I highly recommend getting a commercial bag vacuum. I have destroyed many, many of the bagless type. The interior of the vacuums get coated with chin dust and the fur gets into everything. That leads to the demise of the motor and it really does clog the filters. Changing the filters and trying to keep them clean so that the vacuum works properly takes up so much time...and it gets messy when changing out everything.
A bag vacuum gives you a big filter bag. The fur and dust usually gets locked into the bag and doesn't get into anything else. Bag vacuums usually last a lot longer and are actually cheaper. Bags are now easy to find online with all sorts of different places...so, people saying "I won't be able to find bags! isn't an excuse.
When I change out my vacuum I take out the entire bag and all the fur and dust and nastiness goes to the trash in the bag and I don't reintroduce the dust into my house when I need to empty it. If you get a bagless, take the canister outside to empty it or you'll get dust in your house even if you don't mean to.
I have a Kirby. I have had it for years and it is a very solid, good vacuum. It's made in America and the local Kirby store helps with any problems I have. So far the only problem is that I have to change out the brush roll every five years or so. I haven't destroyed the motor in my high dust environment! The life of a vacuum before this one was less than a year. In some cases, it was only four to six months. The Kirby will actually pick up hay and not get clogged...although, you really should pick up the hay and not suck it into a carpet vacuum...that's just daring the vacuum to clog!
I would recommend maybe the Oreck, or another full sized commercial vacuum. You could probably find a really nice one used. If you live in a larger town or city, you should visit the vacuum stores. Go to the Oreck store, the Hoover store, maybe even the Electrolux store...any independent vacuum store. They will give you full demonstrations and you can make an informed decision. There is so much more out there than what the big box stores have available AND you want good customer service for a purchase of a vacuum.
I know everyone seems to like the Dysons, but the design, to me, looks unreliable and like it will probably break quickly. That is, for the price. I always think back to the vacuum my parents had for 25 years and that only broke because my brother decided it would be fun to vacuum up all of the pennies he had in a giant jar in his room!
(I love visiting the vacuum sections of stores or the vacuum stores. I take them apart as much as I can to see the design of the vacuums and how they utilize the motors to create air flow. I'm very unimpressed by the Dysons and so many of the other vacuums that are forced on consumers...)
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