This post for DIY Natural Dog Shampoo contains affiliate links.
How was everyone’s Easter? We had such a great day spending time at one of our favorite churches, eating and hanging out with our family and loving the BEAUTIFUL weather! It could not have been a prettier day! Everyone seemed to be having such a great time. Except our dog Veda… she still may have been holding a grudge against me.
Our dog hates having baths. It is one of her least favorite past times. Knowing that she would be spending time with family over Easter I knew she needed a bath. We ran out of shampoo after her last bath so I decided just to make my own DIY natural dog shampoo! I have seen many different recipes floating around the interweb, but I ran across this one and thought I’d give it a try!
What you need for DIY Natural Dog Shampoo:
- 1 cup of natural liquid dish-washing soap (I used Method)
- 1 cup of organic apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup of warm water
- 2 ounces of glycerine
- Empty container for shampoo (I used a large mason jar)
What you’ll do to make your homemade dog shampoo:
- Starting with the dish soap pour the ingredients into your jar
- Shake the jar to mix the ingredients together.
- Thoroughly wet your dog down with water and pour the shampoo onto your pet.
- Lather the shampoo into your pet’s fur.
- Rinse!
Poor Veda, she had no idea what was coming…as far as she knew it was a normal saturday afternoon.
She’s starting to figure it out..a bath is coming.
And there it is.
Is that not the saddest face you have ever seen? Don’t worry, she made it through and she is just as happy as ever:)
This shampoo made her fur very soft and left her smelling great!
And just for fun here is a photo of Tanner and I on Easter. He’s a cute one! ;)
I like your recipe for the shampoo. I have been digging for more healthy things for my dogs. I made a bad mistake a few weeks ago and gave my dogs chew treats that came from china. They got sick from them, but thankfully recovered. I have been searching for new ideas, treats, shampoo, etc. Have you used any organic dish soap in your recipe? I want to stay as natural as possible. Nice blog! Glad I came across it.
Barbara,
Thanks for the kind words! I have used Method Dish soap and also Seventh Generation Dish soap which are both natural. I’m sure any natural dish soap would be the best option! :)
I tried this today, it was amazing. Of course, my dog was miserable at first lol. But he realized he was clean. He was super happy after and took a nice nap next to me. He is all smiles Thank you. I was using regular dog shampoo. He hated that stuff this was refreshing for him and I.
Crissy! So glad you liked it!
such a smart idea…any alternatives to glycerin? is it needed for anything other than moisturizing the pup’s skin?
Kristen, Try using olive oil if you’d like… The glycerin is just for added moisture so it isn’t completely necessary!
I’d like to try this but is the glycerin necessary or optional?
I have read that olive oil can be an alternative to glycerin, but I am not completely sure. I bought my glycerin at Hobby Lobby though for about 3 dollars. I’m sure it isn’t completely necessary if you just want to leave it out! :)
Hi :) Love your site!
I’m thinking’ coconut oil would be a great alternative for glycerin. Not the smell that olive oil would add. Healthy benefits of skin conditioning and pleasant smell. I’m sure the apple cider is a huge plus – such cleaning powers – and dogs LOVE vinegar! Don’t quote me on this – research it first – but I seem to recall vinegar is good for their tummies :)
Great suggestion with the coconut oil-I may have to give that a try!
Some vets are recommending vinegar (white distilled) for maintaining an acidic environment to keep bugs, mites, etc. from living on pets. I was told to clean out my dog’s ears daily with a cotton swab dipped in vinegar. I even put a spoon of it in his breakfast.
vinegar douche is the best thing to swab ears out with:>
vinegar is a great astringent and does a pretty good job knocking down the fleas too! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
Dish soap is ok if it’s the natural one,or one with skin softener for your hand much milder on your skin than that 99cent store stuff. Dawn is an emergency soap for oil disasters, only use a little dawn like if your dog slept under a car and has an oil slick down his back.
Add a little lemon or orange juice as flea killer. Gives that Citric acid attack.
Add a dash tea tree oil, or ground oats for your sensitive skin creatures. Play with it, to dial in your dogs needs. This is going to be fun!
-Companion Animal Hygienist 30 yrs!
THANKS SO VERY MUCK LOVE YOUR IDEAS .GREW UP WITH VW BUGS AND VAN .KEEP UP THE IDEAS COMING
Thanks Jeanette!
Once a VW lover always a VW lover! ;)
DO NOT USE TEA TREE OIL ON CATS!!! It does work great for fleas, etc., but there is something in it that isn’t good for cats. (Sorry but can’t exactly remember what it was) I washed a cat with tea tree oil in the shampoo and the cat went crazy. I later found out why. The cat wouldn’t come to me for a few days afterward. It burns their skin.
I shampoo my dog with dog shampoo except for the head and face. where I use baby shampoo. I may try your idea for replacing the dog shampoo, but still use baby shampoo so not to burn her eyes.
What a wonderful, chemical free way to wash the dog! The organic dog shampoos are sooo expensive, but this is not!
Love it!
We tried this DIY with Method Lavender soap, and put a few drops of Tea Tree Oil in it, and the dogs are mosquito bite free so far as well!
Great idea with the tea tree oil! I will have to use some next time I make it! Thanks Faith!
Will tea tree oil work on fleas to get rid of them and to keep them away
Hi …love your blog,…esp like this natural dog shampoo…thx
My blog is just new…https://owlinthefamily.com/
Nice Idea!!!