# carpeting or bare floors?



## Julio (Dec 3, 2012)

I am looking for opinions before I yank out at least the carpet in our bedroom.We have three Shepherds and the dust in the house is amazing.We both have allergies and sneeze alot and I have been getting the willies lately after reading about dust mites and where they hang out.
So any advice about what to do,if cleaning bare floors is much easier and better and less places for the mites.
Obviously the carpet is warmer on the feet in the Winter time but if anyone could,please give some pluses and minuses.
Thank you all in advance.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I have wood floors thru out my house, however, I have throw rugs thru out as well, I have a couple seniors who slip on the wood, so the rugs provide some traction.

Having dogs and cats, I just can't have wall to wall anymore, to hard to clean up from accidents if they occur..The throw rugs are easily disposable if I have to..


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## readaboutdogs (Jul 8, 2001)

We had to pull up the carpet a fews years ago after Cody was on prednisone the first time, I didn't know about the peeing with it! Lessons learned! While we were waiting to get new carpet we just had the bare cement slab with area rugs! Boy, then you realize just how much they shed and track in dirt! I imagine it'd be the same with wood floors, keep the broom handy! I put in the pet pad under the carpet,but have tile in the kitchen and garage(it's built in). Now as we transitioned to seniors I have had to cover the tile with a stress mat you can buy by the foot on a roll because of them slipping/ falling on tile. I guess it depends on the age of your furr babies ! If you get carpet the pet pad under it is very worth the extra cost!


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## lzver (Feb 9, 2012)

Bare floors all the way. We have hardwood on the main level and it's so much easier to keep clean than the carpet in the basement or on the 2nd level. It will be better for your allergies as well.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I think hardwood floors are much easier to clean, nothing can hide. The house I bought has hardwood everywhere except the bedrooms. I just put down area rugs and that helps slow them down from point A to point B. Eventually I want all hardwood, but since the carpet is brand new, it bides me some time.


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## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

I absolutely love our tile and hardwood floors. I feel like it is impossible to entirely get the dust and hair out of most carpets without professional cleaning.

One thing you could try for the dust is misting the room with water vapor so that it falls to the ground... If it's dust stuck in the carpet this will not work I guess.


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

I have tile and carpet and I'll tell you what I'd much rather have all tile or hardwood much easier to maintain the carpet is a hassle I vacuum twice a day and it still never looks clean carpet /pets/kids don't make a good match lol...


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Hardwood floors here and tile, much easier to clean than carpet. But dust, still have a lot of that.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Julio said:


> I am looking for opinions before I yank out at least the carpet in our bedroom.We have three Shepherds and the dust in the house is amazing.We both have allergies and sneeze alot and I have been getting the willies lately after reading about dust mites and where they hang out.
> So any advice about what to do,if cleaning bare floors is much easier and better and less places for the mites.
> Obviously the carpet is warmer on the feet in the Winter time but if anyone could,please give some pluses and minuses.
> Thank you all in advance.


I have about half and half. I find the carpet easier to care for.... The dust/dirt/fur just collect into giant hairballs on the wood floors. I wish I had gone with whole house carpet.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I'm another carpet lover. I actually have a large area rug in my kitchen so my dogs don't slip on the linoleum. Even my back porch has an old carpet that was torn out of my brother's new house, lol! I don't find it hard to keep clean - just regular vacuuming and the occasional going-over with the carpet cleaner works fine. I really do worry about the dogs having proper traction, and for some reason the only time I had a real problem was years ago when I had beautiful old hardwood - and also a horrible flea infestation! I've never had any issues with the carpeting.


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## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

I had the same question awhile back and ultimately I chose to rip out the carpet and replace with hard floors. I strongly suggest getting something like the Hoover Floor Mate. I don't have mine yet but my cousin swears by it. I find it hard to keep my hard floors looking good and she says this does the trick.


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## Julio (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks all.We have both,living room,one bedroom and kitchen with either hardwood or linoleum and the other bedrooms and family room and hallway carpet.
The dogs are 7,4 and 7 months.The pee isn`t and really hasn`t been a problem,these guys are so smart at such an early age,they let us know when they need to go out,it is more about what gets buried deep in the carpet that the vacuum doesn`t get to and like I said,the dust mites hang on and don`t get picked up by the vacuum.So getting rid of them is the main objective.Our previous GS was allergic to those stupid things and it wouldn`t surprise me if these guys are too but I am not about to donate another $500.00 to the doggie dermatologist.

These guys have track meets inside the house and it seems if we do yank the carpet that it is not worth refinishing the hardwood floors with the dogs nails.
Sound about right?


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

I had a dog with dm and I wound up putting runners everywhere so he could stay upright traction is a big issue.

