Suck it up: the best hoovers for dog hair

Golden retriever sitting next to vacuum cleaner
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

Frequent vacuuming is par for the course if you have a dog in your home. Even if you’re the proud owner of one of the breeds that does not shed hair, the chances are you’ll need to vacuum the house more often than if you were pet-free. There’s the dirt, leaves and sticks they bring into the home, not to mention any chewing or destuffing of cushions when they’ve eventually finished one of the longest lasting dog chews. And most dogs, let’s face it, do shed hair to varying degrees, so you need to equip yourself with one of the best hoovers for dog hair to keep on top of the problem.

Vacuums designed to hoover up pet hair need both power and manoeuvrability, to get into all those tricky corners where hair tends to accumulate. Primarily, you’ll need a vacuum that does not easily clog up, and is quick and simple to empty as the canister will typically fill more rapidly than in a pet-free household. Most of us have a mix of carpets and hard floors, so make sure it works well on both. Some people like the efficiency of a robotic vacuum that cleans up constantly, however bear in mind that some dogs find these either terrifying or a fun game to play chase with.

CATEGORIES
Martha Terry
Features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.