Poorly trained animals.

Once a dog is correctly trained the only 'accidents' should be if the animal gets sick and simply has no choice.

Dogs will typically try to find a spot not in their 'living space.' A room they are not generally allowed in, or a part of the house they rarely visit (like a basement).
It all depends on where they have access.

Well trained cats are about the same.
They will try as hard as they can to use their litter box.

Neither dogs nor cats understand the 'door knob principle.'

Yes, and pets age like we all do and there comes a time when even the best trained pet becomes incontinent.

I lived with cats all my life; sometimes too many (not my choice). Fortunately we now have a daughter who is allegic to cats, so we won't be getting any more of those. We may be getting a small "shedless" dog in the near future. That won't be an issue for me, as I have gone on record as "not the person who will walk, feed or cleanup after the beast." lol

Training is a must for an inside pet but what about the residue wet or dirty spot since critters don't "wipe"? Doesn't this get blotted on the carpet or couch? I guess this begins straying beyond the purpose of the flooring forum. I have no pets now, a breather from having LOTS of pets growing up, but I'm still remodeling with tile and laminate floors instead of carpet. Carpet is really nice in the winter but it's sooo hard to keep clean. Hopefully I can use rugs in areas I want to flop out on the floor to read, play games, or watch a movie. Hopefully I'll be glad I did the tile but boy is it a trial to put down!

"what about the residue wet or dirty spot since critters don't "wipe"?"

Keep the fur trimmed.

My only statement to johnorange is this. I would rather be in a room right after a dog had diarrhea than be in a room with many humans that I have seen live. So give the pet a break, they do pretty darned good for not having a formal education. Most times when the pet is a hog, its because they are owned by bigger hogs.

Different people are squeamish about different things, but the reality is that there are germies everywhere, and yet, you never hear about an outbreak of "doggie-butt illness" going through the human population. Perhaps it would be more prevalent if more people were in the habit of licking their couches and carpets. If some pet-rear-residue makes contact with the backside of my jeans, it's unlikely to make me sick.

As far as the aesthetics go, it's true that pets create wear and tear and damage. So do children. It's about trade-offs, like most everything in life.

For me personally, not even the prettiest and most pristine floor could have kept me company as well as my kitty did when I was on bedrest with my first pregnancy, lonely, and bored out of my mind.

We are putting laminate in for, scratches etc. . Found a great lam that looks and feels like wood. Would I rather have wood, yes. Would I give up my two dogs, no.

Our last house had wood and the dogs didn't scratch it, my husband did moving things to the basement!

Pet damage is far and away the biggest cause of problems we see. May be 50% of the houses we work on have some form of damage caused by them. I'm about to final finish a job in which the wood floors were covered with urine spots. Perfectly good wood otherwise. The total cost for the 700' replacement? $9,625.00.
You judge.

Pets should live outside because of "respiratory illnesses"? I have no idea what you are talking about.

I agree with the post that says it is a trade-off. I have a cat and two young children. The children cause way more damage to my miles of cherry hardwood and carpet than the cat. But I love them and won't get rid of them :).

Cats (can't really speak for dogs) can vomit hairballs on carpet (which is very staining) and can also scratch carpet --- mine does both. He doesn't really damage my hardwood in any way.

Anyhow, my carpet is 12 years old so I really don't care as much -- I am more concerned with creating a wonderful childhood for my kids and pets are a part of that. Children remember the pets they had as kids not how pristine the carpet was in their childhood home.

Anyhow, I have no experience with pet urine on flooring which is another matter.

As far as pets not wiping, me thinks you are being a bit of a germ-a-phobe about that. Pets have existed in homes for a hundred years and no one I know has gotten sick from their couch because of this.

Those who put laminate floors in for scratches and other things that can happen when pets occupy a residence realize that these 'damages' will in all likelihood happen. They are being smart...they are putting in a less costly disposable flooring alternative. When the pets have had their use of the floor...and it is trashed...it easily goes into the trash and they buy a new one!

We're getting wood laminate because I have seen what toe-nails do to real wood. We've had laminate in our current home for 5 1/2 years and it still looks great. As far as dog and cat booties being nasty, if we cared, we wouldn't own pets. Besides that, being "too clean" can make you more prone to health problems. I also have horses, and to me, horse poop is a comforting smell. LOL It's all relative...

Vonda

Dogs are social creatures and do not do well alone outside. The dogs that I have seen that are kept outside, either bark at everything out of boredom, or stare into the house wondering why they are exiled.

"pets age like we all do and there comes a time when even the best trained pet becomes incontinent."

even the best trained humans...

ok, going outside to live now...

Ha! Very funny.

We have 1,000 square feet of laminate on the lower level of our house and I hate it. The dogs (Afghan Hounds) cannot get a footing on the darn stuff and slip and slide all over the place. I have runners, carpets, and mats everywhere so they can get across the floor to their dog door.

We've also had problems with the seams opening, and corners chipping. And it was professionally installed and a high-grade laminate. I look forward to the day I can justify taking it out.

This flooring option is acceptable for some, for others it is not. It is in the 'disposable' category, in my professional opinion.

I can't understand the laminate vs. hardwood! I DO understand the cost difference and why people choose laminate for that reason but, if one can afford hardwood and then CHOOSE laminate over the wood I just don't get it!! Hardwood is a "renewable" product!! It can be sanded and coated again and again; some 50-100 yr. old homes still have the original wood in them! And laminate you just throw away?? We had a dog on our hickory floor in our previous home but she was trained to lay on a dog bed while in the house. Sure we had some scratches but not bad enough to throw the floor away!!!

