Bath Tub Materials

[emppoint]

Hi Need some advice
I am gutting my current old bathroom and I need a new tub. The current tub is 5' x 30"wide fits in an alcove and is metal with an enameled finish
I have been talking with people in showrooms and they are recommending moving into an acrylic tub
I occasionally need to use the tub to bathe large dogs (rottweiler and german shepherd) so I need material recommendations on baths based on cracking, scratching, maintenance...
thank you

[jadnashua]

A cast iron tub would be the most durable. I think bathing dogs in any of the other available options would end up getting scratched and looking poorly fairly quickly. The only downside to a cast iron tub is carrying it up there, but you only need to do it once.

[RonIdaho]

Hi,
We had a 42 x 60 acrylic tub installed after going through 2 fiberglass ones that delaminated. We were going to go cast iron, but the weight and cost differences were considerable. Cast iron tubs are much colder on the skin too. Our tub has been in for several years and we are glad we went with it. However, having sharp clawed dogs thrashing around in it would mar the finish pretty quickly, I fear.
FWIW
RonIdaho