Pet owners! Do you LOVE your vacuum?

[TNT21]

I need help! We adopted a very sweet dog from the shelter last year and so far she has been wonderful. However...I have never see an animal shed so much! It's crazy! I have a Eureka Altima bagless that was doing fine for us before, but it just can't keep up with all this fur.
So... any suggestions on a good vacuum that won't break the bank (preferably ~$150 or less) and really sucks up all that fur? There are so many out there I don't know where to start. TIA!

 

[Redheaded Sunshine]

Well unfortunately, it wasn't under $150...but it's less than a Dyson! With a big shedder, I will say that you need to go for quality or you're going to end up replacing it rather quickly and spending more in the long run.

That said, I have a Bissell Healthy Home Vacuum. We have 3 cats so it's GREAT for pet dander, it has a lifetime warranty HEPA filter and lifetime warranty belts. And we have carpet and hard wood and it does great on both.

 

[rcraw45425]

I have the original Dyson Animal and now hate it. It weighs a ton and doesn't suck that well.(go figure....) I just bought the cheaper Dyson DC25 Ball and it's like night and day. My Animal is a DC14 (the most powerful one they made at the time) and this one is ten times better, but still pricey, over $400. We have two Shih-Tzu's that I now keep cut short but they still like to roll and also have long tail hair and ear hair so it's still an issue.

 

[melancholywings]

We have had 2 Bissel pet vacumes (a blue and a red one) and they'll work great for the first two months...then the hair starts to (easily) get stuck up in the upper chamber trapping all the dirt up there with it, so when you open it to dump the bin - instead of being an easy clean up you have to reach into the hair and dirt and pull everything out which gets all over the floor again and the vacume it all up again. It's been a disapointing purchase.

 

[ceecee]

I've got the Dyson Animal and 2 labs...it works better than any of the other brands I've tried. If your dog is shedding a lot, check with your vet. Maybe it's the food you're feeding it.

 

[disneyfamily71]

I have an Oreck upright and I love it. It is very lightweight. I got it off of eBay. I do go through bags fast but get those off of eBay too. We have a golden retriever and he sheds a lot but the Oreck does a good job.

 

[mfp]

I LOVE our shark navigator! I had two unrelated ppl rave about this vacuum cleaner to us. We were almost ready to shell out the $ for a dyson, but decided that for $140, it was worth it to try the shark navigator. It is AWESOME! The best and lightest upright vac we have ever owned. It is also much quieter. The suction on it is amazing. I guess that it is supposed to be a dyson knock off at the fraction of the price. So, if your budget for a vacuum that can handle pet hair and has good suction is under $150, then I would most definitely think that the shark navigator would fit your needs! The only thing that I will warn you about is that I bought mine from amazon for $140. I noticed at sam's club that they carry it too, BUT the hose for the tools is longer. It was about $155, I think. Had I known that sams club had the longer hose, I would have just gotten it there. Otherwise, the hose that comes on the amazon model is pretty typical of your avg upright hose, but if you would like a longer one (like for stairs), then you might want to check out the one at sam's club that is about $15-$20 more.

 

[pixiewings71]

Well mine won't fall into your price range, but we have a Dyson Animal, we have 3 cats and 1 dog, 2 kids and 2 adults. I love my vacuum!!!! My DD22 did get super lucky, she found a brand new Dyson on Craig's List for $100!!!!! She has 1 dog, 2 cats and 1 kid, her house is fully carpeted and she loves her Dyson. I have carpets in the bedrooms but hardwood and tile everywhere else, the Dyson goes over both and works great. But again, not in your price catergory unless you find a great deal like DD did.

 

[TNT21]

I LOVE our shark navigator! I had two unrelated ppl rave about this vacuum cleaner to us. We were almost ready to shell out the $ for a dyson, but decided that for $140, it was worth it to try the shark navigator. It is AWESOME! The best and lightest upright vac we have ever owned. It is also much quieter. The suction on it is amazing. I guess that it is supposed to be a dyson knock off at the fraction of the price. So, if your budget for a vacuum that can handle pet hair and has good suction is under $150, then I would most definitely think that the shark navigator would fit your needs! The only thing that I will warn you about is that I bought mine from amazon for $140. I noticed at sam's club that they carry it too, BUT the hose for the tools is longer. It was about $155, I think. Had I known that sams club had the longer hose, I would have just gotten it there. Otherwise, the hose that comes on the amazon model is pretty typical of your avg upright hose, but if you would like a longer one (like for stairs), then you might want to check out the one at sam's club that is about $15-$20 more.

I see that this one seems to get excellent reviews and looks like a pretty good price, will definately check it out!
Still interested in hearing more opinions, I like to really look at all my options before making a purchase!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I have been quite pleased with my Eureka as1000a.

I have a "mystery mix" dog with short hair.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I don't know the full name of it offhand...but I have a wonderful vacuum that I got from Walmart online only...it has whisper in the name of it. I like this vacuum sooo much better than the dyson. After awhile the dyson just didn't seem to have much suction anymore

ETA: It's the HOover Whisper Cyclonic. It's $84 at Walmart.com with 97 cent shipping.

