elephant vac
the product is fun, the people who sell the product were great dealin with any problems i had had.

Love my dyson
I have had an upright Dyson Animal for about 8 years. You will have to pry it from my hands after I die. I am sure it will still be running strong long after the world ends. I am so happy to finally have a hand held vac that works as well as the upright. The 6 minute battery life is plenty long enough to do the quick pickups I use it for. I strongly recommend any of the Dyson Vacuums.

Perfect for Cat Fur
I recently acquired two long-haired cats. This has been a godsend for quick cleanups on days I don't want to get the full-size Dyson cleaner out. The 6-minute charge is plenty for me. I have also found it a lot handier for vacuuming stairs and furniture, and even screens!

Nice compliment to a Dyson upright
I purchased the DC-16 Animal to compliment my DC-14 upright. Overall, I am very pleased with the purchase. It takes less than a minute to clean up small spills, especially on counters hardwood floors - much faster than pulling out the upright, unwinding the cord, plugging it in, etc. Suction is pretty good, and 6 minute battery life is more than enough for small jobs. The myriad of attachments are nice, but I personally think the vacuum would still be worth the money with just the retractable brush. I rate this product four stars simply due to the high list price. I purchased mine on sale for 4, which I feel is a good price point.

We have a baby on the way and I plan to use this to quickly clean up small spills in both in the house and in the car. My theory is that if I vacuum crumbs immediately, I remove the food source for bugs and rodents and am unlikely to have an infestation. Thanks to the Dyson DC-16, frequent vacuuming is quite painless.

Works great when the battery is not dead
This hand held works great, however the battery life is terrible. I use it vacuum my stairs and around our coffee table. In order to complete these tasks I either have to work very fast or do half of it, then do something else for a while and let it recharge. I'm glad I bought this as it does clean very well, however don't plan on using it for more than about 15 minutes with out recharging.

I also would like to have a trigger lock. The trigger is somewhat heavy to hold down and I have to keep switching hands.

Overall, I still really like this thing and it is much better than using our full size vacuum on the stairs.

Unwrapped
The Dyson works great..short battery life though only 6 minutes. However, it was a Christmas gift and the seller sent the item to my house in the original box without wrapping it or placing it in another box. So guess what my wife knew what she was getting before Christmas. Word to the wise if you are buying something from an independent seller using Amazon, have it sent to a friends or families house. This happened with a Blu Ray player that I bought through Amazon, by a private seller. The will just send the item with an address label on it..

Impressive Performance, Worth the Cost
Terrific machine! Used it on some loop and pile carpet and could hardly believe how well it picked up lint, pet hair and everyday crumbs, paper scraps, etc. The extra 'beater" tool that comes with this model (not included on the DC31 [non-animal] handheld model) did an amazing job vacuuming up cat hair that was well embedded into the mock-fur lining of a cat carrier, and was equally impressive removing cat hair from a fabric covered couch. Did it grab every single strand of pet hair? Of course not. Nevertheless, this vacuum is far superior to any of the other heavy-duty "dust-buster" type handhelds I've used. I find it to be as effective as a high-end upright, only a lot less heavy and bulky. Despite the substantial price tag, the strong performance makes it an excellent value.

Unless you need to use it a lot longer than the ten minutes or so you get per charge, I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't be delighted with this handheld. Personally, I got an awful lot of vacuuming done on a single charge, in part because it worked so well I didn't have to go over the same area numerous times.

The only minor item that could be improved is the pictorial instruction sheet; it's not terrible, just not as clear as it could be.

Fast and Cleans Like a Dream Come True!
This is my third Dyson Animal (I bought the 1st gen. upright and then I bought the Dyson DC25 Animal Ball, because it's so much easier to maneuver whilst being in a wheelchair). I love them all, but being able to pick up the Dyson DC31 Animal handheld and quickly dust before visitors arrive is just priceless. I have a cat and the Dyson DC31 Animal takes care of all cat-related fur, missed treats, & any stray litter bits. I love the Dyson's power and I'm able to clean my living room, kitchen, dining room, foyer, and almost my bedroom & bath on one charge.

The manual recommends cleaning the filter monthly. I thought it was going to be a chore. Ha! Cleaning the filter = "user friendly". No manual needed at all. I popped the unit open and the filter itself has images of a faucet on it. Brilliant!

I can't recommend the DC31 Animal handheld highly enough.

The BEAUTY is in the DETAILS
My wife did not want to spend the $$$ on this product even though we have a Dyson upright.
She kept pointing to the other less expensive options from other vacuum makers.
Finally I was able to talk her into it, now she loves it.

It's a DYSON, so I knew (from experience with the upright) that the suction was going to be good, but the true beauty was in the attention to detail like
1. Its light and easy to hold
2. Canister is easy and quick to empty
3. Attachments are easy and quick to swap
4. Battery module conveniently pops out so you can charge it inconspicuously.

It's strong suction, it's quick, it's easy, it's Dyson*

* Yeah I love Dyson... Because I had an upright for years and it works today as the day I bought it 5 years ago. This is after a series of disappointments with other makers.

Very Powerful, 1 small caveat
I have had the Dyson for about a month or so now and I give the device a lot of praise. Definitely the most powerful little hand-held vac around. I purchased it because I have two cats that shed a decent amount all over the furniture and it does the job in terms of removing the pet hair. The only small complaint I have is that hair can get caught up behind the gear in the housing of cleaning brush extension after use in a significantly dirty area. It required some dismantling and use of tweezers to get at and remove the hair but it was a fairly simple process. Other than that small nag, no complaints here!

