Best Dog Shampoo for Shedding Reviewed [2021]

A dog shedding its hair can become a big problem for any home and indeed the dog itself. Too much hair on your carpets, furniture, and clothing among other places can cause danger to your children too especially when they are still babies. A lot of times, dog owners are unsure of the best strategy to take to rid their home of constant dog hair on everything. However, now you can better manage this unwanted characteristic of your dog by using the best dog shampoo for shedding to ensure that it sheds less often to keep your home clean and to help your dog with getting rid of the causes that make it shed a lot of hair.

It is important to know that your dog naturally sheds its hair in order to create room for new hair. It does not matter the breed, health, or age of your dog because all dogs shed hair naturally. Some even shed more hair after the winter season to ensure that they can survive the less cold seasons of the year. Therefore you cannot stop your dog from shedding because that is natural. However, there is excessive shedding that can become quite a headache for any dog owner. If you feel that your dog is shedding too much hair, it probably is and you should trust your gut and get it resolved. A dog shedding shampoo will help you to reduce this and manage it at a good level that will not be stressful for you.

Since shampoos exist for humans too, you might be tempted to use your own shampoo on your dog. That is not recommended. Human shampoos cause irritation to your dog’s skin because of the sensitivity, ingredients and difference in pH. Do not subject your dog to this because it will only result in you visiting your vet and spending lots of money on treatment.

The Best Dog Shampoo for Shedding

1. Pro Pet Works Natural Dog Shampoo

The Pro Pet Works Oatmeal dog shampoo is a great shampoo because of its 100% natural ingredients that ensure it serves dogs, cats, and rabbits with sensitive skin. It is soap-less and detergent free containing Almond oil and Aloe Vera. In our testing, this shampoo was very effective in treating skin allergies. You can use it together with flea treatments. This makes it a very good supplement to use in conjunction with other treatments that your dog could be using. If your dog is having food, grass and flea bite allergies, this shampoo is something we recommend you using.

You will notice that due to its natural ingredients, the shampoo has no alcohol and no fragrance. It also has no added colors which makes it good for using with towels without fear of towel discoloration. Using it leaves your dog with a fresh fruity smell that is quite subtle after the dog is dried. However, we noticed the fruity smell is quite strong during lathering. It doesn’t have any fragrance which is something we found quite pleasing; but like many natural things it does have a smell. It is not a bad thing for a shampoo to have a fragrant scent, however, if you are a person that dislikes fragrances or develops allergies from perfume scents, a fragrance-free shampoo for your dog will be very helpful and needed.

For dogs that are shedding due to insufficient minerals their diet, this shampoo comes with vitamins A, D, and E all naturally sourced as well as oat proteins which are ingested into the dogs body through its skin during washing. The good balance in terms of treating allergies that may cause itching or licking and combining that with the added minerals that may be lacking in diet makes this shampoo our best dog shampoo for shedding. The added advantage is that it doesn’t use any preservatives making it cruelty free for your beloved dog.

After the first few times of use, the dog’s skin gets better and the shedding of lose hair is reduced with skin improvement. If you don’t brush your dog’s hair often, in the initial days of use you will notice increased shedding as the shampoo helps to remove lose hair that had not fallen off the dogs body.

This product has a rating of 4.6/5 on Amazon with over 1,800 reviews. The rating is not short of excellent and a lot of customers have praised it for how effectively it improves the dog skin leading to reduced shedding, itching, or licking and increased dog comfort and skin health. There is a money back guarantee if the shampoo does not work out for your dog.

Pros:

1. An all natural shampoo that is safe for most dogs with sensitive skin.
2. No alcohol, no fragrance, no paraben, no sulphates, no harsh chemicals.
3. Contains almond oil extracts and Aloe Vera that softens dry skin.
4. You can use it together with other flea treatments.
5. Continued use improves skin health leading to reduced dog shedding.
6. Good for dogs with food, grass, and flea bite allergies.
7. Contains Vitamins A, D, E and oat proteins to supplement dog’s diet.
8. Approved and recommended by veterinary doctors.