 

[kchughes]

I have 2 different Bissel vacuums (one upstairs and one downstairs) that work ok. But the best investment I made was a furminator brush. Really removes the excess hair from my boxer mix. I found a knock off at Target for about $25 that works just as well as my friends $60 brand name Furminator.

 

[Simba&Nala]

I have the shark navigator and love it. For a while I was really getting discouraged with vacuum cleaners. Seems like they are made so cheaply that we were having to buy a new one every year. We've had the Navigator for two years now and unlike most vacuums, the suction is still just as good as when it was new.

 

[LaurenLC]

We have had a Bissle Pet Hair Eraser for about 4 years and it STILL works GREAT!

 

[deva]

I have an Oreck upright and I love it. It is very lightweight. I got it off of eBay. I do go through bags fast but get those off of eBay too. We have a golden retriever and he sheds a lot but the Oreck does a good job.

Love our Oreck. The motor on our first just died (after 13+ years). Upgraded to newer model. It is so lightwieght and it is self-propelled. Dare I say I enjoy vacuuming?

 

[sydneysmom]

I LOVE our shark navigator! I had two unrelated ppl rave about this vacuum cleaner to us. We were almost ready to shell out the $ for a dyson, but decided that for $140, it was worth it to try the shark navigator. It is AWESOME! The best and lightest upright vac we have ever owned. It is also much quieter. The suction on it is amazing. I guess that it is supposed to be a dyson knock off at the fraction of the price. So, if your budget for a vacuum that can handle pet hair and has good suction is under $150, then I would most definitely think that the shark navigator would fit your needs! The only thing that I will warn you about is that I bought mine from amazon for $140. I noticed at sam's club that they carry it too, BUT the hose for the tools is longer. It was about $155, I think. Had I known that sams club had the longer hose, I would have just gotten it there. Otherwise, the hose that comes on the amazon model is pretty typical of your avg upright hose, but if you would like a longer one (like for stairs), then you might want to check out the one at sam's club that is about $15-$20 more.

I totally second this !! LOVE LOVE LOVE the Shark Navigator. We got ours at Target on sale for $ 135 and we got a $20 Target gift card to boot. This thing has awesome sucking power !! We've got 3 dogs....2 that shed quite a bit so I appreciate this vacuum ALOT !! it works wonderfully!!

 

[chabs]

I have the original Dyson Animal and now hate it. It weighs a ton and doesn't suck that well.(go figure....) I just bought the cheaper Dyson DC25 Ball and it's like night and day. My Animal is a DC14 (the most powerful one they made at the time) and this one is ten times better, but still pricey, over $400. We have two Shih-Tzu's that I now keep cut short but they still like to roll and also have long tail hair and ear hair so it's still an issue.

I just ditched my Dyson Animal too-hated it with a passion. The tube was always getting clogged up and losing suction constantly to the point where I had to take it apart every 5 minutes. Something is stuck in the canister where you couldn't get to it unless you had some type of special tools. It only lasted 3 years-I really should have replaced it 6 months ago though. Last weekend I'd had enough and bought a Bissel (green one that looks like a Dyson) for $100. I figured I'm better off spending $100 a year to replace my vacuum rather than spending all that money on a Dyson that didn't even last a full 3 years. So far the Bissel is fine-I even like the onboard tools better than the Dyson's.

 

[marie1203]

I have 5 dogs and a persian cat and nothing helped to keep up with the fur until I got my irobot romba pet series! I it. I turn in on first thing in the morning and in the afternoon and my house is free of pet hair. I also feed a good diet and give them supplements to avoid shedding. And brush them at least once a week. I forgot to add that it goes under my furniture so I am sure hair is not hiding anywhere.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I have a Bissell Powerforce that I got at Walmart for about $40. I love it. I have 2 inside dogs and it easily handles the pet hair - I clean show homes for a builder and have used several other makes/models and now I use the Bissell Powerforce for work as well. It is awesome!

 

[rcraw45425]

I just ditched my Dyson Animal too-hated it with a passion. The tube was always getting clogged up and losing suction constantly to the point where I had to take it apart every 5 minutes. Something is stuck in the canister where you couldn't get to it unless you had some type of special tools. It only lasted 3 years-I really should have replaced it 6 months ago though. Last weekend I'd had enough and bought a Bissel (green one that looks like a Dyson) for $100. I figured I'm better off spending $100 a year to replace my vacuum rather than spending all that money on a Dyson that didn't even last a full 3 years. So far the Bissel is fine-I even like the onboard tools better than the Dyson's.

DId you also have the "noise" that would drive you up the wall, the high pitched grinding it would make if you hit something it didn't like? My girls despise that vacuum. THis new Dyson is like night and day though! The ball makes it 10 times more maneuverable and the suction is great. One of the worst vacuums I bought was a Shark, it may have been the Navigator. DIdn't hold up well at all and the girls hate it. It's upstairs in a closet along with a lime green Bissel maybe(?). Not teen proof. I cna't use a Roomba because the Shih-Tzu's would attack it and the female would destroy it.