Home flooring experts input requested

I'm not a home improvement kinda guy, not my thing.  The best tool I have to do things like flooring is my wallet.  So this is going to be contracted out, but I need input on what type of flooring to use.  Our lower level flooring is trashed...because three medium to large size dogs and 3 kids.  My kids are older now, so they don't hurt the floors too much, but the dogs are murder.  The current floors are a laminate hardwood everywhere except the family room which is carpet.  The house is only 5 years old, but the hardwoods look like they've been through a war.  They're getting pretty scratched up.  The carpet has started to come up where it meets with the hardwood (I don't think it was installed very well when the house was built).  My wife wants to redo the floors downstairs, but we need something as durable as possible with three dogs yet still economical.  We're talking about roughly 1000 sq ft, give or take a few.  What would you suggest?  Tile?  Premium vinyl planks?  What will stand up well to three dogs ranging in size from 55lbs to 75lbs each?

I do tons of premium vinyl planks.  For most situations its the best product.

But, with dogs that heavy, because at some point they may scratch through the protection layer on the vinyl, I probably would send your wife out to shop for a good porcelain tile.   Did that for a family with a 85# lab 4 years ago, and it is holding up beautiful.

Vinyl planks are pretty bulletproof, they have the advantage of being water (and pee and vomit) proof and stand up to abuse pretty well from what I understand. Not sure about impacts, point loads, etc., they might be prone to tearing from dog claws. Repairs seem to be pretty easy though, just pull up the damaged plank and glue down a replacement.

Tile is pretty hearty stuff, no concerns over claws and teeth, but it cannot withstand big impacts so don't drop heavy things on it. It is cold (unless you go for sub-floor heat) and won't tolerate uneven surfaces or lots of movement in the subfloor.  Use a poly-additive in the grout to seal it and waterproof it, it will hold up better and require less cleaning and maintenance. For tile, its all about the surface prep. And using quality materials. (not using Ardex products means you will have to redo it in a few years.)

I see commercials for Nature Stone all the time. Seems an interesting option, but I have no first-hand knowledge.

What's it going over?  I'm going to suggest a LVP - but a high quality thick one like Coretec plus - whose wear layer is 2x thicker than most.  If going over concrete i could also suggest a tile, but in my experience newer houses built with osb subfloors don't always do well with tile even with the correct uncoupling mats and proper installation.  If you wanted the look of tile, they make vinyl ones that are hard to see the difference of from more than a foot away from the surface 
 

builder grade everything blows, it's not just the kida and animals that killed your flooring.  Laminate is and always will be junk no matter how much you pay for a picture on some compressed sawdust.  I started doing laminate 23 years ago when the install process was a bottle of glue and a ton of masking tape and not walking on it until the glue dried.  It was a bad product then and now.  It looks fake and explodes at the thought of water touching a seam.  

Thanks gang.  The house has a basement, so there is a subfloor underneath the carpet/laminate. The house is only 5 years old, so it's pretty squeak free and the floors are nice and level (at least from what we can tell).  We picked up some premium vinyl samples last night and I'm trying to scratch/dent them using a flat head screwdriver.  Pretty impressive how durable they appear.  I did notice that some have a 6ml thickness rating and some are as high as 18ml layer.  I like the idea of tile, and we live in the south, but it can get cold down here.  I want to be as budget friendly as possible, but also don't want to be foolish.  If an extra $1000 for tile, or whatever product, will hold up properly to the dogs than that's what I want to do.  I don't want to spend thousands of dollars and be in a spot 5 years from now where the floors are scratched to hell. 

I was being a bit exaggerative in the initial post.  I have to say that all things considered, the laminate has held up better than you think given the abuse that it has taken.  But it's definitely showing significant wear signs.  The carpet coming up is a problem because now in the transition there is a spot you can't step because it's rough and unpleasant on a bare foot.

What about dog shoes?

Hard to beat tile for doggie nails.

However, a good hardwood will last.  I suggest against pre-finished.  Have the wood put in and then at least 4 coats of a good poly.  Good poly is the key... not the jobber cheap stuff they will want to supply.  Specify Parks brand poly.  It has the highest percentage of solids of any poly, and it's cheaper than the big brand names. 4 coats of that stuff with dogs should get you 15-20 years easily.  I used to teach floor refinishing classes, so I can walk you through it if you want to try it yourself. The super hard stuff they spray on pre-finished can still scratch and it leaves white gouges like getting your car keyed.  Polyurethane doesn't dry quite as hard and while it can still scratch, the slightly softer nature of it actually helps you with pet nails.  The oak hardwood in mom and dad's house was put down in 1967 when the house was built, refinished once in the 80s, and has endured 6 large dogs, 3 cats, and one free-roaming rabbit over the years.  Still looks great.

The bulletproof answer is tile.  Over a subfloor you might notice that the grout will need to be periodically touched up depending on the psf rating of the floor and how floppy it is.

 We moved into a 55yo MH 2.5 years ago.  It has laminate flooring.  What a joke.   The place had been renovated and looked really nice on first exam, but has not aged well.  The flooring at several joints has deteriorated badly, turning soft and bulging up.  We have had three flooding incidents here and have a dog that is not well house broken.  So I  guess  that is a good excuse, but it still looks crappy.  This is a rental, so not really my problem, but is an object lesson to never buy laminate.

If plywood subfloor I'd do real nailed down hardwood.  Run it till it looks bad, sand and refinish. All the other options besides carpet are noisy with dogs.

I have laminate flooring in the nursery and engineered oak in the lounge. The oak definitely looks nicer, but is far less resistant to scratches and dents. So think about how careful you are likely to be! It depends on your preferences.