Cons:

1. It will take hours of cleaning if you use a lot of it in one clean; use in small quantities.
2. The shampoo has a strong smell when lathering up.

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2. Curaseb Shampoo for Dogs

The Curaseb is very effective and you begin to notice the results sometimes in the first day of using it. If your dog occasionally licks and scratches, you will see a huge improvement upon using it only once. It addresses various skin problems that could lead to a dog shedding too much hair.

It helps eliminate yeast, bacteria, fungus, proderma and ringworms. If your dog is shedding a lot due to these infections, the Curaseb shampoo will come in handy. It contains Chlohexidine Gluconate 2% (antibacterial) and Ketokonazole 1% (Antifungal) as the two active ingredients.

The main reason we are recommending it first is because it addresses the skin problem quite directly. While there are several reasons why your dog could be shedding, the probability that it is a skin problem is very high as compared to feeding habits or pregnancies among other reasons we discussed earlier. It is therefore the best dog shampoo for shedding to use first. If it does not stop the shedding, it could mean that your dog is undergoing other issues that are causing it to shed and not a skin problem; however unlikely that may be.

The product has an overall rating of 4.6/5 on Amazon over 1,300 reviews as a solution for dog shedding. Some customers have praised how effective and fast they were able to see the results. Others love it because it was able to eliminate smelly bad odor from their dogs’ hair leaving the dog with a refreshing smelling that lasts for hours. The product guarantee is that if you are not satisfied, you can return it for a refund whether the bottle is empty, opened, or not.

Pros:

1. Addresses skin problems like yeast, bacteria, fungus, proderma and ringworms.
2. Deodorizes the dog’s hair leaving it with a refreshing cucumber melon scent that lasts for several hours.
3. You can be use for dogs of all sizes.
4. Perfect for dogs with sensitive skin because it gently cleanses.
5. Veterinary doctors across the board recommend this medicated shampoo.

Cons:

1. Lacking in vitamins and proteins because it only addresses skin infections or allergies.
2. Product is red and can cause discoloration of non-red towels.

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Other Great Dog Shedding Shampoos

3. Veterinary Formula Shampoo for Dogs

The Veterinary Formula shampoo for shedding dogs is a medicated shampoo that contains treatments to help your dog against any fungal and bacterial skin infections. The shampoo is antiparasitic and antiseborrheic – relieves skin scaling that may be caused by seborrhea and helps treat any other parasitic infections. Since the main cause of increased dog shedding is highly likely to be a skin infection, the goal of the shampoo is to improve the health of your dog’s skin as a means of tackling the shedding problem. Simply, a healthy skin is a happy dog!

It gently heals your dog as it contains coal tar, salicylic acid, and micronized sulfur that is used to treat skin scaling. The colloidal oatmeal and allantoin ingredients help to hydrate your dog’s skin further smoothening it to reduce any roughness and itching that may lead to scratching. The shampoo has been praised as one that acts quite fast to relieve your dog of any red skin rashes, greasy or waxy skin, bald spots, inflamed scalp, and any itchy skin that may not only be associated with dermatitis but also parasitic, seborrhea, and bacterial infections. It is paraben, soap, and dye free.

What you need to note is that this shampoo is not a good choice for puppies under 12 weeks. The shampoo is formulated for dogs older than 12 weeks. Additionally, do not use this shampoo for cats, it is not safe for cats. If you would like a shampoo to use on both your dogs and cats check the first 2 shampoos above in this guide.

If your dog is showing any signs of allergies and losing a lot of hair in the process, this would be a nice shampoo. A lot of pet parents who purchased it reported that it reduced hair loss greatly and helped clear dandruff as well as any causes of itching and licking – including licking paws.

