ok all you muddy OES owners!
How is everyone's flooring holding up to the spring influx of dirt, mud, and sheepie prints? I'm trying to decide what flooring would work well for our new house. We're only putting carpeting in the bedroom areas on the 2nd floor(stainmaster for sure!). On the main level- I was thinking of laminate and/or tile. How do you guys like your flooring- complaints, raves, general comments? How is everyone dealing with the muddy dog(s) in their home? Any hints, tips, or advice to share with the rest of us? I loved the idea of having a porch with warm/cold water (Chris was that you who suggested that?) faucet to hose the water off before re-entry. Share share!! Karen  |
|
|
Hi, We're actually going to be getting rid of all our carpet in our house (except for 2 bedrooms). It just so happens we were going to do this before we realized we'd have a dog. And now that Max is here, I'm so excited that we are, our carpet is about 9 years old and has held up great for us, but I'm tired of it. We're putting in pergo, which should be much easier to clean than carpeting. This rain certainly is a downer, I have beach towels ready and when Max comes in I hold him down and just start wiping him paws and all!! I can't wait for warm, dry weather  |
| We put in a nice carpet, it has done very well for us....especially with all the animals and kids that trample it everyday. The problem is, I vacuum several times a day and use my carpet cleaner on a bi weekly basis to keep it looking that way. We have recently thought of putting in the pergo or other brands of laminate flooring, but everyone I have spoken to says that it is all starting to buckle and splay. I don't want to spend the money and the labor of putting it in for it to not look good in a couple of years. My mom just put it in a little over a year ago, and it is already buckling in places.
I have also thought of putting in ceramic tile, but I don't like the look of ceramic tile in the living areas. Even when softened by an area rug...so for now I am going to stick with my carpet, and over cleaning.....LOL If I had the money to spend on any flooring, I would put in a beautiful oak wood flooring!!  I can continue dreaming for now...LOL
We also thought about the berber carpet, but when I looked at it, all I kept picturing was the cats using their claws and little loops being broke. I like the look of berber though. Stormi and co. |
| We put pergo flooring in our cottage(entry, kitchen and dining room) will be replacing it this summer. After 2 years it's lifting and buckling, this is a house that is not lived in most of the time. At home I have lots of ceramic tile that is easy to keep clean, I put rugs in front of the doorwall when it's wet out to catch most of the mud and water from 16 dirty feet. The problem with tile is if you have a dog with arthritis or other medical leg/hip problems, it is very difficult for them to get up. Beau sometimes has trouble getting up because of his leg but doesn't like to lay on the carpet. Tile is also cooler in warm weather and all the dogs like that. |
| My carpet is only a year old and I'm ready to tear it out already. It doesn't look too bad with the exception of a couple spots but I was lying on the floor yesterday and realized all I could smell was dog! A good cleaning might fix it but if I had it to do over again I would've picked something I could clean easier. I'm never not vacuuming. |
| The problem with flooring is two-fold - what is best for you, and what is best for your pets. A few years ago we tore all the carpet out of our first floor and put in hardwood, with a few throw rugs here and there.
What is best for you is something easy to clean - tile, linoleum, laminate, etc. The pets also like to sleep on these bare floors because the floors are cooler. But the other side is what is best for your pets. At this stage in Drez's life, the plain flooring is definitely harder for her to get up from. Either her front paws slide out from under her before she can get the leverage to get up, or she can't maneuver her back legs to get up and she ends up pulling herself along with her front legs walking and her rear legs dragging. It's such a sad sight! When she was younger and we had carpeting throughout the house, she had a grand old time just running around the house, playing. Now when she tries to walk too fast, she slips and falls. Plain flooring is also harder for them to walk on if their toe nails are even the slightest bit too long. And it drives you crazy because all you hear is the "click, click, click" of the nails. Don't know what I'd do if I had to do it all over again. I hated vacuuming, shampooing the rugs all the time because of time constraints with the kids' stuff and working full time, and because I just am not a Suzy Homemaker! There are pros and cons to both sides, just depends on what you want more. Have fun! Chris |
| Pulled all the carpeting up except in one room and wish I'd done so there. Linoleum in the kitchen, Tile in the baths, carpet in the den and hardwood floors everywhere else.
