The 8 Best Puppy Shampoos for a Worry-Free Bathtime

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• Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.

Your puppy’s first bath can be a special bonding time between you two. For the first few months of your puppy’s life, you need only a soft cloth and some warm water to clean your new friend. But as your dog grows up, finding a good puppy shampoo with a calming scent and soothing feel helps to teach puppies that baths can be enjoyable—a lesson you’ll really appreciate as they become more prone to bathtub escapes.

Not all dog shampoos are suitable for puppies’ sensitive skin, so choosing one that’s safe for them is essential. And though you love them like your own, never use human shampoo on a puppy. Instead, look for puppy shampoos that are gentle and hydrating with soothing ingredients, like colloidal oatmeal, and avoid harsh chemicals, like synthetic dyes.

We spoke to Dr. Paola Cuevas, a veterinary consultant at Petkeen, about what to look for when choosing a puppy shampoo. With this expert insight, we’ve rounded up the best products to help you keep your tiny canine clean.

Best Smell: Earthbath Ultra-Mild Wild Cherry Puppy Shampoo

This natural, gentle cleanser made with organic ingredients is pH-balanced and designed just for sensitive puppy fur and skin, the top qualities Dr. Cuevas looks for in the best puppy shampoos. “A pH-balanced, gentle, hydrating shampoo based on natural ingredients is best for puppies,” she explains.

This tearless shampoo has a light botanical wild cherry scent, coconut-based cleansers, organic aloe vera, and vitamin E. It’s made without parabens, dyes, soap, sulfates, phthalates, and alcohol, which Dr. Cuevas says is also important. Due to its mild nature, the cherry scent is short-lasting, which is good for pet parents who don’t enjoy products with heavy fragrances.

What we like:

• Gentle, soap-free formula isn’t drying
• Soothing aloe vera helps to relieve itchiness
• Tear-free and pH-balanced

Best Soothing: Tropiclean Hypo-Allergenic Gentle Coconut Puppy Shampoo

Coconut is the ultimate skin-friendly ingredient—and it smells great, too. Tropiclean’s gentle, hypo-allergenic shampoo helps keep puppies itch-free and feeling clean with gentle ingredients like coconut, oatmeal, aloe extract, and vitamin E. This pH-balanced shampoo cleans and moisturizes without using parabens or dyes, so it’s a nice option for puppies and kittens with sensitive skin or allergies, leaving behind a lovely tropical coconut scent.

What we like:

• Quality-certified organic ingredients
• Rich lather to make washing a breeze
• Soap-free, pH-balanced formula
• Gentle and tear-free

Best Budget: Burt’s Bees for Puppies Tearless Shampoo and Conditioner

This convenient two-in-one formula comes from Burt’s Bees, a trusted skincare and beauty brand for pet parents. It’s a budget-friendly, gentle option made from 97% natural ingredients, including buttermilk, linseed oil, honey, and colloidal oatmeal, something Dr. Cuevas recommends looking for in the best puppy shampoos. “Shampoos that are based on colloidal oatmeal are great as this gentle ingredient is soothing, hydrating, and great for the skin,” says Dr. Cuevas. “Colloidal oatmeal has an antipruritic effect (anti-itch) and leaves the coat soft and silky.”

What we like:

• Made with nourishing buttermilk, colloidal oatmeal, linseed oil, and honey
• Tear-less and pH-balanced for puppies
• No parabens, phthalates, SLS, petroleum, or synthetic fragrances

Best for Sensitive Skin: Veterinary Formula Solutions Puppy Love Shampoo

Extra gentle, this Veterinary Formula Solutions shampoo is made in the USA. It’s pH-balanced, tear-free, and has a pleasant, long-lasting scent, which all help create a positive bathtime experience for pups. “First impressions last, so an irritating shampoo, water that is too cold or too hot, or handling that is too rough might create a negative association with baths, causing a puppy to try to refuse them,” says Dr. Cuevas.

