Zoomies, Scratches, and Urine: A Pet Owner's Flooring Survival Guide

What’s The Best Flooring Option For Homes With Pets?

Every pet owner knows the anxiety of hearing those little claws click-clack across the floor or discovering an accident that sat too long. Selecting the right flooring when you share your home with furry friends isn't just about aesthetics—it's about creating a space that remains beautiful despite the daily challenges pets bring.

Hunter Ross, owner of Wood Floors of Dallas, brings clarity to this common dilemma by breaking down exactly which flooring options stand up to the "zoomies," scratches, and occasional accidents. For homes with larger dogs (especially those over 80 pounds), luxury vinyl plank emerges as the champion of durability. Its plastic coating resists scratches and handles pet urine better than most alternatives, with glue-down installation providing the most bulletproof protection against active pets. For homeowners who prefer real wood, Hunter highlights specialized products like Voss floors and Bjelin's Wood Dura line that deliver exceptional durability without sacrificing the authenticity of hardwood.

The conversation tackles practical considerations beyond just scratch resistance. Hunter explains why carpet becomes problematic for allergy sufferers with pets, how porcelain tile offers another excellent pet-friendly option, and the reality of price differences between standard and pet-optimized flooring (typically just $1-2 more per square foot). For those committed to traditional hardwood, he shares insider knowledge about which species offer better indentation resistance (hickory and oak) and recommends commercial-grade finishes like Bona Traffic HD that protect the wood beneath from claw damage. This guidance helps pet owners make informed decisions that balance their design preferences with practical durability needs.

Tired of compromising between beautiful floors and your beloved pets? Get personalized advice for your specific situation by calling 972-525-0026 for a free in-home consultation. Our experts can help you find the perfect flooring solution that both you and your pets will love for years to come.

To learn more about Wood Floors of Dallas visit:
https://www.WoodFloorDallas.com
Wood Floors of Dallas
159 W. Main St., Suite 200
Lewisville, Texas 75057
972-525-0026

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Wood Floors of Dallas podcast, where
we bring expert insights onhardwood flooring design and
craftsmanship, hosted by HunterRoss, owner of Wood Floors of
Dallas, with over 20 years inthe building product industry.
Whether you're a homeowner or ageneral contractor, we're here

(00:27):
to help you create amazingspaces with honor, quality and
expertise.
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
If you have very family members, choosing the
right flooring is crucial.
Here's what you need to know tokeep your floors looking
beautiful and lasting longer.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
with Hunter Ross, owner of WoodFloors of Dallas Hunter.
How's it going today?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
I'm good, sofia, happy to be with you again today
and talk about pets in thehouse.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Oh yeah, and it's great to have you back too,
Hunter.
So can you inform our listenerswhat's the best flooring option
for homes with pets?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely so.
There's obviously a range ofdifferent pets that people have
and the things that most peopleare worried about is scratching
on the floors and things likethat, like if you have big dogs
and they're running aroundeverywhere.
What we try to teach peopleabout flooring is that every
single type of flooring has aspecific duty.

(01:42):
It can handle certain things.
Your hardwood floors aresomething that has been around
forever and ever, but if you'veever had solid hardwood floors
and they have a smooth finish,then you have a dog that's like
80 pounds or up roughly over ahundred pound dogs for sure and
they like to get the zoomies andrun around the house.

(02:03):
Most of the time, those dogsare going to end up leaving
scratches all over your floor,right, and so there's a
refinishing process that goesthrough that to fix that, but
obviously it's very expensive.
So ideally, you have a floorthat does not scratch.
So when you have large animalslike that, the two best products
or I guess, three best productsthe first one is going to be

(02:25):
vinyl plank Um, luxury vinylplank is what it's mostly
referred to, referred to as um.
Those vinyl planks are verydurable.
It's basically like a plasticcoating, a durable plastic
coating that's over the top ofthose fours and they stand up
really well to dogs.
They also handle pet urine andthings really well.
Urine is one of those thingsthat it's very caustic.

