we’ve checked out a lot. The major feature they seem to have is just extra attachments for doing furniture etc.

So if that’s what your looking for go for it. If your just looking for better suction -don’t bother paying extra for a ‘pet’ vaccum.

I recommend anything by Bissel-they are seriously army strong. My Bissel finally bit the dust (hahaha) about a month ago-Four years, Five rabbits and one dog. I’m not easy on them either-I vaccum up hay, litter, anything. We replaced with a Bissel and our carpet shampooer is bissel too. Another bonus-they are cheaper then many, and I find them SOO good

Dyson’s are pretty expensive- but I love our Dyson- and it is easy to get the hay clog out of the hose if it does clog- as compared to the other vacuum.  We used to buy cheaper vacuums and end up replacing them every 3-4 years it seemed- but we have had the Dyson probably 4 years now and no issues at all.

We have to empty the canister a couple of times when we vacuum the house- not including the room where the bunnies are.  So it picks up A LOT.  We have 2 dogs, 5 cats, plus the 3 bunnies and the parrots.

I love my Dyson’s too – I have a totally separate one for the rabbits room that I kind of had to rig up in order to use…sometimes with pets you do have to be creative. I’ve yet to find the vacuum to perfectly fit my needs which is the reason for the rigging.

It does clog with hay and stuff and I think most any would except maybe a wet/dry vac. But the good thing about the Dyson is that you can easily pull it all apart and unclog it.

I have separate ones for upstairs and downstairs (Dyson’s) since I don’t want any odors from the rabbit room vacuum to affect the rest of my house. I’m amazed at all the stuff that this vacuum picks up for my regular carpet in the rest of the house…I mean, what the heck is all that stuff.

I tried a Bissell but I did not like the design – the hose was not long enough and the darn thing kept hitting me in the head – that is just not going to work getting bonked on the head.

I think that Miele canister one might be easy to work with. The thing is you want a long hose so you can manipulate it in the corners of the condos and it has to be long and flexible which is what happens with the Dyson when you take off the handle rod thing and it’s all hose and I added a tube from another vacuum cleaner upside down to the hose…got to see it to understand what I had to do I think.

I have that Bissell. I love it.

I sometimes want to cuddle it and kiss it for being so wonderful.

Also, I got it at Target ON SALE which makes it even grander!

I have a vax pet hair one, had it around 3yrs, It’s just an attachment and it does work, I actually got it before the rabbits, just for cat hair, not that Sasha the cat leaves much hair around! But it is on its way out, I have to use the attachements on the hose part every time now as the suction has kinda gone on the main part! But the pet hair part does work very well for getting the hair up, I have a dark brown carpet and 2 white rabbits you do the math lol !!!!

I have some comparison tables if you’re interested? (Can send via message centre). I’ve saved them from a Australian consumer magazines site that does tests and unbiased reviews etc.

I’ve been using a basic Bissell ($80-90 at Target). Had one for just over a year and it broke (my fault tho… I was vacuuming out the car outside on the gravel driveway and it messed up the insides… not my brightest moment!) So we got another Bissell, same model. The most important feature for me is that the hose completely detaches from the vacuum for cleaning (de-clogging) and it can be very easily emptied. It has all the brush attachments for upholstery and the hose extenders…

I’d love to try out a Dyson but finances are just not in order right now for that to happen…

miele it rocks its gota nice long tube and it is light andpicks stuff up like a champ.

^^^Are you sure the hose doesn’t detach? That’s the exact one I have and the hose detaches (I clean it out after every use…) I just have to twist where it connects and it pulls right out. Maybe it’s a different model?

We have a Dyson also, and love it. Ours almost doubles as a shop vac. I love how the hose will completely detach from the wand, and how there’s a couple access covers in the bends that easily pop off. Those elbows that come off are right where the grass always clogs. There was a bit of a sticker shock, but I noticed the difference right away. It was a good investment.

As for running the vac and having smelly poo air come out, a little trick I seen on HGTV is to put a dryer sheet in your vac. We buy the very cheap, generic sheets just for that.

I fourth the Dyson! I just love ours. I’ve already told my parents that when I move out I want a Dyson for a house/wedding/graduation/baby/ect gift. We bought the smallest model they have and with 14 dogs it manages somehow (I seriously don’t know how it has lived this long!). Shortly after we got the Dyson I accidentally sucked water out of a dog bowl. It survived that too thankfully. If you can, look for coupons and such and after Christmas sales, or Black Friday sales. You might get a really good deal.
Before we bought our Dyson we were replacing $60 vacuums that looked like Teletubbies about every 6 months.

i’m really looking at the dysons to replace our current vacuum, but i’m wondering if there’s any real difference between the regular dyson and dyson pet vac. i think Kokaneeandkahlua is right that mostly they just have more/longer attachments. not worth the extra $200 to me! my sister has 2 cats and 1 dog and just ponied up about $600 for the dyson pet vac. i didn’t have the heart to tell her that i thought she was foolish for not getting the regular dyson.

anybody have any evidence that the pet vacs are worth the extra money?

The only difference between those two are attachments. I never ever use those attachments either but I have them. I know you can order attachments on line but some of those attachments don’t seem to work on all the vacuums. I have the regular, the ball, and one of the animal ones – it seems now they have 2 animal ones with what it sounds like different technologies…I think mine is the DC17. I don’t really like mixing the one I use in my rabbit room in the rest of the house.

Posted By Sarita on 10/14/2009 11:56 AM
The only difference between those two are attachments. I never ever use those attachments either but I have them. I know you can order attachments on line but some of those attachments don’t seem to work on all the vacuums. I have the regular, the ball, and one of the animal ones – it seems now they have 2 animal ones with what it sounds like different technologies…I think mine is the DC17. I don’t really like mixing the one I use in my rabbit room in the rest of the house.

Your opinion on the ball… what do you think? Is it as good as the comercials make it out to be? Between your ball vs your regular Dysons which do you like better?

I find the ball hard to maneuver – my technique is not nearly as good as their commercials. I prefer the regular one – it’s just easier to use, not so awkward.

I <3 my dyson. We got it for just over $200 on woot.com one day… was a great find Its hte reg. version, but its also what my Mom uses for the cleaning business she owns. That thing, well, sucks! lol

That is really good information on pet vaccums. I am going to need a new vacum in not so far in the future. I vacum every day and I also use lint rollers. With my 7 cats and the Hunny, it is amazing how much hair is shed. My daughter told me that the bissel is a great vacum. Never get a Kirby! Kirby’s are terrible vacum cleaners! I got rid of mine and now I am using a cheaper version of a bagless vacum that was only $60 and it works much better than that stupid expensive Kirby!

Really? My mom has a Kirby and it’s awesome. It weights a million pounds, but it literally tries to suck your carpet off the floor.
I heart my Bissell a lot, and the pet brush attachment actually works.