I'll soon be tearing out the carpet in the den and replacing with large ceramic tiles. Personally, I think tiles are best with sheepdogs. |
I do wish we could afford real hardwood, I love the look of wood floors with a beautiful area rug to accent them. We already have pergo in our kitchen, and we've had it for 6 years or so, it has never buckled or lifted, it still looks like it did when we put it in. Since I can't match the kitchen floor we're going to redo all of our house in a lighter shade of oak than we have now. I do hope Max copes with all of the comotion that will be going on around here, we're painting this weekend, and probably the next few as well, then we will pergo, I'm also changing furniture, etc. Anyway, it should be lots of fun  |
We have lino in the kitchen & carpet everywhere else. I would love to get rid of all the carpets and put in hardwood but I didn't win the lotto yet. We have baby gates we put up to keep the dogs in the kitchen. Since they have access to the yard with the puppy door my kitchen floor is horrible! I recently got a hoover floor mate that is a lifesaver with two muddy dogs. Now if only the kids would learn how to use it but I won't hold my breath for that.  |
| We have ceramic tile in the lower level and rugs on the upper story of the house. Lennon and Sofa have been extremely efficient in destroying the stairs rug and flattening the rest of the rug, so we're saving money for changing the flooring for monterrey tile and talavera accents for the rooms upstairs.
The tile floor is great, you just sweep and mop and the dirt is gone... it's a plus when it's just mopped becuase you get to see the incredible sliding Sofa run and slide all over the kitchen and living room |
| I want to repace all lino in the house with ceramic tile. I want the upper level in a good quality laminant (water proof kind). I will leave carpet in the lower level for warmth and something soft for the kids to play on, it usually stays clean. Our son's and daughter's bedroom, 1 will be laminant, and the other carpet..maybe berber.
The outside if you can install both hot and cold water, so you can wash off outside. With just cold, it pains them after too long. Definitely have baby gates that the dog can't get through, it maybe the only lifesaver you get somedays. |
| I had to add my two cents here. I have laminate flooring in my daughter's room. It is beautiful. It is not supposed to scratch like the parquet flooring I had in my last home. The only problem is Laminate is it's noisy. If you think dog's nails on wood flooring is bad it seems to be twice as loud on laminate. We are planning on ripping out the carpeting in the rest of the house and going with Ceramic Tile.
Elissa |
| If I had it to do over, I would have never in a million years chosen berber. I hate it! Our carpet is just barely three years & it is just not what I expected since it was so expensive. Soon, probably after Bailey is potty trained, we will be replacing our family room with hardwood. Just hate the carpet! Also, a towel by the back door for those muddy, Georgia red clay feet that could track up white berber in a second flat! On a funnier note, when we lived in OH, I bought little rubber boots & little(well, big) rubber rain coats! It was just too cute. Sheepies did not like either! |
| Another problem with burber is that it runs. If your pup gets ahold of the end of a strand he can make a huge hole in the carpet. (Been there done that, thanks a bunch Carl the sheepdog!) |
| I would go with hardwood floors if you can afford it. Tiled floors kind of suck in the winter time. While they are nice and cool in the summer... it's absolutely freezing in the winter... and you HAVE to have good house shoes. Even then - your feet are cold. Of course... the whole room the tiles are in is freezing. *shivers* Just my thoughts. |
| Ceramic tile is cold in the winter but you can put heating coils underneath the floor to heat it. |
| I've got it all: brick, wood, tile, vinyl and carpeting. Ditto Berber......in my hallway no less. ARGH!! Now I have 6 throw rugs on top of the carpeting as the vomit and pee stains didn't quite come out. Glacier insists on rearranging the throws so every day I have to rearrange them.
Wood is fine, but I get a lot of slobber on mine so washing more than the wood would like. The tile is cold and difficult for the old dogs, but then there are many throw rugs on the market, plus they cut the winter cold. All in all, it probably is the best for this house and all the muddy paws. Brick is interesting. If oil sealed, it's easy to care for. Mine is poly sealed which needs to be redone every 6 months, BOOOO. So I haven't done it for several years.....it's rustic looking now and well covered with rugs. Remember with laminate, if it scratches...and it does...you don't have much underneath if you want to sand. Curious about being noisy, I would have thought the underlayment would cushion sound, but come to think of it, the few times I've walked on it, it was a bit noisy. Vinyl, tears. sheepieboss |
| This is an interesting discussion. Thanks Iriskmj!! I wish I'd thought to start it before I ordered my new flooring! LOL I'm putting in a laminate flooring next week in the main living areas (living, dining, kitchen, den).
