Re: Best type of leather with pets?
Here's the thing on leather and pets. There is no one right hide from any maker that is truly 'dog-proof', and it doesn't matter who the supplier or brand would be.
If you have a finished (pigmented or painted) hide or a Semi-Aniline with a clear top coat, the dog nails can scratch the topcoat. There is a tremendous amount of pressure in a finger or toe nail, be it human or animal, and as we all know high pressure over a small area results in damage to whatever is being scratched. If you go with a pure aniline hide, then you won't get the scratch-the-topcoat effect, but the oil and dirt from the pets can stain the leather.
Having said that, I have pure aniline hides in my home and a Westie that thinks the sofas are his domain. I prefer pull-up and burnished hides that have waxy topcoats rather than hard-applied clear coats so any scratches we get onto the waxy topcoat come out easily with heat and pressure from the palm of one's hand.
What you WILL find with H&M leather is that they (along with Leathercraft) only buy Grade A Steer Hide. There are different grades in each leather vendor category "A", "B", "C", etc. H&M gets a leather shipment every day, and rejects about 25 % to 30 % of the leathers that arrive as they do not meet their standards. What happens to an A Grade hide that is rejected? It goes back to the vendor's warehouse and is re-marked as a "B" or "C" grade leather and sold to another manufacturer at a discount. So the leather than H&M rejected is going to wind up being made up into a piece over at Thomasville or Bernardt or other 3rd tier maker. They never buy cowhide at H&M (it stretches too much) either - only steer hides. End result is less puddling, less defects, better texture and color accuracy and in general a piece that looks good LONGER than the other makers.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
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