We noticed that it leaves your dog with a nice smell of mint, but if this is not a preferable smell for you then do settle for another shampoo. The shampoo is not very strong for supplement some of the nutrients that may lack in your dog’s diet. It only contains Vitamin E and oatmeal proteins which are great but we recommend you increase provision of Vitamins A, D, and E as well as lots of proteins in the dog’s diet to complement the use of the shampoo.

The Veterinary Formula has over 2,500 customer reviews on Amazon with a rating of 4.5/5. It has been praised for being effective and fast, and very good for dogs with sensitive skin which is something you want from the best dog shampoo for shedding. However, we recommend it because of its powerful medicinal abilities that treat a lot of skin infections helping your dog’s skin stay healthy.

Pros:

1. Helps relieve a wide variety of skin infections.
2. Leaves your dog’s skin smooth and hydrated.
3. Has a subtle mint smell.
4. Great for dog’s with sensitive skin due to its gentle cleansing.
5. Approved and recommended by veterinary doctors.

Cons:

1. Not safe for use on cats.
2. Not formulated for dogs under 12 weeks of age.
3. Limited in vitamins and proteins as it is more focused on skin infections.

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4. FURminator deShedding Dog Shampoo

5. Wahl Dog Oatmeal Shampoo

In order to understand how to deal with your dog’s shedding, it is good to know the reasons that make dogs shed their hair. Briefly, we will highlight the reasons below:

Reasons and Remedies of Excessive Dog Shedding

As we have said before, dogs shed hair naturally. The natural shedding is something that is normal because they always need to shed in order to develop new coat. However, if you feel your dog is shedding excessively, you need to know the reasons. This include:

1. Aggressive and excessive brushing or combing

If you brush your dog aggressively and way too often, you might be the reason for the increased hair fall. Ideally, brush your dog with medium effort. Not too aggressive, not too soft. Also, do not do it way too often. Do it every couple of days – there is no recommended interval of days.

You need to study your dog and create your own routine. When you brush your dog’s hair you can help it get rid of unwanted hair faster instead of letting it shed slowly every day. This helps with keeping you in control of the shedding problem. We have tried and tested the best brushes, and we recommend you get the FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool for Dogs.

2. Endocrine disorders

Your dog’s increased shedding might also be a sign of endocrine disorders. The three common endocrine disorders that affect a dog’s skin are hypothyroidism, hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease) and the more all-inclusive condition known as alopecia X. However, to be sure, you should see a vet.

3. Unbalanced dog food diet

Is your dog deficient in vitamins, proteins and other minerals that help with hair development and sustenance? This might be the reason why you are starting to see increased hair fall. The shedding is unnatural and is caused by deficiency in critical body nutrients.

You should work to improve your dog’s diet. Let it feed on proteins and vegetables to resolve this deficiency. Another alternative is to get the best dog shampoo for shedding because it supplements some of these deficiencies. However, get the dog shampoo for shedding and also balance the diet. This is a better combination.

4. Your dog is stressed and anxious

As a dog owner, of the best things you should do is learn to read your dog’s body language. You will know if it is stressed or anxious. Stress and anxiety can cause some dogs to shed more hair than normal.

The possible causes of your dog’s stress or anxiety are quite many. However, to begin with, do you leave your dog home alone for several hours on end? This could be a reason. There are some things you can do before leaving your dog home alone like preparing them for your leaving so that they are left in good spirits or getting a pet sitter.

Dogs also suffer from separation anxiety and if you leave them alone severally, this could be a reason why. You can curb the separation anxiety by walking your dog often, getting them more dog toys to play with, or even getting another dog among other ways.

5. Dog Pregnancy

During pregnancy some dogs can shed hair but it should not be excessive shedding. This is only normal due to hormonal changes. However, if you think they are shedding a lot of hair you should see a vet to ascertain what the issue may be.

6. Allergies to various substances

Allergies to various substances and things might cause your dog to itch and scratch a lot more than it should. This causes an increase in the amount of hair it sheds.