I have a dog and he is very well trained - BUT - there have been a couple of times that while I was not home he did get sick.
Accidents happen - but you clean them up
As for dog butt on the couch, rugs etc. have you noticed on TV (Dr. oz and a few others) how new clothes in retail stores - including underwear is contaminated with fecal and urine matter???? I haven't seen anything on the furniture, rugs, bedding we buy - but I would guess that there is a bit of contanimation of household items too. And lets not forget about the hotel rooms we go into - it's loaded w/contaminents!

I do agree w/you on how some pet owners are not responsible and could care less the damage thier animals do to thier homes. I have a few friends that I won't even go into thier homes because of thier pets.

These people with damaged wood floors - is it because they don't clean up the pets mess?

Would I buy a house where there were dogs/cats? I'd have to think twice, even though I am a dog owner.

I have a friend that her 4 large dogs and 5 cats just destroyed her house, did it bother her? NO...

As for pets being kept outside - doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a pet? Arent' they supposed to be our companion? I do not believe in having pets kept outdoors.

VONDA - Funny, I too don't think horse poop smells! but I have a horse. Dog hair on my clothes bothers me, but horse hair doesn't phaze me.

I have to believe that carpet doesn't go well with pets or kids. We have 3 kids and currently 2 dogs and 3 cats. 2 horses, but they aren't allowed in the house. Messes do happen, especially during puppy training days. I always clean-up immediately and thoroughly with an enzyme product, but it never does feel truly clean. I get the carpet steam cleaned with a truck mounted system 2 times a year, and that helps. After my Mom died, I ended up with her cat. She just couldn't adjust to her new living environment, and cat box! Never had an issue at my Mom's house, but big problem at mine. Finally I had to turn her into an outdoor only cat. But the 2 stains that won't come out were caused by adults. Red wine from my husband, and coffee from my Mom. Now the kids are older, puppies are trained, and bad cat is out, hubby and I aren't incontinent yet, Yeah! I can't wait to rip out this carpet!!! We do want wood, not laminate. But I don't know if it will handle the abuse. Kids and animals are a big part of my life. Can we have wood floors too?

fun2cook,

Yes, you can!!! Keep in mind you will have scratches but like you said, cleaning up spills when they happen is the best. We wouldn't have any other floor; it is so easy to care for; swifer and then mop lightly with whatever your installer recommends. In a few years it can be sanded and recoated and it will look brand new!! Carpet is just a dirt catcher unless you have strict rules about taking your shoes off and no pets!!

Fun2cook, yes you can have wood floors. The initial investment is higher, but you will not have to worry with traffic, dings, scratches, pets, kids, etc.
Our kids are now teens, but 4 years ago, we put in an engineered unfinished wood veneer floor with a 6mm veneer. Being unfinished allowed it to be hand scraped, stained and coated on site. It was a strange process to watch (get it pretty wet with sponge mop to soften wood, then 3 guys scrape in unison, 18"-2' at a time).
The wood gouges differently in each board. I went with heavy scraped but you can do light or medium scrape as well.
Between everything my kids are in to, football, wrestling, music (think friends and their amplifiers coming and going)scooting furniture (they scoot while sitting rather than pick up a chair) dogs and cats, it takes LOTS of abuse.
We went this way after a smooth plank floor (3mm veneer) and carpet that just got worn out after 2-3 years from traffic, kid toys, gouges thru the veneer, and water from a toilet overflow (ran out the bathroom).
We recently (April 2010) had an interior hot water heater go out and empitied its contents onto a portion of the floor. So much so that two bedrooms in that hallway had to have new carpet. It also went under a wall and into my master bath (marble) and closet (carpet) which carpet was ruined. The MDF built in shelving soaked up the water and crumbled (new maple built-in closet going in today-cabinet maker made it for the same cost as ripping it out, repainting, and having trim man come and re-do what we had with mdf. It was also half what those closet system people for same layout. We did out own tear-out and paining.
Anyhoo, the wood floor was completely undamaged. Even the eurathane didn't lift. Nor did it seep through cracks or where carpet met wood (surprised at that).
It is more expensive in the outlay of dollars, but the ding from a helmet facemask, or scratch from piano bench (before pads) are covered by tinted markers or sharpie.
I looked in to putting it into the 2 bed rooms but it does run about $10 a foot. Plus, those rooms would have to have a leveling compound which ran it about 11ish a foot. With the hot water heater being replaced (we went gas tankless from a local independant plumber-not a national chain) and a new front door (another saga in itself), we just couldn't swing it. So we went with Shaw low pile tuftex carpet.
The product we used is shamrock plank flooring. It comes in several woods, pre-finished or unfinished.

Zookeeper, that floor is beautiful!

Thank You, jmoggie,
The showroom had 5in wide planks on their floor, and I just knew in my heart, that is what I wanted. Alas, I could not afford to do the wider plank in the sq footage I had. I had to "settle" for the 3in plank. I was a bit anxious before it was all said and done. I can say, I absolutely love this floor every time I walk in the room(s). It is also sooooo durable. Heck ya it gets scratched and dinged. It's a livable floor. And so easy to touch up.
The hand scraped floor in general, I do not think is a "fad" per say. I think it was Bruce, who 30 years ago, made a solid hardwood "distressed" plank that my parents put in their game room in 1980. The walls are barn siding, taken from real weathered old barns. It is a rustic room.
Hand scraped or distressed can also be elegant.
Fast forward to 2010, and we are still doing distressed, scraped, and character woods.
Will scraped wood (hand or machine) be replaced some day with a new popular trend, probably. But that does not make a quality scraped floor obsolete. "Dated" is not in-itself a bad thing. My teenagers think at times that I am "dated". Like a quality wood floor, I've just been around a good while and have a lot of character from the experiences.
I do think the inferior machine made scraped floors of the day will be "out", as many are not the quality for longevity. As well,technologies will improve to replace them.