I hope it will be easier to keep up than the carpet. I don't think I'd ever carpet any of those rooms again. I vacuum constantly and shampoo every other week. It just never ends! Now...I'm curious for those of you who already have hardwoods or laminate floors. What do you use to clean them? I think someone mentioned a Hoover Floormate. I've also seen that new "flip it" gizmoo that dry cleans and wet cleans. Has anyone tried that yet? I've got to buy something within the next week & I'd love your opinions!! |
| We were planning to replace all of our main floor with ceramic tile before we even decided to get Bailey. Living in Arizona, we don't have the problem with it being too cold in the winter And it's taken away a bit of the stress of the "accidents" on the carpet, since I know it's being pulled up soon. The tile project starts this weekend, I can't wait to see how Bailey deals with the mess and the noise. |
| Oops - forgot to mention, for those with tile floors my friends have steam cleaners and they rave about them. As soon as the tile project starts I'm going out to buy myself one. Gets the floors super clean and since the steam is hot, the floor dries really fast. |
| My turn.
28 yrs ago when we built our house we had sheet vinyl installed in our front hall and country kitchen, the rest of the house carpeted. We've always had dogs. Weimaraner first, followed by 2 Collies, then my daughter in laws OES and son's German Short-haired Pointer. The vinyl lasted two years and seams started to come up. I decided that the next floor would last as long as the house. We installed Slate. Second best decision I've ever made (The best was getting Barney. ) Slate is forever. It's uneven surface is easy for dogs to maneuver on; we were told the worst thing for slate is to seal it. We don't seal it. I have a commercial mop and mop bucket and wash about every other month. takes about 30 minutes. Yes its expensive, but its the last floor you'll ever buy. Of course, as with ceramic tile, if you drop a dish on it that the end of the dish. It's a hard surface. Yet the material can be drilled with an ordinary drill bit (eg. for door stops, hole for gas pipe to range). The only drawback I've found was with the installation. Be sure the contractor fills all joints flush with the slate, otherwise the chair legs catch on the slate joints, and if your chairs are wood, the joints of the wood chairs become loosened.
My next choice would be hardwood in the rest of the house; not in the kitchen or bath. The finish doesn't hold up well with water from around the sink or in the bathroom. I've thought about berber to replace the carpeting in the rest of the house (presently I'm living with plywood subfloors until I can afford the hardwood. The carpeting was so bad and I tore it out). I'm glad you all warned me about it thought. The same goes for Pergo. Apparently oak flooring holds up pretty well under doggy paws. |
| I have nothing to say but good about pergo flooring. It's the best !!! |
| Hmm. A steam cleaner sounds interesting. Wish it could be used on hardwoods.
In my house, the dreaded shop vac rules. I know, it's not pretty or even easy to get out, but when there is a real sheepie mess a good shop vac does wonders (wet and dry, of course). Our vaccum cleaner is fine but not near as versatile or powerful. |
| Anyone in the market for a vacuum should try the Dyson Animal. I think it is amazing, there isn't anything it can't pick up. It was well worth the money, and pays for itself everyday. I would be lost without mine. If only they would put out a carpet cleaner.
Stormi and co. |
| Stormi- I'm so glad you like the Dyson! I've been drooling over it for months- between my long hair, and Iris' fur which clings to everything!!! I've been in the market for a vacuum that could actually handle our hair issues. But I didn't want to spend the $$$ without knowing that it actually works like it is supposed to! Hooray, thanks for the recommendation.
