Leather furniture? What type with pets?

I went with full-grain leather for my family room furniture. It has held up beautifully, but it does show every single scratch from pets as well as people. It just takes a fingernail run along to leave a whitish streak. I oil the furniture with leather conditioner after cleaning it with the same brand's cleaner, and it makes the streaks turn a dark color. They never really go away. My family room is decorated to be quite rustic with very rustic antique wooden pieces. For example, my coffee table in that room is an old work bench that was cut down to the proper height. It is over 100 years old and the patina is amazing on it. It has a few black paint can rings and some holes along one end meant to hold screwdrivers, and I couldn't love it more. And since this room is decorated so rustic, the scratches on the leather pieces don't look out of place at all.

If they would in your home, I'd go with a leather that a lesser grade that provides more protection and is very hard to mark up with toenails. Do you have a speciality leather store near you? I went to a store called 'Arizona Leather' in my area and they showed me the various grades of leather and discussed their characteristics and how they react to marking. I think it really helps to see the grades in person and test them out for yourself. At the time I ordered mine, I didn't have a dog, so it wasn't such a concern, but it has worked out ok in the family room. Just make sure that you keep this type of leather well conditioned, especially if you use a fireplace in the room since it dries the leather out so much faster.

I have a black matte sueded finish leather in my living room and the pets don't go up on that furniture unless I am sitting in there with guests. The dog is typically on my lap when that is the case, so that furniture has no scratches in it. Yet. I am sure it would look like hell if it were used as much as the family room furniture is. I guess I am fortunate that my pets feel the need to be in whatever room I am.

I've had a leather couch and chair for about 30 years. I'm pretty sure it is regular leather. It is not the kind that you can scratch with your fingernail. Mine looks almost new. Grandkids and dogs are certainly allowed on it.
I was always under the impression that leather was the most durable fabric. No stains or tears on mine. Just wipe any spill with a damp rag

We had a leather sofa for about 25 years. It did not show scratches or dirt. At the time we had 2 small dogs and 2 cats (plus kid). What I did observe--our pets did not like the leather and would only lie on the sofa if we had a fabric afghan for the animal to "nest" upon. I think it was the smoothness of the leather that made it undesirable to the pets.

Ex-dh and I had nice leather (I don't know what I bought as it was a long time ago) and our furniture was really pretty to look at. It was really easy to keep clean as the only thing that got splashed on it was infant formula. The problem with leather is it is COLD in winter. I found it really comfortable but so cold to sit on. We have fabric in the living room, family room and play room, but there is a leather recliner that no one sits in because it is so cold!