How To Make Your Own Great Smelling Dog Shampoo

Alrighty…you all know how much we love our “Pupp-Awg Extraordinaire”, right? But what you might not know is, I can’t stand the smell of dogs…shhhh! I KNOW, it’s crazy, I love me some doggies like nobody’s business, but I can’t stand “dirty dog smell”.

Needless to say, our little Miss Q gets bathed once a week…mostly because we take her to the dog park on Saturdays and Sundays and she REALLY smells awful by Sunday. And since I know it’s not great to wash your dog too much, I always use the most gentle products possible and I make sure to rinse her REALLY, REALLY well.

But…none of the store bought dog shampoos I’ve tried leave her smelling as good as I’d like. So…I decided to make my own. And besides smelling better…it’s less expensive too!

Here’s what you’ll need if you’d like to try making your as well.

A glass jar with lid
1/4 of a jar Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 of a jar Dish Soap
1/4 of a jar Aloe Vera gel
1/4 of a jar water
1 Rosemary sprig
2 Drops Rosemary Oil
2 Drops Lavender Oil

Step One: Mix ingredients and let sit overnight.

Step Two: Lather up your pup and massage to lift dirt. (Your dog needs massaging too) When finished washing, make sure to rinse well.

Now…as soon as you heard the word vinegar, I’m sure your thoughts did NOT go to a sweet smell, correct? Well…it isn’t great smelling at first and it doesn’t smell fantastic in the container you’ll mix it in, but that smell fades fairly quick once you bathe your dog. So bare with it because you’ll be happy to know the Apple Cider vinegar is important in a few different ways.

First, it acts like a deodorant in your homemade dog shampoo.

Second, it helps to give your dog’s coat a luxurious shine.

Third, it will help to keep fleas away.

And fourth, it will help make sure there is no soap residue left on your dog’s body as leftover soap can have irritating affects on your pet.

As for this shampoo being sweet smelling or perfumy at all…it’s not. Actually, the small amount of Rosemary and Lavender oils just gives it a hint of a nice fragrance, a perfect scent in my opinion. As with any new shampoo, be sure to keep an eye out for any possible reactions as just as in people, your dog might be allergic to an ingredient as well. The shampoo is best used within a couple of weeks, that’s why the recipe is made in small amounts. Discard any unused shampoo after two weeks. Refrigerate for best results.

Here are a couple of images of Quinley after her homemade dog shampoo bath. I swear her fur is the softest it’s been since she was a puppy! And her coat is so shinny…score!!!

Oh…and the pictures above of the cute couple and their dog, I took those images at the Wildflowers Photos workshop last November, but I thought they’d work perfect for this post…and they do 🙂

As always, if you have any questions or if you try this yourself, please leave me a comment or send me an email with what you think.

Thanks for stopping by!