You should consult a vet to find out what the reasons for the increased itching and scratching could be. A good pointer to visit your pet is if they also bite their paws too much in addition to the excessive scratching.

7. Harmful parasites

Parasites cause various reactions on your dog’s skin and it might show in the sudden increase of hair fall. Dogs bite their paws a lot when they are infested with ticks and mites because they are trying to remove them. If your dog does this a lot in addition to increased shedding, you should take it to a vet.

8. Excessive licking

Sometimes a dog shedding too much hair might be due to its obsessive licking. This leads to a medical condition known as Acral lick granuloma. It is usually very easy to notice. If your dog has wound perches or thickened skin perches with missing hair, this is probably the problem and it is caused by the dogs excessive licking behaviour. You should see a vet for this to be treated.

9. Sunburns

Sunburns are just as harmful to dogs as they are to humans. Increased exposure to sunlight can lead to your dog developing skin cancer, causing increased hair fall. This should not be a problem if your dog spends a lot of time indoors. However, if you are the kind of person who travels with your dog, or spends daytime in the sunny outdoors with it, you could be causing the excessive shedding. Try and reduce the exposure to sunlight.

10. Miscellaneous reasons

When you see your dog shedding too much hair, sometimes it might not be a medical issue. Some reasons that may be causing that are open sores, redness, rashes, and a dried out coat. It is therefore advised to check on your dog for safety reasons and ensure that it is perfectly groomed and healthy.

How Dog Shampoos Help:

Dog shampoos for shedding help in the following ways:

a). In cases where the dog has been infested with parasites, dog shampoos for shedding usually have the required additions to help eliminate parasites, reduce dry skin, and clear dandruff.

b). They contain vitamins, usually Vitamin A, D and E that control shedding and hair loss. Shampoos form foamy lather that doesn’t irritate the skin yet is rich in the required vitamins. When you clean your dog using these dog shedding shampoos, the vitamins penetrate the skin to supplement the much needed vitamins.

c). Keratin is a major component of hair. The dog needs proteins to replenish keratin. Dog shampoos have proteins that are also absorbed through the skin to help reduce the shedding problem.

d). The best dog shampoo for shedding also contains omega fatty acids. In a dog’s body, omega fatty acids help in the normal growth cycle of the dog’s hair by ensuring hair regrows after shedding of the old coat and develops fully. The dog’s body usually produces these acids. However, shampoos for shedding dogs usually have these omega fatty acids that are then absorbed through the dog’s skin to supplement the dog’s production and reduce hair loss.

e). Finally, the best dog shampoo for shedding should be able to help your dog get rid of any old hair coat. This is helpful because shampoos flash out the dog’s hair follicles to remove any old hair that may not have fallen off even after brushing or combing the dog.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I control dog hair at home?

Dog hair can be a huge problem at home especially when you have small babies who like to put everything in their mouth provided they can touch it. You can use the strategies below to control dog hair:

Brush your dog every couple of days to reduce the chances of old dog hair falling off on various things in your home. Brushing your dog also helps it look neat and well taken care of. We recommend that you buy this dog brush because it is the best we have tested for shedding dogs.

Additionally, improve on your dog’s diet to provide it with all the proteins and vitamins needed to take control of the hair growth and sustenance.

You can check your dog for allergies or parasites that might be causing it to scratch a lot due to itching. Check for dandruff too.

Training your dog to stop sitting on furniture can help to keep your home clean. As a natural occurrence, dogs shed hair, so to keep your furniture clean train your dog to sit or sleep on its designated areas. The dog learns to follow those instructions sooner or later. If they do not learn you could adopt the use of a shock collar to help in training them better and more effectively.

You can vacuum clean your fabric seats and carpets occasionally to ensure that you get rid of all the hair in your house. For your clothes we recommend using these lint rollers to help you get rid of the hair.