We have 2 Dysons. 1 Animal 41 predecessor, one 41 or similar (ball type). The non-ball is 10 years old, the ball is 5 years old. The older one was used heavily/roughly by our cleaning lady 2x a week for 2 adults and 2 profusely shedding dogs (Labrador retrievers).

The hose started to break on that one after 5 years and it was hard to carry up and down the stairs so we decided to expand our fleet to the second so we would have one on each floor. Now we use the ball one on the main level (most of the dog hair is here) for 1 shedder, 1 low-shed dog, an infant and a toddler. That hose is fine still.

Even the ball was too big for our daily needs to suck up the white hair all over our dark hardwood floors. It does a great job but the whole process was too much. So now the cleaning people use the big vacuums when they are here and we use a little cordless shark stick vacuum daily to gather the dog hair.

All in all they do hold up well to moderate abuse, and they haven't noticeably lost power. I consider 1 hose in 5 years acceptable wear. The ball is absolutely more maneuverable than the non-ball, and is also significantly lighter.

As far as using the accessories, I found them intuitive or needing a quick look at the diagram once to figure out how to do everything. I can't say the same for others that have tried, so your mileage may vary.

Thanks, couple of questions...thie issue you had with a hose was on a non ball dyson? I did not know there was such a thing? Did you ever check the price for a replacement hose...was it expensive?

How old is your ball dyson 41 - the one that the hose is fine? Do you remove the hose and use the attachments often? I worried that constantly removing the hose and putting it back would somehow wear it out and it would not lock back in place...Perhaps I am worrying about nothing?

What do you mean the ball was too big for your daily needs...process too much...? Wouldn't you just vac the floors with roller turned off?

WHat are the BIG vas the cleaning ppl use...do they bring there ow or do you have something else?

I appreciate your time, you brought up a few issues I had not thought of.

How do you value your 41 vs other brands you may have owned over the years?

The non-ball is old, it apparently was phased out in the past 5 years because it was still out when I bought the ball one. At the time I looked for a hose and it was $60 if I recall correctly.

The ball one is 5 years old. Up until last year it was used at least 2x weekly, I assume my cleaning folks were using the hose and attachments but to be honest I usually wasn't home when they were there so who knows how often they were really doing it.

When I take the vacuum out myself I am usually using the hose, but to be honest I don't do much cleaning myself so maybe 1x every 2 weeks? It gets used but not by me.

The way the hose works the big non-ball still works fine for many uses so even with a broken hose it is sort of ok. There is a long stick that slides into the hose to clip back to the vacuum. You can use the stick as a wand, and as such as long as the hose is partially connected to its plastic end, it still works. You would have a problem if the hose completely came off of its plastic end (but this can be solved with duct tape). The stick is good if you need the length (ceilings, drapery, under furniture, baseboards) but is a pain if you are doing something closer like upholstery or dryer vents. So the short answer is that even if the hose breaks, you can use the main part as normal or use the wand as normal as long as you can fix it with duct tape or something similar. My hose did not completely disconnect from the plastic connector.

The ball doesn't turn, it's kind of like a joint that helps make the vacuum more maneuverable. So you can turn the brush off for hardwood, or on for carpet. For me, the whole process of schlepping out the big vacuum with the long cord was just too cumbersome (mind you I have a newborn so I have been pregnant/extra tired for the better part of a year).

My current cleaning crew and most that I have had before use my Dysons. I had one crew that had backpack vacuums that they preferred to use.

I haven't owned any other upright vacuums as an adult so I don't have much to compare to. I got my first shedding dog within a month of moving into my own place and that was the best vacuum on the market for dog hair at the time. My husband had an upright of some sort before we were married and he gladly gave it up when we merged households. $250 is a great price and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it at that price point! I think we paid $350 for the first one on special at Home Depot and similar for the second on a Black Friday deal.

thank you...yes this 41 model is $250 at Sams Club...there are other models...but the price goes up up up...this is the cheapest model now.

We've had our non-ball version of the animal for about 10 years. We paid about $400 for it. I love it and have since the beginning. We now have 2 floors, and it lives upstairs where there are 3 bedrooms and a hallway (and stairs). For the lower level, I use a Dyson cordless stick as it is about 2/3 hardwood. The stick works on the carpet for smaller jobs too.

I bought my Animal when they first came out so however old that is. It has seen hard, heavy use with several Irish Wolfhounds, cats, and a husband who slams it around when (God forbid) I ask him to use it.

Since we moved across country and the dog setup changed this vacuum has functioned largely like a shop vac. I use it around my wood stove for bits of leaves, twigs, and everything else that Sasquatch sized dogs can track in. Even pebbles and acorns, lol. It has seen some real abuse.

I did replace the hose about a year ago- it quit latching onto the wand securely. But parts are available on Amazon and quite easy to change out.
Love it.

To update Monday's response, I purchased the Dyson 40 vac last night (with the ball). I bought this as a second vacuum. It's actually much lighter than the non-ball animal, so I moved the old one to the basement to use down there, and the new one is on the second floor to use there and carry down to main floor to use there. It will be easier to carry, and with 3 floors with carpet, it will be nice to have the second vacuum. The reason for my purchase - Dyson is having a 25% off sale through the end of the month (check the date, I can't remember exactly). That took this $399 vacuum down to $299. Then I bought it at Meijer (midwestern "super-store" of sorts), where I have MPerks (their version of online couponing) and there was an MPerk for 20% off all Dysons, which took the vacuum down to $240. I couldn't pass that up! (BTW, $240 is only 2.5 Bissels, and I'd take a Dyson over a Bissel any day!)

I have two Dyson vacuums (Animal & Orig Yellow) and the Shark Navigator Lift-Away that my son gave me during my recent move out cleans both of them. Both Dyson's get clogged with animal hair and dust that wraps around the inner filter and I have to manually pull loose. I'll never buy another Dyson.