Homemade Dog Shampoo

We recently got a black lab puppy, and at 5 months old she isn’t much of a puppy any more (although she still thinks she is!). I don’t call a 50 pound dog a puppy.  Anyway, she has a way of getting into things and frequently needs a bath.

I thought there has to be a homemade dog shampoo I could make myself, and it turns out there are lots of great recipes to choose from. I picked this one to try.

To make this dog shampoo I didn’t even have to buy anything, I already had all the ingredients on hand. I have used tea tree oil in many of my other DIY recipes.

You can find it at a health food store, although I was able to find it at Walmart. It is also available at Amazon. Tea tree oil is known for its antibacterial properties.

Homemade Dog Shampoo Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 c. oatmeal
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 15 drops tea tree oil

Note: If you have never tried tea tree oil on your dog, use a small amount of the homemade shampoo first and make sure your dog doesn’t have a reaction to it.

Tea tree oil is found in a lot of commercial dog shampoos and is completely safe for most dogs, but we had a long-haired chihuahua that had seizures after we gave him a bath with shampoo that had tea tree oil in it.

Related Article: Homemade Windshield Wiper Fluid

It also helps to not leave it on their skin too long, wash it off right away. Again, it is fine for most dogs, just be cautious.

Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a container until ready to use.

This shampoo needs to be refrigerated…so use right away if you can and if there are any leftovers, store it in the refrigerator.

After you get your dog good and wet (either in the bath tub or outside with a garden hose), use the shampoo to work up a good lather on the dog. Rub it into your dog’s fur for a couple of minutes, if possible.

Rinse the dog’s fur well to wash out any oatmeal residue.

I was really happy with how well this homemade dog shampoo worked. Besides our black lab puppy, we also have an Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler mix and both of them enjoyed their baths (although it took me longer to clean up the bathroom afterward than to give them their baths). Both of them came out clean and shiny.

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