My first apartment where Miss M and I lived together as bachelorettes was mainly carpet. Each day I would lament the muddy paws, random accidents and general dinginess that I thought came with carpet. I was especially excited to move into our new place that was mainly hardwood floors, thinking I would never need to deal with rugs and carpet again. Now we've realized it's actually key to have rugs with dogs, plus we've learned some things about making them more dog-friendly.
Being Good Neighbors
I think having rugs is essential to being a good neighbor. Living in a multi-unit building we're always aware of how what goes on in our place will impact the people living around us. I used to live underneath a small Cocker Spaniel and for the longest
time I couldn't figure out why they were hammering things at all hours. Then I realized, it was just the dog wagging his tail against the
floor. Even something like a dropped nylabone can sound like a tumbling boulder. With rugs we can at least muffle the sound a bit.
The Need for Fewer Dog Beds
We like how rugs make everything a bit more comfortable, warmer and
nicer. Since we have an open floor plan it helps us create separate
spaces, and it's especially nice for pooches like Miss M who are
predisposed to just flop down on whim despite several comfortable (and
empty!) dog beds nearby.
Easier Clean-Up
Miss M and I have learned some things since our bachelorette days and now we use preventative measures so we don't have to clean as much.
We wrote before about how the pooches wipe their feet before coming inside to keep the Chicago Grime out of our home. Our SpotBot has also made it really easy to clean up a mess without us having to scrub anything or even stand there. Plus, we've learned how to
choose rugs that are dog-friendly.
Of course I'm always curious: do most dog owners find it harder or easier to have rugs with dogs?
Update:
SociaBulls member Jack and his family have their small, pitbull and cat-friendly home
featured on Apartment Therapy today in the Small Cool Contest. Not only is their space beautiful, but they do it so easily with pets! We would love to see a pet-friendly (and pitbull friendly!) home win the contest. If you like what you see
you can vote for them here.
21 comments:
We have hardwood floors and have tried rugs a few times, but can't keep up with them. Hardwood seems much easier to clean. We have a couple dog beds, but the pups often choose to remove all of the shoes from our only indoor mat to chew a bone there. They would certainly prefer rugs.
Our old apartment had hardwood throughout, and our current rental has carpet in all of the living spaces.
I'm finding the carpet way, way harder to keep clean. We always wipe our dog's paws when he comes in, but our backyard is really muddy so it's tough to get every speck of mud off of his paws. Feels like we're always blotting out muddy pawprints.
We had hardwood during the housetraining stage, which was awesome. If he had an accident, it took only a minute or two to wipe up, and then the hardwood was good as new.
The good thing about carpet is, he's way more likely to just chill out on the ground because it's way more comfy than hardwood. I think rugs would strike a good balance between the comfort factor of carpet and the easier cleanup of hardwood.
Shannon and I have all hard wood floors. Mugsy doesn't seem to mind but when he is sitting he will start to slide and is constantly adjusting. Rugs are nice because it can collect some of the hair that floats around. The moment we are done vacuuming and mopping its dirty already. We have already gone threw two area rugs in Mugsys room but he has found a way to destroy them. Little rascal!!
I have hardwoords and fought the water spots and stains until I discovered the steam mop. Truly-best invention. It cleans up the water spots from where Molly spills her water or licks her toys on our wood floors. Its a lifesaver.
Our place has laminate and tile. We have an area rug in the living room, and beneath the dining table. The dog definitely appreciates the rugs. I often come home from work to find him chilling under the table. I also have a little mat under my computer desk, which acts like a secondary bed. The only time our dog lies on the hard floor is when he's trying to cool down. To keep rugs clean, we wipe paws, and vacuum regularly. I also don't buy anything TOO fancy, because if the dog gets sick, he always goes to the carpets to throw up. So frustrating!
We have hardwood with a couple of large area rugs. Before laying the rugs down, we treated them with Scotchguard to try to cut down on stains. Our dogs also each have their own sick spots. Nabi only goes to the hardwood, but Willie only goes to the lighter colored rug, so it took quite a beating when he had a stomach bug once. When we get around to replacing that rug, I like the idea of those Flor tiles where you can replace one square rather than the whole thing.
