9 best dog shampoos to keep your pooch clean, shiny and smelling fresh

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

Barley, our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, was especially keen on this one – at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves after she tried to bite the cap of the bottle seconds after we produced it. Although the price is on the high side, the enormous bottle contains 474ml of product, and we loved the tilting lid, which minimises the risk of spills and is a godsend when you’re wrangling a wet puppy.

The pale yellow liquid is packed with the type of goodness we’d like to see more of in our own shampoos: aloe vera and rambutan seed extract are the stars of the show. There’s a delicate, soapy scent which initially reminded us of bubble-blowing liquid, but which quickly faded to a meadow-fresh scent.

Best: For pongy pooches

Rating: 9/10

Weirdly, the opening notes of this shampoo reminded us of the scent of plastic babies’ heads (we’re hoping you’ll know what we mean, but we could be wrong). It’s not an unpleasant scent, rather a gentle, comforting one which doesn’t linger longer than it needs to.

Barley was perfectly happy to be subjected to a thorough shampooing, which we suspect is partly down to the low lather, which means quicker rinsing times and less chance of pesky soap suds working their way into irritable areas. It’s another shampoo which is great for dogs with sensitive skin – it’s a pre and probiotic-based formula which works by protecting dogs’ natural skin biomes.

Best: For sensitive skin

Rating: 9/10

Our expectations were admittedly lowered by this boring-looking bottle – we expected something pretty basic on the inside too, with either no scent or minimal ingredients. Although, we should point out that the average pooch is unlikely to share our concerns about bottle design. We were wrong on both counts.

To start with, the liquid, which foams up into a soft lather and has plenty of slip (the term used to describe how easily the liquid slides over the skin, or fur in this case), has a wonderful scent which reminded of us of a spa (the human kind) and lingered on the fur for just the right amount of time. And then there are the ingredients – a rollcall of skin-soothing greatness: rosemary, sea buckthorn, chamomile, neem, aloe vera and oatmeal. Buy this shampoo and your dog will have the holy grail of soft skin, squeaky-clean fur and a fresh yet subtle scent.

Best: Puppy shampoo

Rating: 8/10

The jury’s out on whether your puppy actually needs a specialist shampoo, but there’s an argument for the case that younger dogs take a while to develop their self-coating protection. This lightly-lathering shampoo has a built-in conditioner for super soft coats, something which left our test dog’s fur feeling wonderfully soft. It also uses a hit of pro-vitamin B5 to help strengthen and condition the coat without the need for sebum-stripping harsh ingredients.

Best: For white dogs

Rating: 8/10

Barring the shampoo bottle’s uncanny resemblance to a tube of white paint (which isn’t actually a problem, unless you slather it over your walls by mistake) this is a brilliant option for dirt-prone dogs. It will easily shift light stains, and has a dose of pro-vitamin B5 which ensures that only the grime is removed – not the essential oils our furry friends rely on to keep their coats in top condition.

Best: For shedding dogs

Rating: 9/10

Marketed as a brilliant option for dogs prone to moulting – though we’re keen to remind our furry friends that there’s no shame in shedding – there’s no escaping the fact that at £25 this shampoo costs far, far more than the average bottle of (human) shampoo.

That said, this ultra-hydrating formula certainly helps to reduce the shed of both dander and fur by nourishing skin without the use of harsh ingredients which can irritate dogs prone to sensitivity. We can’t help but wish the juice itself was a little thicker – it’s on the thin side, which means it’s all too easy to decant the majority onto your dog, which is no laughing matter at £25 a pop.

Best: For quick spruce-ups

Rating: 8/10

Full disclosure, this isn’t a shampoo, more of an in-between-washes spruce-up. A doggy dry-shampoo if you will.

As weird as it seems to be talking about top notes when it comes to dog shampoo, we’ve got to highlight the delicious top note of cinnamon we got when we first tried out this canine cleaning spritz. It’s ideal for pet owners who don’t want to subject their pooch to regular washes, or who want to keep their dogs smelling fabulously fresh – another ingredient is chamomile flower extract, which gives the spray a wonderfully floral scent.

Best: For a moisture hit

Rating: 8/10

Even dogs suffer from dandruff, and this is a brilliant option for dogs prone to flakiness. It was love at first sight when it came to the design, the highlight of which is a bone-shaped cap which is easy to remove, even when wrestling with a wet, muddy mutt doing all she can to evade bath time.

The formula is a powerhouse of ingredients guaranteed to transform your dog’s coat – there’s yucca for strength, silk proteins for lustre, shea butter for softness and chamomile for a gorgeous, countryside-inspired scent. What’s not to love?

Best: Smelling dog shampoo

Rating: 9/10

If our human shampoo smelled like this, we’d be over the moon. The blast of creamy coconut paired with a hint of vanilla, isn’t the only thing we loved about this Crufts-worthy cleanser – which has a hit of marula oil to help keep skin in tip-top condition without aggravating sensitive skin.

It’s a pH-balanced formula, which means it’s great for dogs prone to sensitivity. And the addition of oatmeal and calendula do a great job of soothing any existing flare-ups of dry skin or soreness.