I don't have one Steph - but you have hard wood floors now? Even if you only used it in the bedroom I ma guessing it would help keep up with the hair and dander

I think there's a "pet hair edition" Roomba with a specialized brush and a more powerful motor.

The best thing about the Roomba, IMO, is that it's a robot and therefore never gets bored halfway through vacuuming and decides to watch a DVD instead. This alone makes it better for me than a standard vacuum cleaner, even if it's not as powerful at sucking up dirt.

Even if you only used it in the bedroom I ma guessing it would help keep up with the hair and dander

That's why I want it -- we keep the bedroom closed off, actually (and it still has carpet [don't ask]) -- for the living room/dining room/kitchen trifecta of pet hair. That whole area is rug-free, although the pet hair could be woven into a rug.

I try to vacuum every other day, although the floors honestly could be vacuumed literally every day.

(Of course, the black and tan coonhound needs to be groomed in a BIG way; that would probably cut down on hair issues by half. But it would be fun to get a Roomba just to see what the pets do.)

When all the carpet is gone from my house, a roomba goes on my list. I hate to vacuum. and DH used to do it more, but now the noise bugs his ears and he has to put on ear phones to do it.

When all the carpet is gone from my house, a roomba goes on my list.

Most of the unfavorable reviews are due to poor durability (small pieces breaking, crappy battery life). So I'm waffling. The Boy thinks no on the Roomba (but then, *he* doesn't vacuum, either, so I think his vote doesn't count).

the black and tan coonhound

A fellow coonhound owner! Awesome! They can shed quite a bit. We brush/comb ours at least once a week and that helps; however, I would swear she sheds enough for 2 dogs.

A fellow coonhound owner! Awesome!

He's a great dog, incredibly smart -- I think if he had opposable thumbs, he'd take over the world. This is Kato.

I would swear she sheds enough for 2 dogs.

Lord, yes. He needs to be groomed big time. (Also, yeah, we should brush him -- a friend who used to be a dog groomer said to just do it for 5 minutes when we let him outside; that way the hair won't be in the house. Great idea; we're just bad at follow-through.)

Timelies all!

We're supposed to get some sort of wet weather tonight. Since I have to go to work tomorrow, that does not thrill me.

Kato is beautiful! I'll get a couple good picts of Maggie linked asap.

He's a great dog, incredibly smart -- I think if he had opposable thumbs, he'd take over the world.

Exactly! Maggie is far too smart to be "just a dog".

Aw, Kato's a cutiepie. Fwiw, Furminators really work well - pulls off gobs of hair and holds it rather than scattering it into the air, so you can pull it off and throw it away. I'm trying to get myself in the habit of Furminating Walter every day, but even my thus far haphazard approach has reduced the tumbleweeds of fur roaming the house.