As long as they have a protected coating you should be good, although I had a custom cabinet maker do the coating and it changed my white cabinets to off white but if you're going with a manufactured cabinet you should be fine. Just clean exteriors every couple of months with Murphy's oil soap and spot clean with mr clean pads.

Don't do the painting yourself or you will have chips, etc.
If Joseph and I were doing the painting you'd hit a home run!
Regards,
Karen & Joseph
for Decorative Philosophy

I love my white cabinets and find that even with my two active dogs they always look so fresh and crisp. The secret is to spot wipe when you see a mark. I believe my white kitchen is a lot cleaner than my previous one as I certainly didn't wipe my darker cupboard doors on such a regular basis (guilty admission). Go with white, you will be delighted to see how lovely your kitchen looks and they really are easy to maintain.

I agree with Kruden. The protective coating should protect your cabinets from most cases. However you can never get around dogs chewing up the wood or deliberately scratching. You will get wear and tear on any kind of finish eventually. another option would be to use a distressed or antique finish that already has a worn look. This is a vanity that we had custom built and painted for one of our clients.

I have a wild dog, we are hard on our house.... I painted min white a few years back. Still LOVE LOVE LOVE it. You will too!!! Like others said, do protective coat.