[Dog]

Well I believe I (Amber’s human Mummy) has been away since mid August. During my 6 weeks school summer holiday I became very sick. I went to the doctor at least 8 times between end of September and beginning of October until finally on the dreaded 11/10/09 I ended up in A&E as I was not able to breathe.

I spent the first 3 days in ICU Cardiothoracic and (wearing a horrible tight mask which I was not allowed to remove. I felt like the mask itself was chocking me! It was so scary. They didn’t know what I had so they treated me for MRSA, Swine flu, pneumonia etc... It was like an episode of “HOUSE” as all doctors/nurses wore facial masks before they entered my quarantined room!!

Since the 13/10/09 I have been transferred to an “Infection Control” ward and I am still here today. After a horrid 5 days of muscle biopsy, endless chest Xrays and ultrasounds, blood tests, a trip in the MRI machine which I hated as I am claustrophobic (luckily they needed to scan my legs so they agreed to put me in legs but it was equally the worse 20 minutes of my life).

I have a very rare disease (7 in a million). My body decided to create a new Antibody called ANTI JO 1 and then attack my muscles and lungs from the inside. I have been dependant on 60% oxygen when I got here and now I am on 2%. I had Cyclophosphamide (Chemotherapy) on the 6/11/09 as the first two treatments did not work. Things are looking promising but I still have 2 more sessions of Chemo and I am still on 200ml daily of Steroids so I do not have an immune system therefore cannot go back to work for a long while.

I am having to relearn to breathe and walk.

In the mean time I simply need your advice urgently as because of my poor health I need to remove all carpet and put down wood flooring everywhere. Dark Oak or Mahogany is the colour that would go with our furniture but as you know we have Amber so is there a particular type of wood flooring that is dog proof? Any alternative advice would be welcome. We need about 42 square metres.

Amber doesn’t scratch as a rule and she has always been used to carpet but you never know.

I have only got the laptop in hospital tonight and tomorrow so would appreciate any link you may have. Thanks in advance for your help.
Dog.

 

[AquaClaraCanines]

Oh no! I am so sorry about your troubles!!

We have Pergo- laminate flooring that looks like wood- and it is dog proof and wonderful.

 

[Karen519]

Reply

I have no expertise as we don't have wood flooring but what I've heard from everyone else is that Pergo seems to wear better for people with dogs.
Real wood scratches.

I need wood floor and pergo floor owners to please offer some advice for this dear lady.

 

[Tanyac]

Hi Dog

Sorry you're having such a terrible time, I hope you feel better soon.

We just had our lounge and hall done with a real oak engineered floor I found on Ebay. It doesn't have such a smooth slippery surface as it is "hand scraped". The surface is kind of wavy (if that makes any sense). The company I got it from was "Woodfibre UK" and from memory it was about £17 Sq M. I'll try and find a link for you...

Whatever flooring you choose, I would personally avoid totally smooth or shiny surface, like a skidpan for a dog. The tiles in our kitchen and dining room are slightly rough to touch. The dogs have never slipped on them.

Do you plan to have rugs over the floor?

Once again, I hope you are feeling better soon...

Tanya

 

[Micki's Mum]

I am so sorry you are going through all of this. We have laminate and hardwood. The hardwood scratches but not the laminate. You can get laminate in large planks so it looks just like hardwood. We like ours. HTH

 

[Abbydabbydo]

I am so sorry for your health problems! What a terrible ordeal!

Laminate wood flooring, Pergo is very good.

 

[LuckyPup]

I am so sorry to hear about this! I have laminate wood floors. They do not scratch at all. But Luck certainly does slide all over the place when he is "playing".

 

[Dog]

Hi Dog

Sorry you're having such a terrible time, I hope you feel better soon.

We just had our lounge and hall done with a real oak engineered floor I found on Ebay. It doesn't have such a smooth slippery surface as it is "hand scraped". The surface is kind of wavy (if that makes any sense). The company I got it from was "Woodfibre UK" and from memory it was about £17 Sq M. I'll try and find a link for you...

Whatever flooring you choose, I would personally avoid totally smooth or shiny surface, like a skidpan for a dog. The tiles in our kitchen and dining room are slightly rough to touch. The dogs have never slipped on them.

