Anita speaks the truth (as usual). We have hardwoods on both floors of our house, although the kitchen has some old crappy vinyl on it right now. We are going to take that off and have the entire first floor redone. We also have two dogs, one is 8 yrs and one is 7. We have a large rug in the living room and one in the dining room, and both rooms are connected. This gives the girls... ahem, dogs areas to lay, sleep, keep warn, plus makes it easier for them to get up and down. One likes an old sheet as a bed, while the other uses a dog bed most of the time.

I think area rugs would help out a lot for older dogs... much of our floors are and will be covered by them after they are re-done.