This gentle shampoo was formulated specifically for puppies and is safe to use regularly. But Dr. Cuevas recommends not bathing puppies in water until after they are eight weeks old unless it’s to rid them of parasites, like fleas, due to their inability to regulate their own body temperature.

What we like:

• Long-lasting fresh baby powder fragrance
• Contains no DEA, parabens, or sulfates
• Extra gentle, tear-free formula

Best Hypoallergenic: Rocco & Roxie Dog Shampoo Hypoallergenic for Sensitive Skin

A calming shampoo made with a puppy’s sensitive skin in mind, this Rocco & Roxie shampoo easily rinses out to make bathtime a breeze. This shampoo provides anti-itch relief without harsh chemicals or dyes using coconut-based cleansers, rosemary, chamomile, and aloe. And even though it’s a tear-free formula, it’s still important to be cautious when cleaning around your pup’s eyes. “Be especially careful with the face, and please ensure you do not get any product into the puppy’s eyes,” cautions Dr. Cuevas.

What we like:

• Made with natural aloe, rosemary, and chamomile
• Tear-free
• No artificial colors, dyes, or harsh chemicals
• Light, pleasant herbal scent

Best Fragrance-Free: Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Hypoallergenic Shampoo

This fragrance-free puppy shampoo is an excellent choice for puppies with dry skin due to allergies or skin sensitivities. It’s made with soothing ingredients, like vitamin E, lactic acid, and allantoin, which help support and prevent your pup’s skin from being itchy and dry. This pH-balanced shampoo is safe for dogs and cats over 12 weeks and is made without parabens, soap, or dyes. Many reviewers say the bottle is easy to use, and the shampoo lathers well.

What we like:

• Tear-free formula
• Lathers quickly and easy to wash out
• A good choice for pets with allergies or pet parents who do not like fragrance

Best Shampoo/Conditioner Combo: Honest Paws Nourishing Skin & Coat Dog Shampoo & Conditioner

If you need a little extra conditioner to help with tangles and matting, this shampoo and conditioner combo ranks high on our list due to its plant-based surfactants derived from coconut, in addition to oatmeal and aloe extract.

But even the most nourishing shampoo won’t always convince your pup that the bathtub is a safe space. If that’s the case, Dr. Cuervos recommends a bit of positive reinforcement when bathing your puppy. “Have a couple of healthy puppy treats handy and, if possible, a second person available to reinforce the puppy, helping to create a positive association with the bathing experience,” she recommends. There are also bath-friendly lick mats that can help.

What we like:

• Free from dyes, MEA, DEA, sulfates, and parabens
• Can be used with puppies over 12 weeks old
• Made in the USA

Best Waterless: Honest Paws Dog Waterless Shampoo

If your pup needs a quick clean but there’s no time for a full-out bath, Honest Paws Waterless Shampoo is an excellent quick clean solution. This waterless shampoo has a light oatmeal and lavender scent and cleanses, hydrates, and deodorizes your pup’s fur and coat without creating a mess in the tub. This is also a great alternative for puppies between grooming sessions or those who might be more fearful of the tub. Just rub it into your pup’s coat until it is completely absorbed, and that’s it.

What we like:

• Made in the USA
• Made without dyes, synthetic fragrances, parabens and phthalates
• Nourishes skin and coat

How We Chose

The products featured here were selected based on a combination of our own hands-on testing,
a comprehensive look at customer reviews across a wide variety of retail platforms, and interviews with veterinary experts, including Dr. Paola Cuevas, a veterinary consultant at Petkeen. We prioritized soothing, gentle, and moisturizing ingredients. We’re also guided by the experience of living and playing alongside our own much-loved and strongly opinionated pups, who are never stingy with their feedback.

New Pet Parent Resources

Experiencing puppy blues? Consider Rover for a helping hand (or sturdy leash arm!). Sitters and walkers on Rover are here for all kinds of romps, including care for while you’re away. Book loving experienced dog walkers or pet sitters in your neighborhood.

• Your Puppy’s Emotional Development Month by Month
• The Essential New Puppy Checklist
• The First 5 Things to Teach Your New Puppy (and When to Start)