For many homeowners, the story is all too familiar: you get a plush carpet or rug for your living room, and it all looks perfect until the dog starts shedding on it the following week. Before you know it, you’re vacuuming every day and starting to regret your decision. Unfortunately, it’s a mistake many homeowners make: they fail to take kids and pets into account when they buy rugs online. Well, that shouldn’t have to be the case anymore. With all the options available today, finding a pet-friendly rug should be a breeze.

So what makes a pet-friendly rug? It really depends on the kind of pet you have, how many there are, and how much abuse they put on your flooring. If it’s a non-shedding breed, all you’ll have to worry about are scratch marks on the rug. If it sheds regularly, you may need a more low-maintenance rug material. One thing you won’t have to worry about is aesthetics—with today’s manufacturing technology, it’s easy to find rugs that offer both style and quality. Here are some buying tips to help you get started.

Know your rug materials.

There are more rug materials today than one can imagine, but not all of them offer the same quality. For your pet, you’ll need something sturdy and easy to maintain. The easiest choice would be polypropylene rugs—these are made of plastic-based fibers made to look and feel like traditional wool. Because they’re synthetic, they don’t fray or wear out as easily as other fibers. This works best for pets that like to play around and leave scratch or mud marks.

Another great thing about polypropylene is that it comes in all sorts of designs—in fact, there’s more designs for it than any other rug material. So you can easily find one that suits your décor, or use it to set the theme if you don’t have one. If your pet likes to go in and out of the house all day, you may want to get one with a busy pattern to better camouflage stains. Or if it doesn’t fit with your décor, a dark-colored rug also works well.

Anticipate some maintenance.

All rugs will require some work from time to time, whether it’s vacuuming, cleaning, dusting, or washing. But some rugs naturally need more work than others, and your choice should depend on how much time you’re willing to put into it. Sisal rugs are a great alternative to traditional fibers, which tend to need frequent washing. Made from a spiky cactus plant, sisal is extremely hard-wearing and comes highly recommended by designers around the world.

Wool rugs are also a popular choice in terms of maintenance. Genuine wool has a soft, luxurious feel and a natural self-cleaning property that keeps it free of dust, even without regular cleaning. It’s also hypo-allergenic, so it’s great for households with allergy-prone kids. You can let your pet sit or sleep on the rug and not worry about picking up stray hairs afterwards. Often, all you need is some vacuuming once or twice a week.

Look for busy patterns.

As mentioned above, patterned rugs help camouflage the stains and dirt left behind by playful pets. That’s not to say it’s an excuse to leave the rug as is—it just means you don’t have to clean it as often as a solid-colored rug. A good example is the Rhody Rugs Pilgrim Camel outdoor braided area rug, which features a brown base accented with blue, yellow, white, gold and black. The mix of earth and jewel colors makes it a great home accent, as well as a nice camouflage design for the occasional mud stain.

Of course, you’ll also need to consider how the pattern will fit into your home. if you already have a lot of patterned pieces, a printed rug may make the room too noisy. Try toning down other aspects of your home to make way for the rug, or choose a rug with a simpler pattern. With the right print, your rug can become a central point for your home, not to mention the perfect play area for your pet.

Get tips from other pet owners.

At the end of the day, the best way to cope with a pet is to get advice from those with firsthand experience. Look online for forums on pet-friendly carpets and area rugs, or a rug blog that talks about caring for rugs when you have pets in the house. You can get tips on cleaning, choosing cleaning products, local rug cleaning services, or reviews of current rug models. Since these are made by professionals and pet owners alike, you get valuable advice you can’t get from brochures or magazines. And nothing’s stopping you from sharing your own tips—there just might be a new rug owner who will find it useful!