Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Dogs and Hardwood Floors

Does your indoor pet cause havoc on your hardwood flooring? Here's a few suggestions to help your dog and hardwood floors exist harmoniously in the same house.

Regular nail trimming is a must. Don't waste money on taking your dog to a grooming care service, do it yourself! Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Supplies offers this free video showing exactly how to trim your dog's nails. Necessary supplies are inexpensive. The key to success with my dog was to start with trimming 1 nail per night, and giving him a treat after each clipping. Eventually he learned to sit nicely because he knew his good behavior would win him a treat!

Going on walks outside is great exercise for your dog, plus it naturally files his nails. Trimming is probably still needed, but maybe not quite as often. Bonus: you get exercise too!

Consider a product called Soft Claws Nail Caps. These caps get glued over the dog's nails, and last up to 3 months. I did try these caps with my dog. He did not mind having them on his nails, but I did have to use a generous amount of the provided glue to make them stay on. However, after a while I decided that a few scratches did not diminish the natural look of my hardwood floors.

The cleaning benefits of having hardwood flooring with a pet make a few scratches well worth it. Another way of looking at it can be a bonus: scratches here and there really just add character to hardwood floors!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks, that video really helped. I'm going to give it a try!

Anonymous said...

Thanks..maybe not the complete topic of your post, but what kind of flooring is that..it's beautiful!

Pet Care Today said...

They're cherry hardwood floors with a walnut border. I agree---they are beautiful! Thanks for the comment.