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## MiraC (Dec 7, 2012)

Another good device is the Bissel floor cleaner for pets! Get rid of those hair balls I have tile,hardwood and two rugs! Oh and we have an air purifier in the ba
end room and just invested in a Blueair air purifier for the rest of the house and it makes a world of difference in air quality and dust!


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## Saynt J (Feb 22, 2012)

I have hardwood throughout the house except for the basement. When i got kanan I pulled up all the area rugs while he was house training. 95% of the house is still hardwood, and the tumble weeds of fur are comical. But much easier to vacuum up when they coalesce in the corners.


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## Saynt J (Feb 22, 2012)

Also, we have a couple of air purifiers we got here, just btw. I have a dog allergy, when the fur and dander really piles up, and this has been a real godsend. 

Purefromnature.com


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

I think hardwood, and tile is a lot better. Especially when the dogs get older and start having illness's. They mean not to do it, but it seems when their journey is almost over, they vomit or something else on the carpet. I have one more carpet to get rid of, then I will be 80% hardwood floors.


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## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

It's a tossup for me. We had hardwood floors in Pittsburgh that I was constantly sweeping/swiffering...twice a day to keep up on the dust bunnies and fur tumbleweeds...but it didn't take long and puppy accidents were a cinch to clean. 

On the other side, Puppy Finn had lots of slips and spills to include a tumble down the steps. Chey was starting her senior years, but an accident where she fell back down the steps after stumbling on her way up left her with bumps, bruises, and she never walked up those steps again and she gingerly walked on all surfaces not covered in a throw rug.

Carpet was a life saver. I could go without sweeping a day or two and no one was the wiser. Chey zoomed up and down the steps and through the rooms with ease. She could also fall asleep on the floor and could get up with ease. 

At the same time, senior messes started happening and were tough to clean, cat/dog vomit left horrible stains, and new puppy piddle left such a smell even after cleaning because so much had soaked in that I spent 200$ on carpet cleaning. 

Personally, I prefer carpet as hardwood/ laminate can be tough on puppies and seniors, even though it's easier to clean. 

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## Egypt Shepherd Guy (Jun 1, 2013)

Here in Egypt tiles are standard with the odd horrible magic carpet style rug that we do not have.

Taking into account the mess I get sweeping, washing etc I would never even ever never consider carpet which gets full of dust mites and germs.

Ever lift a carpet and shake it out and see all the sand? 

I think bugs and fleas can live in there as well, not sure

If it was me - lino floor or tiles all the way so easy to bleach and keep clean


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Although I have to sweep the hardwood almost every day...I'd do that rather than pretend all that fur and dirt isn't hiding in the carpet. You can't see it on the carpet...so yes, you could go a week or two without vacuuming, but we'd fill up a Dyson 4 times vacuuming a 700 square foot apartment. Now, I just sweep up all the hair with a dust mop, takes like 5 minutes to walk around the house and get all the hair clumps.


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Fiona walks like she is walking on ice on the pergo xp laminate. It was designed for dogs. More expensive, but I think worth it. Fiona's hair on the floor looks like scratches.


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

I had to removed the carpet in my main floor due to a dog on Prednisone. I removed the master bedroom carpeting,also, and immediately all of our morning sneezing improved. For traction, I put some cheap bath mats in strategic locations, especially at the intersections and turning points.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

I have severe allergies to dust, so carpets are very hard on me. We have hardwood + ceramic on the main and upstairs, and carpet in the basement which we're rarely in. Yes the dogs (well, Delgado I should say) does slip sometimes when he's being a hooligan and the fur does show, the benefits far outweigh the cons.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Hard floors all the way. With a good investment into a steam cleaner. I sweep daily but regardless of carpet or hardwood that dirt and dust would still be there. 

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## m1953 (May 7, 2012)

Have wood and carpet through out our home. A good quality vacuum will take care of the dog hair on both surfaces without any problem.


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## atourya (Mar 23, 2013)

Ok look at it this way... you will sweep more often with tile or hardwood because you will see it... but that means that with carpet you will be living with dirt for much longer. Another thing is that the process is much quicker than on carpet. 

Cleaning messes is so easy. 

Downstairs we have porcelain and upstairs we have carpet. I MUCH prefer downstairs... I sneeze so much less now. We bought what is basically a Swiffer on steroids (washable cloth sweeper with a built in steamer). It is so clean and there is absolutely no dog scents at all. Eventually, I will put laminates upstairs. 

However, I don't live in a place where there are cold winters (southern california) so I don't have to deal with the negative repercussions of a hard surface. However, if you have a healthy budget, there are floor warmers that you can install underneath the porcelain or marble that work beautifully.


