Shedding season means a whole lot of hair on your clothes, furniture, and floors. If you have a Husky, German Shepherd, Collie, or other double-coated breed, you know how much hair ends up on your floors and under your furniture.
Outsourcing the vacuuming to a robot vacuum may mean less time for you cleaning up after your pups, and more time playing, training, and snuggling with them.
I’m self-proclaimed anti-robot-vacuum, but a few of these options have shown me that they can be a helpful tool in your cleaning arsenal when you have multiple dogs. I don’t think that a robot vacuum should be considered 1:1 substitutes for a good cordless stick vacuum, but they can help manage large quantities of dog hair and make it so that you don’t have to clean quite as often.
Traits We Want in a Robot Vacuum for Dog Hair
Suction power: Suction power is the name of the game when it comes to robot vacuums for pet hair. Generally, the more pets you have, the more suction power you need. Also, the higher pile your carpets and rugs, the more suction power you’ll need, too. While not all robot vacuum brands offer specific suction power measurements, some do. Homes with only wood or tile floors will be able to get away with less suction than homes with lots of high-pile carpet.
Brushroll design: Look for an anti-wrap brushroll design, especially if you have long-haired dogs. Anti-wrap brushrolls usually have angled V-shaped patterns, alternating rubber fins and bristles, and may have split-brush designs to prevent hair from wrapping around the brushroll.
Bonus features: Extras like mopping, stain detection, dedicated spot cleaning, sanitizing or cleaning mopping pads, pet waste avoidance, and self-emptying will make your robot vacuum more independent, so it’s not just another chore for you to manage.
Read on for the best robot vacuums for dog hair tested for Whole Dog Journal:
Best Robot Vacuums for Dog Hair
| Whole Dog Journal Rating | Product and Maker | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal 2-in-1 Vacuum & Mop | $1,299, but frequently on sale for $899 or less | If you have multiple pets, dogs who frequently track mud and dirt in, or dogs who may have accidents in the house, this 2-in-1 vacuum and mop features UV stain detection, strong suction, and multi-type navigation that can easily avoid pet toys, leashes, and other dog items strewn about the house. |
| eufy omni c28 | $800, but frequently priced at $520 | 15,000Pa of suction power is plenty for most multi-dog homes and enough to clean higher pile carpets and heavy shedding. The eufy omni c28 is a mid-range robot vac and mop combo that has great suction and has an easy time getting over rugs. However, the navigation isn’t as smart or efficient as our top pick and it got stuck more frequently. |
| Shark Matrix RV2310AE | $500, but frequently on sale for $330 or less | A budget-friendly robot vacuum that’s best suited for single-dog homes or homes with mostly hard floors. It doesn’t have small obstacle avoidance and the suction generally isn’t strong enough for homes with multiple shedding pets. |
| Roomba 105 Vac Robot + AutoEmpty Dock | $250 | A budget-friendly iRobot model that lacks suction power but has decent LiDAR mapping skills and carpet detection. It’s best for small spaces and single-dog homes that don’t have a lot of shedding going on. |
Best Robot Vacuum for Dog Hair: Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal 2-In-1 Vacuum & Mop
The Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal 2-In-1 Vacuum & Mop is a powerhouse of a robot vacuum for pet hair (with a high price to match). This option features UV-powered stain detection and targeted stain removal that does a great job mopping up muddy paw prints, dog food spills, potty accidents, and stuck-on pet hair. The robot vacuum also sanitizes its own mopping pads, self-empties into the dock, fills/empties its own water tanks, and can be sent to “spot clean” messes.
In terms of vacuuming, it does a good job of sucking up dust bunnies and big piles of hair and cleans hard floors easily. It needed two passes on my “admittedly-not-vacuumed-in-two-weeks” flatweave rugs to pick up my Border Collie/Amstaff mix’s short hair (as it tends to get embedded in my rugs). It had an easier time picking up my Collie’s shedded out, fluffy undercoat. I generally needed to use the “max suction” mode on my rugs for the best performance, and it performed better in larger, more open spaces. It’s a good pick for large single-level homes, but smaller apartments or homes with lots of furniture and other things on the ground may want a smaller option.
Setup of this vacuum was a bit of a pain, and it took multiple tries to connect it to my home’s wi-fi network. However, once it connected, it created a very accurate map of my home and did a good job of detecting carpets. I have a lot of washable Ruggable rugs in my home that are fairly lightweight and this vacuum did lift up a few rug edges while working, but it generally does a good job of lifting itself over obstacles and finding its way out of sticky situations.
Best Budget Robot Vacuum and Mop for Dog Hair: eufy omni c28
The eufy omni c28 is a great budget pick as a robot vacuum for pet hair if you can find it on sale for $500, which we’ve seen at multiple retailers.
It’s not as smart or efficient as the Shark PowerDetect and it tended to run into obstacles more frequently and took longer to get itself out of cramped situations. However, it had a slightly easier time navigating the rugs in my home and did a similar job vacuuming as the Shark, needing about two passes on my flatweave rugs to clean them when they were very hairy. The Shark PowerDetect’s mopping features, however, came out on top.
The eufy omni c28 features multiple suction levels (max suction, turbo, and quiet), and offers multiple cleaning modes, too (vacuum only, vac and mop, deep cleaning, or fast cleaning). The square shape made it better at cleaning edges and up against furniture than the shark, and it fit better under my bookcases and other furniture.
This robot vacuum was easy to set up and has an easy-to-use companion app. During setup, it seemed like the first mapping session didn’t save and needed to be done again. However, the finished map was slightly more detailed than the Shark map and divided itself into multiple rooms.
Other Robot Vacuums We Tested
Shark Matrix RV2310AE
Frequently on sale for $330 or less, the Shark Matrix is a fine option for single pet homes on a budget. It features auto-emptying, decent home mapping, and fair suction for the price. The Matrix mode does a good job of going over spots multiple times to pick up loose hair and debris, though the suction isn’t nearly as strong as our two top picks. The Matrix and its base are both pretty small, so is a good pick for apartments and other small spaces. However, it doesn’t have small obstacle avoidance, got stuck on rugs and under furniture more often than other options we tested, and generally isn’t powerful enough for multi-pet homes with lots of shedding.
Roomba 105 Vac Robot + AutoEmpty Dock
This budget-friendly Roomba featured slightly better carpet detection than the Shark Matrix, but seemed to have weaker suction, and similar navigation (it doesn’t have small obstacle avoidance and sometimes has a hard time getting over rugs). The Matrix also came out on top when it came to picking up more hair, since the Matrix mode went over multiple areas until clean.
The Roomba 105, however, is often priced at $250, so it’s more budget friendly than the Shark. If you’re looking for a true budget robot vacuum for pet hair, this isn’t a bad option but note that it doesn’t have the suction performance of other options on this list. It’s best suited for single pet homes and small spaces.
