Best Dog Shampoo

[Toby's my baby]

In the past I haven't been too concerned about getting a good dog shampoo, as the girls were mostly outside all the time, but now that we moved I need a good one. The girls are going to be here in 2 weeks (yay!) and I need to have a good shampoo on hand right away. My dad doesn't really want them in the house, but they are going to be, so I want to make sure there isn't much of an odor so he doesn't get mad. I'm going to bring them to Petco I think when they get here to get bathed first.

I need a shampoo that doesn't necissarily have to smell good, but that eliminates odor really good. They are going to be in the house all the time now. I think if I remember right I've heard about some milk shampoo or something?? But I'm not sure. Any suggestions are greatly needed, and also where you can buy it. Thanks!! :)

[ScottieMommy]

Well what i use for my dog is an Oatmeal Shampoo i heard there the best. My dog is always inside tho. So this shampoo smells nice but it wont last long if the dog is outside. No matter what shanpoo if the dog is outside she.he will smell.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I've been using bio-groom lately as it seems to be the only shampoo and conditioner that works well on Dance and doesn't give her drandruff. The scent lasts about a week on her, and then whenever she gets wet (from rain or whatever) she smells like it for weeks. I use the oatmeal one, as the other formulas are too harsh for the other dogs. This seems to work well on all of them though. However, it can't be found in any chain pet stores I don't think (at least, not the ones where I live). I always go to the smaller pet stores.

I'm sure some of the groomers on here might have some better suggestions though.

[wolf_Q]

I'm happy to hear your dogs are coming to live with you and will be in the house! :) I think this may be the milk shampoo you're talking about. http://www.tomlyn.com/pages/pr_shamp_05.html Its probably sold at most pet stores, but I know for sure its sold at Petco. That is what I always wash my dogs with. It leaves them very soft and the smell lasts quite a long time. It can also be diluted about 50/50 at the time of use (don't dilute more than you're going to use). If you are going to get them bathed at Petco you can ask for the "Luxury Spa" (specify the milk shampoo) and get them washed with it and see if you like it. Ask them about a first time customer special or a sunday/monday special for shorthaired dogs, I'm not sure if that applies to all Petcos but its worth a try. You may also want to pick up some dog perfume to use in between baths.

[Muddy4paws]

I think the best shampoo ive ever used if the griminator by double k, its gets the dogs very clean with only using a tiny bit and the doggy smells are completely gone.

[NicoleLJ]

EARTHBATH. LOL I swear by it. It is the only shampoo I use for the dogs. Sheena, being a Service Dog, is bathed every week so I needed something that would keep her clean, keep her coat shiny and healthy and not dry it or her skin out. These products are perfect and they make different types for different skin issues too. Here is a link to their home page:

http://earthbath.com/

And here is a link to their different types of shampoos:

http://earthbath.com/shampoo_pints.html


For Ajax(we used it on Sheena and Luca as pups too) we are using the Puppy Shampoo.

For Sheena we are using the Light Color Coat Brightener Shampoo

And for Luca we are using the Mango Tango Shampoo and Conditioner in One


As you can see there are several others including one for cats. Hope this helps you in your search.
Nicole & Sheena & Ajax

[Kfamr]

TropiClean and Earthbath. :) I use TropiClean mostly.

I also use Lambert Kay's Fresh N Clean Oatmeal and Baking Soda.

[mike001]

I always tell my groomer to use Coal Tar shampoo in summer, it relieves the itch from bug bites and I like the smell also. Or the Oatmeal and Baking Soda if he is out of Coal Tar. Miracle Coat shampoo and conditioner is also great for my dogs.
My vet and the breeder warned me about bathing too often though, it dries their coat and could lead to skin problems. They recommend 3-4 baths /yr.

[Catlady711]

I'm a big fan of Bio-Groom shampoos. I order mine from a pet catalogue called Pet Edge (google it).

[wolfsoul]

I use Nature's Specialties -- I like Lavenderm on the body and Plum Silky on the head -- for my dogs. Lavenderm dilutes 1 in 50. If there is any strong "doggy" smell (I find this on goldens very often) I like to use the Nature's Specialties Oatmeal Conditioner; I scrub it in real good. It is amazing on smells, way better than any of their formulas for actually getting rid of smell. I use this on dogs that have rolled in fish, even dogs that were skunked -- gets the smell out completely. Nature's Specialties makes some awesome shampoos, and most of them are all natural.