(02:46):
It will degrade any surface ifleft just always left on the
ground.
So everything needs to becleaned up pretty quickly as
much as you can.
Vinyl planks are also very goodfor that.
They're probably the mostdurable in terms of standing up
to urine as well.
Click Glock products in vinylplank definitely have the
ability to have that sameperformance, but the very, very

(03:10):
strongest and most bulletproofis a vinyl plank that's actually
glued down to the floor.
With heavy, heavy traffic of alot of animals, you're going to
want to do a vinyl plank or aglue down vinyl plank.
And then we also have anotherproduct, two other products that
are really really good.
One of them is a.
They're basically click lockengineered hardwoods.

(03:32):
One of them is called Voss,v-o-s-s, voss floors and the
other one is called B-J-E-L-I-N,b-j-e-l-i-n, b-j-e-l-i-n.
And that's their wood Dura line.
So both of those products arereal hardwood floors that have
exceptional durability on top ofthem.
So if you're wanting to do realhardwood and get that same kind

(03:54):
of performance, you should leanto those two brands because
they're excellent Beyond that,pretty much all other floors.
As far as especially tile,that's definitely durable and
good for pets.
So we encourage people to alsouse like porcelain tiles.
But your carpets and yourtraditional engineered hardwood

(04:14):
and your solid hardwood aredefinitely not going to be the
most pet friendly.
Carpet obviously is going totrap all the dust and dander
that the cats and the dogs bringin and it's very difficult to
get those out.
So if you have allergies youprobably don't want those.
The carpet is just so muchharder to clean.
But in the end, you know, foranybody that's got big dogs and

(04:36):
you're worried about spills orpet spills and stuff like that,
get a vinyl plank or one of theVoss or Wadura products.
You'll be really happy with it.
And when it comes to justnormal everyday pets around the
house, you can be confident thatall the products pretty much
that are out on the market todaycan stand up to normal wear and
tear, from your medium to smalldogs, even your engine or

(04:57):
hardwoods.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
And so is there a difference in costs between pet
friendly flooring options.

Speaker 3 (05:04):
There is.
Traditionally they're just madea little bit more durable, so
they're going to be a little bitmore expensive.
But we're talking along thelines of like.
Maybe if you're looking at twoproducts that are similar, the
one that's really really, reallydurable for pets is probably
just going to be like a dollaror two more.
And then your vinyl planks, forinstance.
They range in a lot ofdifferent price points.
So your quality products invinyl plank are usually going to

(05:28):
be between the $3.75 to $5.75range.
Just so everybody has kind ofan idea about where those prices
are.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Now are certain wood species more pet friendly than
others.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Not really.
Um, there's some species thatare a little bit harder and a
little bit more indentationresistant, which is like your
hickories and your Oaks.
You're going to want to stayaway from maples or or birch for
sure, birch is a very softfloor and your hickory and your
Oaks are just going to be likeyour, your hardest ones that are

(06:05):
readily available and that'sreally good for, like, scratch
indentation resistance for yourdogs, like you know feet and
stuff when they're runningaround.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, what type of finishes best for minimizing
scratch visibility?

Speaker 3 (06:22):
That's a good question.
When it comes to um, let's justsay you're going to do a solid
hardwood floor, there's two maintypes of finishes you can put
on.
One is traditional urethanefinish.
There's another product that weuse all the time.
It's like a commercially ratedproduct.
It's called bona traffic hd.
Um, I have a zoomie dog myselfand we put that on my floors

(06:45):
when we refinish them.
It stands up really, reallywell.
The trick is that it does notstop the scratches from totally
happening, but the claws willnot get through the finish.
They will be on the surface, soyou're protecting the wood
that's underneath.
The Bonotraffic HD is excellentfor protection from scratches
and things like that if you havelarger dogs or larger animals.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Okay, awesome.
Well, that's some very, veryhelpful information, Hunter.
We'll catch you on the nextepisode.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Thank you, sophia, have a good one.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Thanks for tuning in to Wood Floors of Dallas podcast
.
Ready to transform your space?
Call 972-525-0026 for a freein-home consultation or visit
woodfloordallascom to learn more.
Work with honor, build withexcellence.

(07:47):
See you next time.