If you have pets, you may be worried about how well they are likely to treat wood flooring should you look to get it for your home. Likewise, if you have beautiful solid oak floors, you may not be so sure about whether or not a pet is going to be right for your home.
However, in either situation, you are likely to be fine, just so long as you have the right approach to keeping your floor protected.
The first thing to do is to ensure that you teach your pet some ground rules. If they start scratching at wood in your home, researching obedience for your specific pet will be important. For example, lightly pinching a cat’s paw when they have done something wrong will often help them to learn very quickly not to repeat what they have done.
Placing rugs in areas they are likely to spend a lot of time can be extremely beneficial. Not only are they likely to use the mats as their perfect place to rest instead of spending time on the wood, but they are also less likely to cause trouble to the wood when mats are down.
Trimming their claws and making sure that food and drink both stay well away from the flooring is also important, although just the right treatment and finish on the wood could be all it takes to leave them unaffected by such things.
However, remember that scratches on solid oak floors are not the end of the world. Light sanding and refinishing will often hide even the deepest of marks in your floor and, as such, you may not even have to worry at all. If you are still concerned though, you may simply find that you can keep them out any rooms with wood flooring until such a time as you can be sure that they can be trusted.