Kelco also makes some great shampoos, I love their Aloe shampoo and their Apple and Oats Conditioner. Their Ultra Silk conditioner works GREAT.



My vet and the breeder warned me about bathing too often though, it dries their coat and could lead to skin problems. They recommend 3-4 baths /yr.
This is a pretty old-fashioned outlook on bathing -- most high quality shampoos these days put back just as much as they take out. I agree with them if you're using coal tar however -- coal tar is very harsh on the skin, not recommended unless the dog has skin issues (and particular skin issues at that -- it is only useful for the moistury type of problems -- think greasy cocker spaniel -- and works wonders on elephant skin -- as opposed to dry skin and dry dandruff/flaking problems, in which case sulphur is the best choice).

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

For those that use Earthbath, have you noticed anything different about it lately? That's what I'd been using up until about a month ago. The last bottle I bought wasn't cleaning any of them as well as it used to though which is why I decided to go for something else this time. Maybe it was just a fluke thing and I just happened to get a bad bottle?

[mike001]

Hmmm......funny, the Coal Tar shampoo leaves mine soft and silky, never had skin issues with any dogs . Maybe depends on the breed of dog. With Coal Tar, I don't need a conditiner. Could be the raw feeding, their fur is always sleek and shiny and no smell unless they roll in something.
My friend is a groomer and she also agrees with too much bathig being harmful. She finds people bringing their dogs in once a month is too much, she only does hers 3-4 times a year. I guess if mine got dirty or smelled I would bathe every week , but they never really need it.

[NicoleLJ]

For those that use Earthbath, have you noticed anything different about it lately? That's what I'd been using up until about a month ago. The last bottle I bought wasn't cleaning any of them as well as it used to though which is why I decided to go for something else this time. Maybe it was just a fluke thing and I just happened to get a bad bottle?

Nope no change for any of the ones I am using. And I just bought several bottles of the puppy one a month ago. All were fine. They were for my adopters. Maybe it was just that one bottle. I have never had a problem with any of the ones I used and I have been using it for over 3 1/2 years.
Nicole & Sheena & Ajax

[wolfsoul]

All of the grooming seminars I have been to have warned against coal tar shampoo unless there is a skin condition, so I don't think it is just breed-related. Tomlyn has an excellent coal tar formula though, not so damaging to the skin. I liked using it at work on the dogs with elephant skin -- worked wonders.
We have dogs that come in three times a week for a bath and have never found that they have skin issues from it, but it could be because we use very high quality shampoos and conditioners. There is one other place in town that uses a mixture of dish soap, vinegar, and glycerin, and the girl who used to work there says that their weekly dogs had many skin issues.

[Giselle]

I've been using Earthbath for 8 years. It's good, but, imo, there's nothing too special about it other than the fact that they claim not to use harmful chemicals. I tend to use the Oatmeal formula since it's less artificial smelling. I've also read fab reviews on anything Chris Christensen, but I believe you'll have to order those off the Internet. I haven't tried many shampoos, but I really don't think you can go wrong with most of the brands out there :)

[mike001]

Dish soap on a dog? Well I don't doubt it would cause skin issues. That isn't the name of our Coal Tar shampoo, don't really remember the name or brand he uses.Could be the different climates? I've never had a problem and that's one of the reasons I like it so much, plus the fact that we have so many deer flies and it really helps with the bites in summer. Also seems to be a repellent. If I noticed any damage to the coats I would stop using it immediately. Like the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Most people we meet love the smell. I don't like a sweet perfumy scent on a Shepherd, and most people don't either. Our neighbor uses it on his Chihuahua because we do and he likes the look of the coats. He doesn't feed raw, so his dog isn't as shiny, maybe it's in the feeding, have no idea.


I'VE BEEN BOO'D :cool:

[CathyBogart]

The only reason we use dish soap at work is if a pet gets something oily in their fur that isn't coming out. Especially the trash the Hartz advertises as flea prevention. :) We use a bit of Dawn, and follow it with a conditioner to avoid drying them out.

