Washing a dog can be very close to a traumatic experience for both you and Fido. Fortunately, there are methods out there to ensure that your favorite pet gets as clean as he or she can be, but what about products? Unfortunately, modern human shampoos just aren’t made for your furry buddy, which is why you may need a good dog shampoo to get a truly good clean.
Sometimes, your dog will need a product that will eliminate a nasty smell, and when this is the case, only the best dog shampoo for odor will do.
Quick Picks: The 5 Top-Rated Dog Shampoo for Odor
Last update on 2024-04-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Check our best pick above, or keep reading for product reviews and buying guide!
Best Dog Shampoo for Odor Reviews
Nature’s Miracle Supreme Odor Control
One of the ingredients in this Nature’s Miracle shampoo is the cocoa surfactant that helps the shampoo provide a truly deep clean. This surfactant helps maintain skin essential oils and enhances hair softness.
While you might think that this shampoo would smell like cocoa or at least cocoa butter, it actually has a honey sage scent, and both of these natural ingredients are used in the formulation of the shampoo. This product utilizes oatmeal to help neutralize the source of odors in your pet’s coat and uses enzymatic formula, which helps it break down grime that’s hiding in the fur.
This is also a soap-free product. It’s important to understand that soapy solutions tend to cause pet skin dryness, which can lead to infections. So not having soap is advantageous to your pet’s skin health. This Nature’s Miracle product also won’t affect flea and tick medication, and it won’t diminish the natural oils found inside the coat of your dog.
Pros:
- The honey sage scent smells very good.
- The cap makes it easy to apply to your dog’s fur.
- This is an entirely natural shampoo.
Cons:
- The scent isn’t for everyone.
- The scent only lasts about two days.
Burt’s Bees for Dogs All-Natural Shampoos and Conditioners
Burt’s Bees, as a company, prides itself on using natural ingredients to provide its customers with quality results. This dog shampoo is designed to be used by both dogs and cats, and it’s ingredients, which are 99.7 percent all-natural, not only provide a good level of clean but also ensure that your pet smells great as well.
Some of the ingredients that the company uses to provide clean results are grapeseed oil and buttermilk, and the company also used apple and rosemary to give a fairly long-lasting scent that smells pleasant.
As a company that prides itself on keeping things natural, you’ll find no phthalates, petrolatum, or parabens in the formulation of this shampoo. It’s also designed not to wash off any flea or tick treatment that you’re using to keep your pup happy and pest-free.
Pros:
- Like all Burt’s Bees products, this shampoo incorporates natural ingredients like beeswax.
- It uses coco betaine, which helps cleans the fur.
- While it can work on cats, it’s pH balanced for dogs.
Cons:
- It can be difficult to rinse out.
- Some dogs with sensitive skin can experience itchiness.
Honeydew Colloidal Oatmeal Dog Shampoo with Pure Lavender Essential Oils
Lavender provides dogs with an excellent fragrance that smells fresh, and it also provides aromatherapy benefits for canines that calms them. This is perfect for dogs that are a bit skittish about the water, and since it’s a natural ingredient, it also tends to be good for dogs with sensitive skin. Since this is a colloidal oatmeal formulation, it’s actually designed to combat skin irritation.
This product is designed to be gentle and provides a cleansing lather that will work its way through the coat of your dog. Another advantage is that the scent has a tendency to last for several days. Even if Fido has been outdoors, it tends to keep him or her smelling nice and fresh.
For those pet parents with white-colored dog fur, the oatmeal formulation also does great at whitening. Once you’ve washed it out, you’ll definitely notice a fairly stark difference in the brightness level of his or her fur.
Pros:
- This product adds luster to a pet’s fur.
- The lavender smells excellent and can calm a dog.
- It scrubs in with a rich lather.
Cons:
- It can take a few rinses to get the lather out of the fur.
- The bottle is pretty small.
Gerrard Larriett Aromatherapy Pet Care for Pets Dog Shampoo
This Gerrard Larriett product is another lavender-based shampoo that has a calming effect on canines that can be very beneficial for bath time. In addition to this ingredient, this aromatherapy shampoo also includes chamomile, which smells fantastic and is very safe for dogs with sensitive skin.
These ingredients are designed specifically with your dog’s comfort in mind, and the fact that the lavender and chamomile scents work so well together can also work pretty well for your peace of mind as well.
Pros:
- The Aloe Vera in the ingredients helps keep the coat nice and shiny.
- It washes out very easily from the fur.
- The chamomile and lavender virtually eliminate odor, and the scent lasts for days.
