[TheDragon]

I used to be a Hardwood Service Tech, and I can tell you from experience that I absolutely hate the stuff. It's usually harder and less characteristic than real hardwood, and as far as lasting value goes, nothing beats the real stuff. Most prefinished hardwood is coated in polyurethane to prevent any real damage from happening to the wood, itself. You'll get scratches in the finish over time, but I personally think it adds character. I've got 3 small dogs myself, running around on the floor I put in 2 years ago, and I can't see any scratches in it unless I get down on my hands and knees.

Most prefinished hardwoods will also last you 25 years without having to refinish it, and even then, that's only if you're super nit picky about scratches or anything like that. I highly recommend aganst refinishing, though, as it's messy, expensive, and the whole floor has to come up if you get it water damaged or anything like that.

Laminate is usually pretty cheap and easy to put in place and fix, though. Just depends how long you want it down for, and what area of the house it's in. But, just a fair warning; My cousin, who is an interior decorator, does inform me that laminate does depreciate the value of your house/store. Give it 8-10 years, and you'll probably want to replace it.

That's just from what I've experienced, though. The biggest difference is the cost of supplies and installation.