Jasper's skin and coat are both resilient and basically odorless, so I just find a nice oatmeal/tea tree oil shampoo...there are several brands I have been pleased with. If he gets REALLY stinky for some reason (Last time he rolled in a dead bird...where do they get these ideas? :rolleyes: ) I mix in some baking soda.

[crow_noir]

You'll hear all the time that you should never use human shampoos on dogs because of different pH's. Well, i had had horrible luck with dog shampoos and knew nothing of the higher end stuff out there so i just made do with what we had at home. I noticed that Panteen did indeed not do too well on the dogs, but Head and Shoulders was wonderful. about five years ago on a message board a groomer and i were going back and forth about the pros and cons of different products. It was getting a tiny bit heated when i seemed stubborn about not wanting to use dog shampoos (again... still before i knew of any higher end products.) It finally got to the point where i mentioned H&S... You know what... the groomer told me that's one of about two human shampoos they've tested that turned out to be the right pH for dogs. They said they don't tell many people that, but since i was already using it and found that my dogs did well with it that they seen no harm in telling me that bit.

It doesn't dry the dogs out too bad and keeps them smelling nice for almost a whole month.

Just make sure you rinse them REALLY well no matter what product you use.

[crow_noir]

Oooooh Ahhhhh. I book marked it.

Have you tried it on yourself? :D Is it sudsy at all?


EARTHBATH. LOL I swear by it. It is the only shampoo I use for the dogs. Sheena, being a Service Dog, is bathed every week so I needed something that would keep her clean, keep her coat shiny and healthy and not dry it or her skin out. These products are perfect and they make different types for different skin issues too. Here is a link to their home page:

http://earthbath.com/

And here is a link to their different types of shampoos:

http://earthbath.com/shampoo_pints.html

For Ajax(we used it on Sheena and Luca as pups too) we are using the Puppy Shampoo.

For Sheena we are using the Light Color Coat Brightener Shampoo

And for Luca we are using the Mango Tango Shampoo and Conditioner in One

As you can see there are several others including one for cats. Hope this helps you in your search.
Nicole & Sheena & Ajax

[NicoleLJ]

Oooooh Ahhhhh. I book marked it.

Have you tried it on yourself? :D Is it sudsy at all?

LOL No not on myself. I use herbal Essenses for myself. lol

One of the things I like about Earthbath bath is you dilute it before using so one bottle lasts a LONG time. I usually dilute it 1 part shampoo to 10 parts water. So I almost fill a bottle with water then add the shampoo and shake. As for sudsy it suds up a little but not near as much as some. And it rinses off very quickly leaving the coat nice and clean and fresh.
Nicole & Sheena & Ajax

[cyber-sibes]

I use Bio-Groom at home. It has chamomile & aloe vera in it. I like the Country Freesia scent. I also bought some finishing spray on the recomendation of Jack's breeder, and I spray it lightly on him & brush him out once aweek - really has his coat looking shiny & smelling good.

When I wash them at Petco, I use the oatmeal shapmpoo, and the brighteneing shampoo on their white fur. Star & Sherman used to get no more than three baths a year when they lived outside, but sleeping in fresh hay with some cedar chips sprinkled in kept them smelling good. Now that the dogs are inside , I'll probably do them every 6-8 weeks.

[DrKym]

Goof (cocker) goes in every month...and she gets Coal tar but she has a very very greasy coat. The Dobies when I bathe them get Dawn dish soap. They seldom get a bath as they don't get dirty the way Goof does, and the Dawn seems to work very well no issues with itching etc.

[jackie]

I use any dog shampoo that is there when I need it.

I only bath the boys a couple of times a year, but if they go in the ocean, the get hosed down with fresh water after.

Bella gets professionally groomed about 4 times a year and not sure what the groomer uses, but she has an "old lady" smell (sort of a mix of coconut, baby power and hairspray) which lasts for about a week.

The thing I recommend to cut down on odor is a good brushing every couple of days.

[cloverfdx]

I use Fido's (http://www.mavlab.com.au/fidos_shampoos.html), i dont think it is available outside of Australia though. I love their White and Bright & puppy shampoo's :D.