We had a German Shepherd dog and a vacuum with a bag. We filled the bag every time we vacuumed and Mr. Stitchnripper was convinced it was doing a good job. Got the Dyson Animal and vacuumed over the places we just did with the old one. And filled up the canister. We have one of those big Bissell carpet cleaners and yes, they manage to pick up more hair than just the vacuum. Even going over it twice, we got dog hair left over from the first pass. I still swear by my Dyson and even got the cordless stick vacuum.
You will get lots of differing opinions on here, so it will still be up to you to pick what you think would work best in your situation.
Here is something recent:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/general...m-t277954.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/general...d-t246799.html