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## Contrary (Jun 12, 2013)

Major cat (and probably dog) allergy here. 4 cats. In a house with carpet (military, we move a lot) I am "sick" MUCH more than in a house without carpet. Carpet is never "clean."

(Seriously, test this by using a Dyson vacuum cleaner, have Kirby come in and do a demo, and after Kirby leaves, have Rainbow come in and do one...every vacuum will pull of gobs of dirt. I recommend Rainbow last simply because the water makes it very easy to see the dirt. It would work the same in any order.)

I hate carpet so much that when we were ready to buy a home in 2010, I wouldn't even look at them if they had carpet. Thankfully, the house we loved the most was only tile and laminate. We have zero regrets.


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## Noles20 (Dec 27, 2011)

I pulled up all the carpet in my house and had the hardwood floors sanded and refinished after Jetta passed away. We always had carpets while we had our GSDs. We have over 100 year old pine floors and they came out really nice. My wife and I do want to get another GSD soon. Will a GSD really damage the floors?


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

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I personaly prefer carpet with dogs. Mainly because we have wood floor in kitchen and have had several dogs do the splits. It didn't hurt either dog but it freaks me out alittle when they were going across it. I think it also depends on what finish you have on wood floors also. We had a wood floor in another house that was unfinished and it was fine.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

not intentionally, but yes the wood can get scratched up pretty easily...get some throw rugs


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## My5dogs (Aug 30, 2013)

Hate carpet we tore ours up due to puppy stages and its just dirty to me. Tile all the way


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## rgrey (Jul 30, 2013)

90% of our house is hardwood floor and I hate it. Its old style parquet and to me it always looks dirty, no matter how much I scrub. It also looks old and faded. The pet hair just floats along, even when I vaccuum instead of sweep. It collects in corners and I'm pretty sure I could make a winter-thick blanket out of the some of the hairballs I've found under couches and big chairs that aren't moved around much. 

I miss carpet. I know the house is technically cleaner because the dirt and hair sits on top of the floor and can get picked up, rather than being ground down into the carpet hairs or filtering underneath, but the last 3 houses I lived in had carpet and it was so so so much easier to vacuum up the hair. I had no problems 2 or 3 times a year renting a carpet cleaner and doing the whole house. 

I do have throw rugs everywhere and plan to get more. They seem to help trap the hair as it floats along so I feel less like I'm chasing the same hairball from one end of the house to another. And it is nice when a rug is stained to just throw it away rather than buying a bazillion different cleaners to try and get the stain out, like you have to do with carpet. Still, if I won the lottery I'd be tempted to put carpet in, especially in the bedrooms.


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## fredh (Sep 10, 2013)

We have Bamboo in the Living Room and Ceramic in the kitchen, Dining Room and Hall. The only Carpet left is in our bedroom and Jake sleeps on the floor next to the bed. Bamboo is much more durable and scuff resistant than regular Hard Wood. The only problem with the Bamboo is that our 13 year old mini schnauzer has trouble getting enough traction to jump up on the sofa with us. When we had carpet there it was a lot easier for the old Girl, so now we help her up.


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## Crocky (Aug 16, 2013)

I have carpet, tile, hardwood, linoleum and flagstone in our house. On the majority of the hardwood, and real hardwood I might add, sandy wanted to carrot over it . We could vaccum a canister full daily with all the tumbleweeds. I will say this though, hardwood shows much more than carpet, well depending on the color. So regardless you have to stay on top of it. We have linoleum in the kitchen over top of tile and underneath the cabinets it is tumbleweed haven. I all seems to accumulate there. I also find that when my pups are playing or running to go outside they do tend to lose their footing more on the flagstone, linoleum or hardwood. We just recently in the last couple of years put down all new carpet in the carpeting areas, then Kesler got sick and in the end lost a lot of her control of her bladder....we are still trying to get it all out. We are on a slab as well.
We actually recently lost our GS and the difference in maintenance is amazing. I never realized just how much hair she threw. Our other dogs don't shed like my GS did. But we are gluttons for punishment I guess,  We will be welcoming a new pup the end of this month.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I have carpet in the bedrooms and wood floors everywhere else. For vacuuming purposes the wood floors are a breeze. But the footprints on the wood floor are awful. I have area rugs everywhere and they help.


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## brebrehj (Jan 18, 2013)

Mac's Mom said:


> I had the same question awhile back and ultimately I chose to rip out the carpet and replace with hard floors. I strongly suggest getting something like the Hoover Floor Mate. I don't have mine yet but my cousin swears by it. I find it hard to keep my hard floors looking good and she says this does the trick.


