<p>I’ve tried the bell. Nothing, except that big <em>smart</em> dog would hit it with her tail going in and out the door. </p>
<p>Sans, I think you may need to keep your dog confined to one area of the house (perhaps the kitchen) until she has better control. You will need to buy gates. Also, along with praise you need to give her a treat immediately. Keep a few in your pocket all the time. </p>
<p>I second a behaviorist. I had to hire one for middle dog (she resource guards, bites the hand that feeds her, refused to come when called.) The behaviorist was very helpful in working with both of us. The only thing is I still haven’t gotten the dog to listen to me the way she listened (immediately!) to the trainer.</p>
<p>toledo, I looked into these when we put ours in and thought they were used in areas that are actually prone to excess moisture, such as over a concrete slab or a bathroom. Also thought they can be finished in the same way as any wood floor. </p>
<p>I believe they come in a range of thickness of the top layer of wood and quality and that best of them can be as expensive or more than solid hardwood. The reason I have seen given for not using engineered with pets is that they can only be resanded and refinished a limited number of times (some more than others). But I would think that pet accidents could theoretically damage solid wood floors the same way.</p>
<p>Engineered hardwood <em>might</em> be better after it gets refinished. Because it comes with a finish, there really isn’t anything sealing the cracks between the boards. Urine can still get down there. With “real” hardwood, the floor is sanded, and in my case, received 3 layers of a polyurethane / stain coating. Betweeen the sawdust and the poly, nothing else can get fit between floorboards. The entire surface is sealed.</p>
<p>I see what you are saying now. Aren’t you talking about any pre-finished floor,then, whether solid hardwood or engineered? With some of the pre-finished solid hardwoods there is no visible gap between the planks, but since the planks get installed individually there is what they call a micro bevel. Once they are refinished, you lose that micro bevel and that special factory finish as well. </p>
<p>Likewise, engineered floors can come either unfinished or pre-finished. If unfinished they get the same layers of stain and poly on top as solid hardwood. They are indistinguishable from solid hardwood (the top layer is real wood), but can only be refinished a certain number of times, although some will supposedly last as long as you’ll ever be in a home.</p>