Do you plan to have rugs over the floor?

Once again, I hope you are feeling better soon...

Tanya

No, no rugs.

 

[esSJay]

I was thinking of you over the last few months, wondering where you were! I remember you actively posting when I first joined. I'm so sorry to hear that you have been going through all of this I sincerely hope that you are able to get healthier and have a good recovery.


As for flooring advice, stay away from bamboo floors as they scratch very easily. Laminate is very durable for dogs, easy to clean and install too. I can't say how other real hardwoods hold up.

Get well soon, we're all thinking of you and Amber!

 

[davebeech]

no advice from me but just wanted to say Hi and hope you get better soon

 

[New Golden Mom]

I'm sorry you've been so sick..hope you are feeling better and home soon! We have Pergo and I really like it. It's easy to keep clean and stands up to dog nails well. Rufus slips around if he really gets going but we've put some rugs down to help him "get a grip".

 

[BeauShel]

I am so sorry you are so sick but glad that you are finally on the road to recovery. I have Bruce engineered hardwood. It is very durable and the only scratches are from stupid me and not the four dogs. Hope you get better and can get out of the hospital soon.

 

[Dog]

no advice from me but just wanted to say Hi and hope you get better soon

And I hope Tom is doing well too!!

 

[Dreammom]

Awww I hope you start feeling better soon!

We have laminate, it's not Pergo, some other name, could be Bruce... we love it. We did have to put down some scatter rugs for the old dogs, their long nails were causing them to skid and Dream had torn both ACL's, she couldn't get traction. We have had this probably about 8 years now and it still looks brand new!

IKEA carries really nice flooring, and anythng we have ever gotten from them has held up great and is easy to install.

blessings,

Julie

 

[usmcmueller]

Pergo is the way to go with laminate flooring. We have real oak hardwood but Moose doesn't leave scratches on it. Real hardwood is alot more expensive so I would recommend Pergo.

 

[puddinhd58]

I was just going to recommend Pergo or like also but really wanted to wish you well and hope you continue to improve...I am so sorry you have had to face this!
Good luck to you!!!

 

[FinnTastic]

I don't have any advice as we have carpet. I just wanted to say that I hope you start to feel better. What a scary thing to be going through.

 

[Ljilly28]

I am so shocked and sorry to hear all that has befallen you, and impressed that you can still joke that it's like an episode of House. I bet you've just been terrified. Kisses to Amber, because I bet she's missing you. I love the part of my house with bamboo flooring as far as doggies go, and there's a nice kind of cork flooring that works well for dogs.

 

[Dog]

Thank you so much for all your input.

They have helped me a lot in my seach. However my eye sight is under a lot of strain so I do appologise for not updating this thread often. I get tired very quickly.

My lung capacity was only working at 30% and now it is up to only 50% (my CK level was 30,000 and now is down to 865 - it should be 500 for a normal person). Doctors say that it will take years to get my lungs back up to 80% but they will try (via an outpatient clinic of course).

I will still be on steroids for the next 4 months so I cannot go back to work because I do not and and will not have much of an immuse system until they reduce the steroids. I am currently on 200ml if there are any doctors out there.

No, I probably cannot afford real hardwood because I need to renovate the bathroom and toilet aswell so Bruce or Pergo Laminate Flooring sounds like a good choice for us.

What is a good durable thickness? Is 12mm = 1/2 inch reasonable or should we go high?

Yes, my Amber misses me as much as I miss her!! She is acting strangely apparently. I cannot believe that I have not seen her in nearly 5 weeks. I know that when I get home I will hug and kiss her for hours but most importantly I know that my Amber will take a big part in my convalescence.

 

[NapaValleyGolden]

I am so sorry for all you are going thru, lots of healing thoughts and prayers being sent your way.

As far as flooring, our house had oak floors when we moved in and they have held up well, without scratches (11 years and 2 dogs later). My in laws have laminate floors which are also very nice and look great. Is tile an option for the bathrooms? Our kitchen and laundry rooms are ceramic tile, very easy to clean.

Take care,