How to Find the Best Pet Shampoo

By Karin Krisher

If your dogs are anything like ours, they like to get dirty–especially in the summer months. It’s fine for pups to roll around in the mud or splash through ponds when you don’t have to clean up after them; however, the likelihood of them running inside faster than you anticipated is high, and you’ve got to be prepared to get them clean faster than that.

The groomer or a self-serve wash station are always options for getting your animals clean and keeping their skin healthy, but it’s important to have everything you need for a quick wash and a daily refresher, too, as the task isn’t always easy.

A few questions stick in our brains when we consider shopping for the best pet shampoo:

1. How does it smell?
If you don’t enjoy the scent-sation of washing your dog with it, imagine how pungent the smell is for your dog’s adept nose! Choose something that smells fresh, either soapy clean or with a slight, pleasant sweetness. Chemical-ly? Not so much. Which brings us to our next consideration.

2. What’s in it?
Are there any harsh additives that might hurt your dog’s or cat’s skin? Is your dog sensitive to certain chemical ingredients? Ditch those options that include harsh oils, lanolins, silicones, thickeners and fillers, and choose ones that feature none of the above.

3. How does your dog or cat feel?
You don’t want to choose something that will be age-inappropriate, irritating, or ineffective.
Choose a shampoo that’s safe for all ages and features beneficial ingredients, so your dog feels both clean and healthy.

4. Is this easy to use?
This question is among the most important for dog and cat shampoo. As we said, everyone knows what a pain this process can be. Choosing a shampoo that cleans gently, rinses and combs out smoothly and provides 2-in-1 action is your best bet. It’s important to properly brush out and dry your dog after washing to avoid matting or fungal growth.

Pet Naturals CLEAN Shampoo and conditioner is a perfect option. Perhaps its most important feature is that it’s biodegradable, meaning you can use it outside, at the lake, under the hose and in the little kiddie pool on your front lawn. It’s also free of harsh fillers and additives (see number 2) and provides silk proteins to support skin health (see number 3).

Getting the summer grime off of your dog’s (or cat’s!) skin is a good thing. Cleanliness helps keep skin resilient and helps your pup look like the freshest canine on the block, or in the backyard, or at the dock….

What is the best pet shampoo that has worked for your dog or cat? Tell us in a comment!