How to Pick Dog Friendly Couches & Materials

Choosing a dog friendly couch material is easy when you know how the materials need to interact with the specific breeds.  Leather or tightly-woven wool with scotch guard make cleaning up drool and other messes easy for St. Bernards and bulldogs, or microfiber for a more luxurious feel for dogs that "get excited" easily and may have accidents as it can repeal the accident and it is easier to lift scents from.  How your dog will interact with it by chewing or jumping on the cushions is another factor.

Matching couch materials to breeds is based on the traits of the breed including the allergy needs of your household (pets and people), the dogs’ coats, and how active they are to make sure the couch can withstand paws, claws, dirt and the “im-paw-ssible” amount of dirt and stains they track in from outside.

For a quick overview, here’s a table where we’ve rated different couch materials on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst overall couch fabrics for homes with dogs.

Looking for more information on picking the right combination?  We've got you covered! 

Below you'll find our top choices broken out by allergies and ease of cleaning, for breeds that slobber, and for shedders.  We've included a fourth section that also shares a couple of popular couch materials that are not dog or pet friendly.

Best Fabric for Allergies and Cleanup

If you’re concerned about pet allergies, or have a dog breed prone to allergies like the french bulldog, easily cleaned fabrics like leather, tightly-woven cotton or linen couch covers that can be thrown in the washer will work best. 

Leather is the top choice because it is easy to vacuum and remove liquids from including slobber and urine, and dirt will remain on top of leather as it takes longer to penetrate the fabric due to its wax/oil based finish. This dog friendly couch material is easy to cleanup with a damp washcloth, and when combined with castile soap disinfection is a breeze. 

With that said, leather is also easily distressed, gets scratched, and may appear to age quicker compared to other fabrics. If you have an active dog that likes to zoom and launch themselves on and off the couch, like a German Shepherd or Corgi, make sure you’re ok with the distressed look before investing in leather. Some damage can be prevented by trimming your dog’s claws and using a couch cover, but scratches are inevitable.

If you don't like the distressed look, polyester is a durable, comfortable, and clean looking material.  It is designed to be easy-to-clean and hydrophobic so it naturally repeals these liquids and stains allowing for easy cleanup.

The next best option if you don't like the above is investing in couch covers like tightly-woven cotton or wool. These materials will need you to invest in a steam cleaner if they won't fit into your washer which allows for regular cleanings.  The good news is the cost of steam cleaners has dropped significantly and it can be used on carpets and other areas your four legged friend may be leaving stains. The ideal washing schedule is every two weeks, same as your bed sheets. 

Fun Fact: There is no 100% hypoallergenic dog, and surprisingly, multiple popular hypoallergenic breeds, like the poodle, Maltese, giant schnauzer, and bichon frise, all have luxurious coats. The amount of hair only dictates your future relationship with a lint roller, not hypoallergenicity of the breed.

Best Fabrics for Slobber

For dogs that slobber like the bloodhound, Saint Bernard, mastiff and bulldog, leather is a great couch fabric choice as you can easily wipe off the pool of drool compared to other fabrics that will leave a longer-lasting wet patch or stain like satin and suede. 

Drooling is a natural part of what dogs do, just like them wanting a comfy couch to lay on after a day of play.  Leather, whether it is faux or real, is a whole piece instead of a weave and has an oil-based finish allowing liquids like drool to pool instead of immediately soaking through the fabric. 

Microfiber is a great drool-friendly and easy-to-clean material for dog breeds that slobber as it is designed to repel liquids including saliva and urine and they’re difficult to stain.  Microfibers when used in furniture can have the appearance and texture of suede for a luxurious look and feel, but they don’t come with the high price tags and are easy-to-clean. Polyester with its liquid repealing properties will be equally as effective and also make a great choice if you don't want microfiber.

Although tightly woven linen or tweed has some benefits, they are some of the worst choices for dogs that drool as they are both prone to absorb moisture and odors, and they can stain if the saliva is left to dry.  If you go for these, or a tightly-woven wool for that matter, it will take a lot of extra cleaning as smells will permeate and set in faster than other couch materials.  You'll also want to treat it with a stain repellant like scotch guard before allowing your furbaby to sit or sleep on the couch.

Best Fabric for the Shedders

Tightly woven fabrics like canvas, denim and microfiber are easy to brush fur off of making them ideal for shedders.  Cleaning up hair can be time consuming with the wrong materials regardless of the size of your dog.  Pomeranians that can out shed a doberman pinscher or boxer for example.  These materials keep hair on top of the fabric instead of embedding into it for easy removal. 

Leather is always a great option for shedders as the hairs rest on top of the solid pieces of material making it easy to wipe off, just make sure to wipe the crevices and in between areas where dog fur accumulates. 

Fun Fact: Any breed with a double coat will likely shed a lot including short hair breeds like beagles, pugs, and Dalmatians.

Short hair is more difficult to get out of looser woven fabric, like tweed or textured weaves, as the shorter hairs embed themselves into the weave. Chenille and boucle textured fabrics are also not shedding friendly couch materials as they are made of looped yarns that create space for dog hairs to trap themselves in.  In addition to trapping hairs, they also cause claws to catch and may be more prone to fraying.  

Velvet is also not a good option if you have a breed that sheds.  Although it is easy to vacuum and brush with a lint roller for longer hair breeds, the fabric is a magnet for attracting dirt and smells and may be more prone to damage.  It is luxurious, but if cleaned improperly it can easily discolor so you’ll want to bring in a professional, and with dogs that will be a costly and time consuming thing.

Fabrics that Are not pet friendly

There are two couch materials you’ll want to avoid if you have dogs which are silk and suede as they are more fragile than other fabrics and they are easily stained from saliva, "accidents," and the dirt your furry friend tracks in.

These materials are dry clean only and more complicated to maintain making proper care expensive.  Both will easily tear and rip, so if your furbaby feels rambunctious, you’ll be left with an expensive fabric replacement project.

If you love the look and feel of suede, go with a microfiber suede as an alternative.  For silk, have a blanket you can store in a coffee table or ottoman out of reach from your furry friend that you can relax with when you want it.  This way you can have the best of both worlds with your fabulous, furry friend and favorite fabric.

Couches and dogs make a perfect combination when you match the materials to their breed’s traits.  Leather and microfibers will always be a good option where suede and velvet should almost always be avoided.  We hope this guide helps you so you can enjoy the best of both worlds from movie night cuddles to afternoon naps.