And everyone- this is a really interesting discussion topic. Thanks so much for all your input- I love hearing everyone's input. Keep on posting! Karen |
| The hair and fur in our house is ridiculous too. I know no matter what vacuum I get, I always buy the service plan and that's worked out great. On a 3 year plan, I got 2 new vacuums free of charge. Well worth the $40 for the plan! |
| Hi,
Wow so many varied answers I think, Karen, after hearing them all you'll be more confused as to what to do. With the exception of carpets as most seem to be of the mindset that dogs and carpets just don't mix. One good point Drezzie's mom made however, is when our dogs become aged they really have a hard time with other flooring other than carpet. Shaggy's legs used to splay out from under her when she tried to get up after laying down on lino or other flooring. I like the look of hardwood the best but it has its cons too..it holds stains and the only way to get rid of it is to sand your floor - a big job! Laminate I found out when I took the course at Home Depot is resistant to dog/cat urine and even cigarette burns. Dunno haven't tried burning my laminate flooring to see if this is true. Oh but I have had the opportunity to "test" if dog urine stains after accidently locking Merlin down there once. It's true!! The thing with this stuff is you get what you pay for and can get it as inexpensive as 49 cents up to 6 bucks. I got middle of the road stuff that comes with a 25 year quarantee. Some have five year quarantee. Since I installed it myself I don't want to have to do it for another 25 years. Ha!
When the dogs push the rec room door open I always know they are downstairs as I hear the click, click of their nails. I was thinking of you the other day as one of the doctors in the medical clinic told me just the other day, how he and his wife built a new home last year. As they are both avid animal lovers, she insisted that they have an outdoor area in which the dogs could be bathe apon returning from muddy walks. Ah would be nice if money was no option!! Apparently they had both hot and cold water installed to an outside area. Yup would be nice! As for me the entire house is carpeted except for the front hall, bathrooms and kitchen. I did the rec room in laminate last summer and for the next few years plan on doing the remainder of the house. It's gonna take me that long to do..as the old antage goes ...you either have the time but not the money or money but not the time. I'm saving my pennies! Good luck with your project and keep us informed as to what you've decided to do Marianne |
| We have Pergo floors where Jasper comes in, and I always wipe him off with a towel there. Works great - he's the least messy member of the family (well...besides Allie ) |
| BOOTS!!!!!!!!!! I hope I am not the only OES Mom that makes her kid wear BOOTS!!!!!!!! We have winter boots, rain boots and MUD boots. Right now I have 6 different pair. I just recently built a house and the excavation isn't complete. Since last fall I've been living on 2 acres of MUD. If it weren't for boots and my carpet steamer I'd have lost my mind. Tasker has worn boots since he was knee high to a grasshopper and stands patiently at the door waiting for them to be put on before he goes outside.
Please tell me that someone else out there puts boots on their dog!!!!! My POSLQ (person of opposite sex living together) tells me that if Tasker ever runs into another sheepie he'll be a laughing stock, say it ain't sooooo. |
| I would love to get some boots for Max, but how hard will it be to get him to wear them? He would probably eat them, where did you get your boots? I imaging you get the xlarge size!!:lol: |
| We used to put boots on the dogs at muddy show sites, it was a terrible battle because they hated them. It was pretty funny to watch them walk, they took little mincing steps and lifted their legs up high We finally gave up and had someone carry them. Luke and Beau wore raincoats when they were small, they looked adorable but they didn't care for those either. |
| There are lots of different places to get them. Most hunting/outdoor catalogs sell them for hunting dogs. Am I allowed to say Cabellas???? They have an online instructional video on how to use them and size them. I have also purchased them on e-bay and from Drs Foster and Smith. Go to any search engine and type in dog boots. The leather or neoprene boots last the longest but the cordura and nylon can be purchased with fleece lining and are good for snow. Yes, I get XL or XXL depending on the company, most will tell you how to measure for size. Tasker only wears them outside and has never objected, I think once he gets outside he is having fun and is distracted so he forgets about them.
I have used them for years and they have saved me a ton of work and frustration. Tasker was fully grown, I think 3 yrs old, when I discovered them so an adult dog CAN adjust. I think the secret is to use them regularly, if you use them daily they get used to them. Also, it's important to keep their nails trimmed because long nails will poke through the boots easily. |
| Boots seem like such a great idea but, boy, do both of mine hate them. Clyde acted like he was walking on broken glass the couple of times I tried to get him to wear them for just a short time. Lucy has to stop and shake each foot for about 10 seconds with every step. It always makes me think of the sound effect like when Bugs Bunny was tiptoeing in the old cartoons. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|