Drowing in a Sea of Dog Hair

You can't say we weren't warned. When we decided to get a Golden Retriever (and decided to get a SECOND Golden Retriever), everyone talked about the never ending piles of dog hair we'd have have to clean up. But, I didn't think I'd ever be obsessing about the possibility that some day I would actually win the war on dog hair - and I don't think I ever will - but, I am trying a couple of strategies to cut down on the white and gold tumbleweeds that dominate my rugs and hardwood floors:

• We broke down and bought the Furminator. People claim it's a miracle "cure," but I suppose it's only as good as the amount times you're willing to furminate, which takes time and additional raking of the yard to gather up all the wayward fur. Luckily, Jasper loves to be furminated.
• We vacuum the dog...and he loves it! Whenever I break out the vacuum cleaner he comes from wherever he is in the house and follows me around until I take one of the hoses and give him the once over.
• I'm considering buying a vacuum cleaner that's rated #1 for managing pet hair. The bad news is my upright has died, my old canister vacuum cleaner is left with just one wheel and the hose/attachments, and I really need to vacuum. So, I went to Sears yesterday to get the lowdown on new vacuum cleaners and was directed to one of the Dyson models. I've since done some Internet research on vacuums for pet fur and the Dyson seems to be the brand everyone's talking about. However, at $400, I think we'll get an estimate on fixing our upright first.

Since most of the house is covered in hardwood floors, we'll have to explore our options in the war on dog hair. In the meantime, I'll just keep sweeping my hands along the floors to pick up the piles that form minutes after I put the vacuum away.