Dyson DC14 Animal Vacuum Review

The Dyson Vacuum (Animal DC14) is quite expensive for a vacuum...as are all the Dyson products.  I have to say I get quite a bit of satisfaction seeing the massive amounts of dog hair that swirls through the vacuum as I'm using it.  Even when there hasn't been a lot of days since I last vacuumed.  It has a lot of suction and seems to pick up a lot of dog hair.  Although, I have never used a bag-less system before, so I'm not sure if it's better or not.  Also, if you have some dirt spilled on the floor or dust, it picks that up very well.  Leaves a clean line over where you have been and where you still need to vacuum.  That is also satisfying.  The one thing I have been continuously surprised about though is that it doesn't seem to pick up much that is bigger than a piece of dirt.  Say you have a very small sticker (that is not sticky anymore) laying on the floor...or a piece of paper.  I will frequently have to go over such objects multiple times before it has been sucked up.  And even when I think it has it sometimes just is being pushed around caught on the bottom.  I was surprised by this.  Also it makes an AWFUL ratching noise should you bump into anything (ie: the couch, the wall, a chair...)  It kept doing it and I called Dyson to let them know.  They set up an appointment for me at a vacuum repair place (free of charge since their 5 year warranty is AWESOME) and it has since been fixed.  It is also quite heavy considering it's basically all plastic.  Overall, I would say it's better than my $110 Hoover, but not as good as the $600 I paid for it.