More than I expected
I was expecting a bulky vacuum but I was surprised with the size ,it's smaller than I though and way quieter than I expected so far it is worth the price since it cleans deeply and come with accessories.
The downside: It doesn't come with a wall bracket bummer!, but you can order it separately.
Other good thing is that you can order the battery instead of getting rid of a perfectly fine hand held vacuum like I'm doing with my old black and decker just because the battery doesn't work anymore.

Great value (YES! Really!) Must read...
Dyson Animal. Amazing machine. We were skeptical at first and held off for years, but we finally bought a Dyson Animal Ball 1 year ago and we'll never go back. Great design, powerful suction, and great attachments, especially the turbine head (make sure it comes with the turbine head tool, this model may not). The two filters clean easily and don't require replacement. The main brush and the turbine head brush both remove without a screwdriver for easy cleaning. Does NOT loose suction with normal use and care. Great for hard and carpeted floors alike. Very intuitive design all over. 5 year warranty for EVERYTHING. Can't beat it.

Hoover was sued for trying to duplicate the patented design and lost. The fact that Hoover fought the lawsuit shows how desirable the design really is. It's fundamentally different and it works. I know, I was so amazed with the performance that a buddy and I reverse engineered this thing one day and were very impressed with it's "simple complexity".

Also, buy at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% coupon. It specifically says the Dyson is excluded in the fine print, but the young guy at the register didn't notice and scanned the coupon...it worked, saving me over 0. Best deal. Make sure the register is manned by a high school kid. Worked for me.

Not worth the money!
I have had this vacuum for 4 months now and am not happy with it at all. It doesn't have the great suction it is supposed to and is difficult to use. Way over priced.

Dyson Animal Ball-technology upright
Fantastic suction! I love this machine! The only downside is that it isn't as easy to use the tools as other less powerful vacuums. It makes up for it by being so much more powerful - and light as well. I can vacuum at anytime - it doesn't seem like such a chore! With the amazing shedding lab I just got in my home, it's fantastic!

Useless for stairs and above-the-floor jobs
I was so excited to bring this vacuum home. I have a couple of friends who own Dysons and ranted and raved about how good they are. I have about 1,000 sq feet of tile and 1,000 sq feet of carpet in my home, plus a carpeted staircase. I was able to combine a Kohl's 30% off coupon with my Kohl's charge card along with a price match to purchase this vacuum for about 0. I did the "Dyson test" when I got home. I first vacuumed with my old Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner that I've owned for 3 years, then followed with the Dyson. The Dyson barely picked anything else up - I think it's because I keep my floors relatively clean to begin with, and perhaps I didn't give my old Dirt Devil enough credit. I do believe that the Dyson has great suction and gets things clean. It also has a VERY easy cannister to empty, and I like that there are no bags to buy and washable filters. It is also very light-weight. With that said, the following cons were deal breakers for me, and I ultimately returned it after trying and trying for a month to get used to using it:

1. My old Dirt Devil has swivel caster wheels in the front and back, and the Dyson ball was actually far less maneuverable than the Dirt Devil. The ball makes it hard to steer in a straight line if you are trying to clean along the edge of a wall. The vacuum tends to want to wabble all over the place due to the ball design.
2. The edge cleaning did not work well at all compared to my Dirt Devil, and I usually had to follow with an attachment to clean near the baseboards.
3. The hose connects to the bottom of the vacuum and sticks out on the side. Additionally, the gray wheels that are used to roll the vacuum from one room to another when not in use also stick out on the sides. This means that when steering around corners, furniture, etc., the hose and the wheels often bump into objects. Apart from making it difficult to get around, the wheels are also made of hard plastic which can scratch or scuff your walls.
4. The part of the vacuum which cleans the floors has a hard plastic bumper instead of a rubber bumper. The bumper is relatively flush with the vacuum, which means areas of the vacuum above the bumper make contact with the walls, too. I noticed it taking some of the paint off the walls (scuffs on the vacuum that are the same color as my walls/baseboards). Though I didn't see visible damage on the walls (yet), obviously if it is removing paint, it is causing damage, and over time I worried this would be an issue.
5. The #1 deal breaker for me is that the hose and attachments are a HUGE pain. If you are at all concerned about the hose being too stiff, DO NOT purchase this product. The hose is so stiff that it will tip the vacuum over or roll the vacuum towards you before it will stretch out, especially when using on tile or hard floors that do not have any extra resistance. Additionally, the wand is about 3 feet long when attached and makes it hard to use the attachments for up close jobs like cleaning window sills or upholstery. I found I would have to disconnect the wand and connect the attachments directly to the hose, which meant having no wand at all, but was easier than using the long one. The wand is difficult to detach and made it a huge hassle to quickly take the wand out and clean an area as I saw it. My dirt devil hose attached in a snap, and the wand was only about 1.5 feet long and I could attach an extension if needed, which proved more practical for my purposes. I have heard that the hose may stretch after extended use, but it was so hard to use, that I do not believe I would have had the ability to use it enough to stretch it out. My husband tried stretching the hose and leaving it overnight, but it didn't make a significant difference.

It's a shame that there are so many design flaws, because I believe the vacuum itself is very powerful. However, I constantly utilize the hose and attachments on my old vacuum, and to own a vacuum where this is so inconvenient that it deters me from using it, it's just not worth it. I am on the hunt for a better replacement and will use my Dirt Devil in the meantime.

this was an overpriced waste that can't even pick up a dried leaf
The regular part of the vacuum works OK but the Tool is useless. It will also not go back down its hose without a great deal of effort. I believed the hype. I am very dissatisfied with my purchase and I waited a week too long to return it because I was out of town. I did not know it was 60 days. It is not even that easy to handle. Friends who have the non ball one have less complaints but after spending 400 on this..I can not afford anything else.