We bought the Animal (DC17, I think). We loved it the first year or two. And then it literally just quit working. I went to have it cleaned and serviced and they told me that Dysons, specifically the one we bought, aren't that great and they need repaired all the time. Like you, I had never heard anyone complain about them, so I was shocked by this news. I forget exactly what part went bad in ours, but it was an expensive enough repair that I said fuck it and just bought a new one. After some research, I found the Miele. It's a personal preference that I like the bag over the canister. The vacuum, itself, seems cleaner. Everything gets trapped in the bags. When they're full, toss em and get a new one. That simple. I hated taking apart the Dyson, cleaning it, letting it air dry, and putting it back together every few weeks (which is required when your dogs shed as bad as ours). I hardly ever have to clean the guts of our Miele.
