The Best Dog Shampoo (Review) in 2020

Giving your pet pooch a much-needed bath can do a lot more than just maintaining its hygiene and health. It can also be a great way to manage and control common pest problems like fleas and ticks while also strengthening the bond between you and your mutt. It is thus, critical to know which shampoo to use on your dog as some of these may contain ingredients that may bring harm to our pets. We understand that the subject can be quite intimidating and confusing especially to novice dog owners. While there are tons of online resources detailing the whole process of selecting the right product for your pet as well as providing answers to some of the more nagging questions that pet owners may actually have, we have decided to pool these resources and evaluated them for their intrinsic value, relevance, and validity. Hopefully, towards the end of this section, you will be more enlightened on how you can ensure better care for your pet by being able to properly choose the best pet shampoo for their needs.

Here’s the thing about pet care products – there’s just way too many of them that you simply don’t know which ones are really essential and which ones you can do without. Unfortunately, many pet owners don’t think a dedicated pet shampoo is necessary and that their human shampoos should already suffice. This is a very common occurrence especially among individuals who simply fail to realize the important difference betwen human and dog skin as this is where the issue whether it is safe to use ordinary human shampoo on dogs or not.

• The Acid Mantle

  Consider the acid mantle as a natural barrier between the external environment and the different structures of the skin. The outermost layer of skin is actually a collection of epithelial cells in various stages of cornification or hardening. The innermost layers are fresher and softer while the layer that we see on our skin is actually made of cornified tissues. That is why this is called stratum corneum.

  Given the fact that the stratum corneum is made up of hardened skin cells, it would be safe to assume that this is enough to afford us or our dogs the protection we need against external threats. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. These hardened skin cells can still be attacked by bacteria and viruses that can enter through the rest of the skin layers if there’s a cut or opening in the skin.

  As such, as a supporting mechanism to this primary defense barrier, the body also produces a very thin layer that experts call as the acid mantle. The acid mantle keeps microbial contaminants from invading the skin by providing an acid environment which will help neutralize these microorganisms. Moreover, the acid mantle helps reduce the rate of evaporation and facilitates the more efficient absorption of water to keep the skin well-hydrated.

  When we take a bath, this thin protective layer is inadvertently washed away. That is why many of the bath soaps and shampoos that we use contain ingredients that will help blanket the skin while it is in the process of renewing its acid mantle. These products also help to moisturize the skin.

  So, the acid mantle is a very important protective layer of the skin. Its effectiveness is dependent on the correct balance of acids and bases on the skin. You know this as pH balance.

  Here is where the main difference lies and one of the fundamental reasons why you cannot use human shampoo on your pet.

  The normal pH of human skin is slightly more acidic, typically ranging between 5.2 and 6.2. You should know that the normal pH of the human blood is between 7.35 and 7.45, which is slightly alkaline, if we take the conventional pH standardization of 7.0 as being neutral. Your dog, on the other hand, typically has a normal skin pH of 6.2 to 7.4 which is more on the alkaline side.

  Using ordinary human shampoos on dogs can substantially disrupt their acid mantle. This leaves your mutt especially vulnerable to microbial invasion such as bacteria, viruses, and even parasites. Not only that, because the moisture from their skin has been essentially stripped away, they develop dry and flaky skin. This can be especially itchy, leading to incessant scratching and potentially cutting up the skin. As we have already said, any loss in the integrity of the skin will result in the entry of pathogenic microorganisms.

  That said, you should never use your own shampoo on your mutt regardless of how ‘mild’ these products are formulated.

• Skin Sensitivity

  We did mention that our outer layer of our skin is actually composed of several sub-layers; 5 to be exact. When taken together, you are looking at a 10 to 15 rows of skin cells. On the other hand, our canine friends only have 3 to 5 rows of skin cells.

  Because their skin is essentially ‘thinner’ than ours, using hair wash products that contain harsh chemicals or ingredients can easily erode these layers. Again, this leads to skin rashes, drying, flaking, and even intense itching, which you already know what happens next.

  Now you might think that this is bull since dogs can easily go anywhere without hurting or damaging their skin. This is where their coat comes in. Unlike the hair follicles in humans that grow as individual hair, the hair follicles in canines typically grow in clusters, providing ample protection for the skin beneath it. Unfortunately, if they do get a bath, moisture can easily get under this cluster of hair follicles, somehow trapping them in the process. This is also one of the reasons why it is a lot more difficult to dry their hairs after getting wet.

  Giving your mutt a bath using your shampoo can lead to more severe skin irritation primarily because they have more sensitive skin.

  Should you use your own shampoo on your dog? The straightforward answer is ‘NO’. If you’re not convinced, try bathing your mutt with your own hair wash product and you will see that the odor is not at all that pleasant. Many pet owners tend to repeat the washing believing that doing so will help remove the nasty smell. Unfortunately, it only gets worse because the acid mantle has already been severely disrupted and bacteria are already wreaking havoc on your pet’s skin. If you don’t mind the smell, sooner or later your mutt will be scratching incessantly and you’ll be wondering if it has fleas or ticks. Sadly, most pet owners will never think that it is their pet’s use of human shampoo that is causing the itching.