In the past year we've lived in 3 houses (thanks army). One with all white tile which was a pain to keep clean during the rainy season, to a house with carpet, which I hated. Now we have hard wood floors and it is glorious! Yes the dust bunnies and hair shows more than carpet but at least you know nothing is hiding or lurking.
I have a Hoover floor mate and it is amazing. It vacuums, mops and dries the floor in 3 easy steps. Well worth it. 

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## rgrey (Jul 30, 2013)

*may need a hoover floormate*


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## brebrehj (Jan 18, 2013)

rgrey said:


> *may need a hoover floormate*


Once you get one you'll wonder how you lived without it! The fact that dirty water never mixes with the clean is a great feature along with it folding and becoming compact. The spin brushes on the clean mode mean no scrubbing, it vacuums the dirty water on the spot, then you have your dry mode where it squeegees the excess water and sucks it up. Great product!
And no I dont work for Hoover lol 

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## shugarhey (Jul 29, 2013)

I just had the carpet in our downstairs pulled up and refinished the original wood floors. The only thing I regret is not doing it will10 years ago!!

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## crish01 (Aug 9, 2012)

There are many type of house flooring, Like marble floor, wood floor, And many other types of floors, But wood floor is best type which makes your house more beautiful and attractive.You should get proper information about woodwork before making any type of wood floor.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

I really didn't think this thread was _actually_ going to be about floors... :lurking:

I have both hardwood and carpet in my house. I prefer carpet as I like the softness under my feet. The dogs slide all over on the hardwood. At least they can get plenty of traction on the carpet when they get the zoomies. It's funny to me how people who prefer hardwood put rugs all over the place.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

wildo said:


> I really didn't think this thread was _actually_ going to be about floors... :lurking:
> 
> I have both hardwood and carpet in my house. I prefer carpet as I like the softness under my feet. The dogs slide all over on the hardwood. At least they can get plenty of traction on the carpet when they get the zoomies. It's funny to me how people who prefer hardwood put rugs all over the place.


My living room is hardwood, bedrooms are carpets. They are ruined from the diarrhea from my last fear aggressive GSD. I really want to have hardwood put in all the rooms.

My thoughts on it, cheaper rugs can easily be replaced, wood floors can easily be cleaned. Carpet not so much and with numerous animals I just feel over the years they will eventually need to be replaced. My carpet is about 13 years old. 

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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Not only that, but yes I do have to sweep daily or every other day. But in my mind that dirt and hair would be there regardless. Nice thing about hardwood is you can see it. It tends to hide in the carpet, and I think people tend to get "lazy" when they can't see it. I sure do in my bedroom. I only vacuum in there once a week or so. Out of sight, out of mind. But the dirt is still there! So I think hardwood helps my house stay cleaner

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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I have carpet in two bedrooms, and it's really difficult to keep it nice with multiple dogs and cats! It's a real pain compared to the hardwood. The rest of the house is mostly hardwood floors. Sometimes i put a large rug in the living room also, and I've had a runner in the main hallway before but currently don't. I've never had a dog who slipped on the hardwood, but it's probably not incredibly smooth since it's very old. 
I vacuum the bare floors, and this gets rid of most of the dust/dander and hair. I also use a Swiffer Wetjet on them. Vacuuming the carpet does not work as well because the dust hides in the carpet fibers, although my new Dyson does get more out than my old crummy vacuum did.
I've never had a dog who made "tumbleweeds" - I guess I've just been lucky and mine didn't shed as much? The fur does tend to collect in corners so I use the vacuum hose to get rid of it. A friend of mine had a Malamute/Collie mix and she always had huge fur tumbleweeds on her wood floors.

If I had a dog with traction issues I'd probably use small rugs and runners. I like the little ones that you can throw in the washing machine. Another option is dog socks. I had bought a set of "Woodrow Wear" socks for other reasons but they are also made to help dogs with traction on slippery floors, they have rubber patterns on the soles:
Non-Slip Socks for Dogs - Power Paws by Woodrow Wear


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

wildo said:


> I really didn't think this thread was _actually_ going to be about floors... :lurking:


It's 2013, not 1970, nobody has a carpet anymore 

We have no carpet in our house, it is an advantage for me dealing with allergies, which actually Maple seems to be worse than anything, but we also have 5 big maples on the property, anyways totally OT. I don't find an issue with traction, but I send mine outside as soon as they start roughhousing. We have hardwood, laminate, linoleum and concrete.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

ozzymama said:


> It's 2013, not 1970, nobody has a carpet anymore


bahaahahaahahaha!!! That's freakin' hilarious! :rofl:


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

If you go wood just make sure it is not a supper shinning finish unless you like claw scratches on them. I love my hardwood but I consider the scratches to just be added character My floors have a hand scrapped look and I used a satin finish to minimize any scrapes.


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