I don't think I have seen this out here. I am probably going to have to buy new living room furniture and YES the Labs and old Cocker gets on the furniture....I was wondering what kind of fabric works best with dogs. My old couch and love seat have held up very well but are starting to sag really bad!! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I do cover everything with sheets!!

Leather

Yes, leather works well for me too.

Leather here too. It's so much easier to just wipe it down and it doesn't hold that doggy smell. My furniture is about a year old now and I haven't had any issues with ripping.

Leather

LOL a thread we all agree on HA!

Leather for me too!!

How does leather stand up to cats? My dogs are not the problem but I have a cat who has torn up 3 cloth sofas. Can leather stand up to cat claws - do they want to scratch it as much?
Thanks

Depends on the construction of the furniture. If your cat is a corner tugger, I use the clear sticky strips on the corners of my leather. They don't like the sticky feel and go to the scratching post instead.

If the corners are wood, then the cats won't tug on that.

The other thing is that cats don't like to sleap on leather...unless there is a blanket or a human under them!

MK

Ugh! I had my cats absolutely destroy a wonderful leather recliner, not that they didn't try with the fabric sofa though.

Kinda off topic, but for those who wish to protect the furniture with slip covers, I recently got a SURE FIT slip cover for both my sofa and love seat and they are wonderful. They dont look cheesy at all and are fully washable.
Dont pay retail though, I got them for 60% off at overstock.com (not an add, just the facts folks)
Annie

I too agree with the Leather. It also helps to have dog and cat nails as short as possible. I have used the SureFit covers on other furniture with great success. Gotta love the strip it off into the washer/dryer material.

Guess I will start shopping for new furniture! Thanks.

For Cat who scratch you can try the softpaws nail caps. It as little silicon nail cover that is glued on and has to be replace every 4-6 weeks. We were considering a de-claw because of cronic sofa scratching. But these work very well. New sofa's been hear for a couple of months and is still safe and sound

Very recently, I saw a leather sofa in one of the upper end furniture stores that was distressed. Looked like teeth marks, and I thought to myself, why would someone buy a sofa that looks like a Labrador has chewed on it! Well, maybe we ARE in style!

Thanks for the info - I have often wondered about those nail caps for cats. Can they be put on by yourself or does the Vet or a groomer have to do it?

Make sure it's a heavy-grade of leather! Some leathers feel very fine/thin to the touch; you want to go with a thicker, stronger grade.

When I was shopping for our leather couch, I was told to get a mid-grade leather. The cheap ones are more brittle, but the expensive softer ones tend to mark up more. After three years, I am happy with my leather!!!