Cons:
- Getting a good lather can be difficult.
- The scent can be a bit strong when it’s fresh.
Dog Shampoos for Odor Buyer’s Guide
When you’re on the market for one of these shampoos, you definitely want one that will handle a wide range of pooch issues. Simply put, the right shampoo for your needs should have several essential features that will help your pet smell his or her best. In this section, we’re going to hit on a couple of key features to look out for in your dog shampoo.
Natural Fragrance
Some of the biggest offenders when it comes to ineffective dog shampoo ingredients are unnatural chemical scents. As a rule, once you’re done washing your pet with the shampoo, you can rest assured that the scent will fade away within a matter of minutes. Additionally, these fragrances tend to seep into your pet’s skin and cause dryness, which no one wants.
As a rule, when you’re shampooing your furry friend, use products that have natural fragrances. These fragrances will also have healthier components that benefit to your pet. Once the shampoo works its way to your dog’s skin, it’ll stay there and provide a lasting scent that’ll far outstrip the chemical scent.
Thanks to natural scents, there’s far less of a chance of your dog having a bad allergic reaction to the various chemicals in the cheaper shampoos. Additionally, these types of shampoos are a major contributor to dandruff and dry skin. When either of these conditions occurs on your pet’s skin, then infections can form.
Here are a few natural ingredients that provide truly pleasant fragrances without utilizing chemicals:
- Eucalyptus
- Spearmint
- Honey
- Lavender
- Oatmeal
- Vanilla
- Aloe Vera
- Orange
Each of these fragrances provides a ton of scent benefits for your pet as well as several health benefits for their skin. Some of these even have aromatherapy uses that will calm your pet down during bath time.
Wondering which will work best? Well, this is where you may have to execute a little due diligence, but once you find the scent that works for you, you’ll be amazed at the effect that it will have on your pet.
Wondering which will work best? Well, this is where you may have to execute a little due diligence. However, once you find the scent that works for you, you’ll be amazed at the effect that it will have on your pet.
Deep-Cleaning Ingredients
While the primary symptom is a bad odor, fragrance alone isn’t going to completely solve the problem, especially if you have a messy pup that loves to run around and get into things. Usually, one of the primary causes of doggy odor is dried sweat under the fur, which attracts smelly bacteria. For this reason, you’ll want to have a shampoo that can cleanse away this dried material so that you can breathe easy again.
A good shampoo with cleansing elements is also going to get deep into the coat of your pet so that the bottom layer of skin is cleaned as well. Fortunately, several natural ingredients can help you get this level of clean – no matter how thick your dog’s fur is. Some of these ingredients include coconut or oatmeal, and others use components like natural cocoa surfactant or salicylic acid, which is very effective.
Additional Features
In addition to cleaning and deodorizing your dog, a good shampoo can have additional benefits that you should definitely take into account. In this section, we’re going to highlight some of these extra features that can add a lot of value to your purchase.
Anti-Flea Medications: Dogs love it in the outdoors, and one of the primary hazards of the great outdoors during the warmer months fleas. Fortunately, there are several dog shampoos on the market today that are designed with all-natural ingredients that will either drive away or outright kill fleas in your dog’s coat. In many cases, you may need to get your vet to prescribe these, but there are milder alternatives that you can find over the counter.
Components that Take Sensitive Skin into Account: It’s fairly common for dogs to have sensitive skin, and fortunately, there are a wide variety of products on the market that will take your pup’s needs into account. The best products will help condition your dog’s skin and won’t affect the essential oils that are present in the skin and the coat.
Skin-Moisturizing Elements: Dry skin quickly becomes cracked, and cracked skin is a major contributor to infections. For this reason, a product with either eucalyptus or spearmint can work wonders in returning the moisture to your dog’s skin as well as repairing it so that infections can’t take hold.
Infections are actually a potential cause for bad fur odor, so a good product with these ingredients can work as a two-pronged solution. These elements can make dog skincare much more effective
Final Thoughts
We hope that you enjoyed this article about doggie shampoos for helping your favorite pooch smell great. Each of the products that were selected will provide your dog with a great scent, and many are formulated to help dogs with sensitive skin. If we were to select a clear winner as the best dog shampoo for odor, it would be the Honeydew Colloidal Oatmeal Dog Shampoo; the product has a great scent and works to maintain the essential oils in your pet’s coat.
Additionally, the various natural ingredients do a great job of cleansing deep into the fur, and the lather penetrates to the skin level so that your pup’s skin is moisturized. While this product came out ahead, each can provide you with some favorable results.