Hardwood floor can eventually become dented or scratched over time and with many pets having sharp claws that are ready to do plenty of damage to anything that gets in their way, is it sensible for pet owners to buy wood flooring?
Firstly, it will very much depend on the type of pet you have. The majority of pets will cause no damage to wood floors whatsoever, and only certain dogs are really at risk of doing any serious damage to such a floor. However, these same animals are also likely to cause problems for those with carpets or linoleum and therefore having a dog is no reason to avoid getting beautiful wooden floors.
However, it may best to choose wisely. Avoiding softer woods will certainly help, as might buying a wood floor that can have individual slats repaired if required as opposed to needing to have the entire floor replaced.
There are other options too. Certain woods may already appear to be dated and old and in turn dents or scratches will simply fail to show up. There will also be plenty of ways to protect your hardwood flooring, and from using certain treatments to utilising rugs, there may be many ways to avoid such problems altogether.
You may also want to consider a floor that can be refinished to ensure that you can simply retreat your floor if you do see any damage, and be sure to remove shoes as many pet owners cause damage to floors themselves and simply assume it is their pet.
Ultimately, wooden floors are an extremely attractive, practical and warm addition to any home, and avoiding them simply due to the presence of pets is likely to be a mistake. The majority of pets will never cause any damage to wood floors, and even if they do, there will be plenty of ways to deal with the small scratches they might cause over time.