve probably had many thoughts on what type of flooring is best for you. A lot goes into making the final decision. What’s the best selection for the room? What will have the best wearability? What is your personal preference?

But if you have big dogs, dogs that are 100, 125, even 150 pounds or more, there is a lot more to consider before making that final decision.

What’s the best flooring for big dogs?

While personal preferences still reign, there are a few recommendations we can make based on what we’ve heard from fellow big dog owners.

Hardwood

As much as Coloradans love hardwood flooring, if you have big dogs, its something to consider. Most hardwoods have softer textures, meaning they are easier scratched than other flooring choices. When a 150 pound dog walks across the floor day in and day out, you will begin to notice the evidence rather quickly. If hardwood is still your choice, factory finishes do offer a level of protection. When refinishing, make sure you use several layers of polyurethane as a coating – you can get a similar finish that will match what is used with laminates. While not perfect, they do protect better than other types of finish.

Laminate

Laminate tends to be one of the best choices for big dogs, if you want to keep the wood look throughout your home, because of its hardness and its protective coating. It has scratch resistance built in, and is a very durable and easy to maintain product. However, keep in mind that laminate does have a slippery surface, which can make it difficult for big dogs – especially older dogs – to get up off the floor. Warping can also be an issue if your dog splashes water from the dog bowl, or drools throughout your home and the water isn’t cleaned up in a timely manner.

Ceramic

Ceramic tile is another great choice for big dog owners. Ceramic tile provides a hard surface that will withstand all kinds of daily abuse. When choosing ceramic tile, make sure you take into consideration how much time your dog will spend on the surface. Tile can be slippery when getting up and moving around, so its important to pick a tile that has a duller and easier to grip surface. Dogs do love the cool surface of tiling when the weather turns warm.

Carpet

Carpet and dogs have their issues. However, especially with an older big dog, carpeting is soft to the touch, easy to lie on, and easy to get up and move around on. If you do use carpeting in a room frequented by your big dog, keep in mind that you will have to clean it more frequently than you would in normal circumstances. A daily vacuum run will pick up debris and dirt tracked in from paws. A regular cleaning schedule will get rid of odors and stains that can grow rapidly simply from daily use. And keep in mind that you will be replacing your carpets on a much sooner time schedule than you would under normal conditions.