We have hardwoods and have given up on rugs. I dream of someday having a nice area rug but that may require us moving to a place where it doesn't rain 9 months of the year!
I think carpet is pretty bad with dogs, but a rug is a great idea. The difference being that carpet can't be moved. If a bad accident happens on a rug, you can clean the rug, pick it up, make sure it is clean all the way through, and clean the floor underneath. Can't do that with carpet.
When we replaced the carpeting in our house with laminate, I knew we'd end up getting area rugs to put down. I really like the combination though. The rugs are easier to clean, and if I really need to I can replace them down the road without having to replace ALL the floors. I really like it (the dogs do too!).
Hmm... It looks like I'm just the opposite of everyone else. I prefer carpet so the dogs don't slip-slide around or make a clacking noise when they walk. They can also lie down anywhere comfortably. Since we live in the Northeast, carpet helps keep our floors warm in the winter as well (more of a perk for the humans).
We're lucky that our apartment is on the third floor of a building with carpeted stairs, so by the time the dogs get to our front door, their paws are already clean. Surprisingly, our light-colored carpet is also stain-free. Cleaning up accidents immediately using Nature's Miracle has apparently worked well for us.
The main problem we're facing now is the vacuuming. We're having to do it quite often, and our vacuum stopped working because of the amount of fur stuck in it.
I have a TON of rugs over hardwood for many of the same reasons that you do but now with Pug loosing control of his back legs my rugs and hardwood may turn in to yoga mats.
I hate wall to wall carpet, but throw rugs get the thumbs up.
I hate wall to wall carpet, but throw rugs get the thumbs up.
I think rugs are a good choice. I have only 2 smaller ones now, next to my bed, because I only have cats ATM and they have their own beds. I'll add one or 2 into the living room, once I get a dog again. But I'm never going back to "all carpet", since that was really a pain to clean! We all know accidents happen and it's good to have smaller rugs, that fit into the washing machine.
We have area rugs but I feel like they shed more than the dog does! The floors dirty easily from dogs coming in and out. I need to start wiping feet!
They really enjoying your new rugs, they are so comfortable napping, they are both gorgeous :D
Dog Shock Collar | Puppy & Human Bond
We LOVE your decor posts - they are our favorite. YBH gave us some good cleaning tips. We actually have a cleaning calendar we implemented just because havi sheds a tad too much!
All we've ever known is carpet with a little linoleum. We used to think hardwood would be better for cleaning, but then we realized with aging dogs slippery floors aren't a good idea. Carpet is easier for aging dogs to get up from a down position and less likely they will slip and fall. Sometimes I slip when on the linoleum in the kitchen, but that is the one room my humans say carpet isn't a good idea because Mom is always spilling something.
Emma
Your comment about the Nylabone cracked me up - I was once talking to our downstairs neighbor in her unit. At one point, I heard a loud BOOM! I looked up and said, do you always hear that? She sheepishly said yes, and I realized it was Jack dropping his Nylabone! So embarrassing.
Now, we try to make sure he only plays with his Nylabone on our rug!
And thank you for the Small Cool shout out! :)
It can be challenging to keep your home free from clutter and mud, especially if you have pets. They tend to be naughtier than our kids! Haha! But I think it’s wiser to have rugs instead of installing wall-to-wall carpets because it will be easier to wash those muddy paws away.
Francis Patton
Ive just ripped out the Berber carpet and thick pad and painted with Kilz in my 20 x 25 ft living room after renting this house 2 1/2 yrs to tenants with 2 large dogs. There is not one sq inch of sub floor w/o pee stain. Most of it wicked up through the carpet. (I kept the entire deposit.)My own little 9# pooch prefers to go outside,but occasionally I find accidents. He prefers to use throw rugs.
I've decided to install 1/2" solid bamboo and just use washable throw rugs. At least I will be able to find the wet spots with my light detector and nose.
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