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I have two cats, and two hairy dogs. Talk about hair? That's all I do all day, pick up hair.
One thing I'm glad I bought is a carpet rake. I bought it at a vacuum repair shop. It kinda looks like a push broom, but it had short, very course bristles. You rake up the hair off your carpet before vacuuming. You will be surprised how much hair you get up that normally would end up clogging your vacuum. I go around my area rugs and give it the once over a couple of times a week and that's all you need to do.
I have a Miele vaccum as well as an old upright Kirby I bought at a church yard sale for $10.
The next thing I may look into is central vac. The suction power is a lot stronger then a conventional vacuum.
I don't know what kind of dog the OP has, but I have a Cavalier and did something that would horrify most Cavalier purists... I keep my dog clipped most of the year, a slightly longer cut in the winter. Besides shedding, one of the problems I have is my neighborhood's dead Bermuda grass all winter long. Chester used to bring it into the house by the fistfuls.
His haircut has done wonders for keeping the house clean, and Chester doesn't seem to mind at all. I do get questions about what breed he is; some people are confused when they see him.
Oh, and I have a Kenmore "something" with a bag. It works great on our carpet.
I don't know what kind of dog the OP has, but I have a Cavalier and did something that would horrify most Cavalier purists... I keep my dog clipped most of the year, a slightly longer cut in the winter. Besides shedding, one of the problems I have is my neighborhood's dead Bermuda grass all winter long. Chester used to bring it into the house by the fistfuls.
His haircut has done wonders for keeping the house clean, and Chester doesn't seem to mind at all. I do get questions about what breed he is; some people are confused when they see him.
Oh, and I have a Kenmore "something" with a bag. It works great on our carpet.
Don't feel bad. When I was younger we had a buff colored female Cocker Spaniel and my mom couldn't deal with all the fur so we would take her and get her shaved. Poor thing! She looked funny but it kept her from gettig matted and the house wasn't always a mess with all that fur!
As far as vacuum cleaners, I can't really comment on them. My husband is the one who specializes in that area (he's obsessed). I do know he loves his Bissell Pet Hair Eraser handheld thing. It works really good on our couches where the cats sleep and on our bed. A dustbuster cannot even compare! This things is great. I am hoping that we can eventually get a Dyson but right now we have a Kenmore vaccuum we purchased 5 years ago which is falling apart.. The reason our vaccuum is falling apart is b/c in our old condo it got used everyday and he can't stand the canister vacuum (my idea) and he treats it poorly.
i have a 5-1/2 year old Hoover Wind Tunnel cannister vac ..... although the body has been pretty delicate.... stuff has been breaking on it since about the first time i used it..... it REALLY picks up dirt, hair, etc. .......
Well, today I just bought a Dyson DC18, refurbished with a waranty, for $200 Bought it online so now I have to wait for it to get here... But I'm very hopeful it will be what I'm looking for in a vac! I was thrilled to learn that it has a washable filter, rather than one of those paper things that costs $20 every time you need to replace it. It comes with a special tool for getting pet hair off the furniture too A postage-paid lable comes with it, so if for any reason it dosen't meet my expectations, I have no fears of being stuck with another (un)sucky vacuum, lol!
I'll have to look for one of those fur rakers, I usually get down on my hands & knees and run my hands over the carpet to pick up a bit of the fur before vacuuming. Riley would look goofy shaved Though I have given it thought... I'd love to know exactly what mix she is, because she has such dense fur and she sheds heavily year round.
Haven't decided 100% yet on getting a steamer, but I think that idea is going to be shelved for now anyways. For our spring cleaning we're just going to borrow a heavy duty carpet shampooer/steamer from a LL friend
Ditto on the bissell they do not do well with pet hair even though they say it does. I have a Kirby that just needs a switch replaced and I am going back to that, have had it for 13 + yrs and I know those are super pricey they work great. Maybe u could find a second hand one or something, does great with pet hair and will last forever.
I have two cats, and two hairy dogs. Talk about hair? That's all I do all day, pick up hair.
One thing I'm glad I bought is a carpet rake. I bought it at a vacuum repair shop. It kinda looks like a push broom, but it had short, very course bristles. You rake up the hair off your carpet before vacuuming. You will be surprised how much hair you get up that normally would end up clogging your vacuum. I go around my area rugs and give it the once over a couple of times a week and that's all you need to do.
I have a Miele vaccum as well as an old upright Kirby I bought at a church yard sale for $10.
The next thing I may look into is central vac. The suction power is a lot stronger then a conventional vacuum.
We have two heavy shedding Alaskan Malamutes. I "rake" my carpet on my hands and knees with the steel bristled combing brush. NO vacumn can touch the results I get via this method. Sure, it is physical labor, but I only do the heaviest travelled areas of the house this way, and only twice a month. The ammount of hair I pick up using this method is incredible.
Option two is to purchase a Shop Vac for around $80 from Home Depot. Once again, more manual labor is involved compared to a conventional vacumn, but the suction power is incredible, and it is designed for heavy industrial sized jobs.
I have not read all of the posts, maybe someone has adressed this, I am looking for a vacum for hardwood and tile. We have a short hair mixed breed and I have NEVER seen so much hair My shizu-pom has long hair and hardly ever sheds, but the short hair "Newbie" sheds like crazy! I see hair on the bathroom walls
I sweep every day and it just seems like I am moving the hair from one spot to another, I would like to find a really good vacum to clean everything......any suggestions?
I have not read all of the posts, maybe someone has adressed this, I am looking for a vacum for hardwood and tile. We have a short hair mixed breed and I have NEVER seen so much hair My shizu-pom has long hair and hardly ever sheds, but the short hair "Newbie" sheds like crazy! I see hair on the bathroom walls
I sweep every day and it just seems like I am moving the hair from one spot to another, I would like to find a really good vacum to clean everything......any suggestions?
We have hardwood floors and tiled floors as well and with 3 cats. My husband uses the regular swiffer for this and also the Swiffer vacuum thing. He loves it! He used to use the vacuum cleaner (hard surface option) but it didn't do as well as the Swiffer or Swiffer vacuum.
The rubberized tools for my Bissell Pet Hair Eraser work well on my hardwood floors and the tile floor in my bathroom. They also work well on the molding and baseboard tops.
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Bought it online so now I have to wait for it to get here... But I'm very hopeful it will be what I'm looking for in a vac! I was thrilled to learn that it has a washable filter, rather than one of those paper things that costs $20 every time you need to replace it. It comes with a special tool for getting pet hair off the furniture too 
A postage-paid lable comes with it, so if for any reason it dosen't meet my expectations, I have no fears of being stuck with another (un)sucky vacuum, lol!
Though I have given it thought... I'd love to know exactly what mix she is, because she has such dense fur and she sheds heavily year round.
