We must be careful when it comes to dogs with sensitive skin as the wrong shampoo can lead to irritation or itchiness.  Fortunately, there are a few good brands that I think is the best dog shampoo for dry skin, itchy skin etc.  Below are my reviews for each particular brand:

Best dog shampoo for sensitive skin reviews

The most important thing for buying dog shampoos for these type of dogs is the ingredients. You should select one that has minimal soap and uses mainly natural ingredients. I will go more into this as we go through the individual brands.

Editor’s choice!: Vet dog shampoo review

Vet shampoo is one of the best rated and reviewed hypoallergenic shampoo on Amazon and it is for good reasons. One of its key ingredient is oatmeal, which is a proven ingredient to reduce itchiness and creates a soothing experience. More importantly, it is also soap free.

Why is oatmeal shampoo good for dogs

For those who might not know why oatmeal dog shampoo is good, here is a summary to explain it. Basically, one category of oatmeal is called the colloidal oatmeal and it contains 2 important chemical known to relief skin irritation: avenanthramides and phenols. The colloidal can also balance pH levels which provides relief for eczema and psoriasis.

Beside being able to stop your dog’s skin irritation, this shampoo can also improve the coat condition. Some other hypoallergenic shampoo might reduce your dog’s coat shininess and softness but not this one.

The only downside is that the scent is not as strong as others as it will not be the best smelling shampoo. However, that is not the main reason we are buying this, are we?

Tropiclean hypo allergenic dog shampoo review

Tropiclean is another dog shampoo that contains colloidal oatmeal and has received very good response from buyers at Amazon. Among the brands reviewed here, it is one of the cheapest in terms of regular retail price (the other cheap brand is Earthbound). However, cheap doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Most reviewers said this shampoo had cure their dogs of any itchy skin problems and will have be default shampoo going forward.

Like the Vet shampoo, the Tropiclean shampoo also seems to improve the shine and feel of the dog’s coat. If your dog has a white coat, here is a protip for you: add a tiny bit of baking soda and you can easily get the dirt out of the white coat.

As for the smell, it has a nice papaya scent. However, it is not too strong as Kelco and the smell disappears quite fast. If you hate shampoo smell this will be great.

Earthbound dog shampoo review

Earthbound is a another highly rated brand, probably due to its low price and effective cleaning. All ingredients for Earthbound shampoo is 100% natural and bio gradable. However, do note that Earthbound has different models. I recommend buying the one with Oatmeal and Aloe Vera as I already noted that Oatmeal is great for reducing itchiness and dry skin.

Also note that different models have different smells.  I have heard some complaints about the orange one not smelling like orange but the rest should be fine.

Kelco dog shampoo review

The Kelco Dr Hypo is a hypoallergenic shampoo that doesn’t contain any ingredient that is known for dog allegerics. It has absolutely zero soap or detergent and contains mainly stuff like avocado oil and aloe vera.  I personally use this for my dog even though he doesn’t have sensitive or dry skin. The shampoo can get the dirt out even though it has no soap and my dog smell incredibly good! It smells so good that I have used this to replace the best smelling dog shampoo that I have recommended in the past.

The package also includes a mixing bottle for you to do the 1:50 mix of Kelco shampoo and water.

I recommend this to all my friends who have dogs and they all love it. Some said their pets have stopped scratching after using this and this is something I am happy to hear. If you have a dog that can’t stand normal shampoo, try this hypoallergenic dog shampoo. Although the price is higher, the shampoo dilutes well and can last you for quite a while.

Shampoos to avoid

You might have heard stories of how other dog owners are able to use human hypoallergenic shampoos for their dogs. However, this is not always the ideal case and I strongly encourage you to buy the shampoos meant for dogs. In general, human shampoo are not catered to the sensitivity of dog skin and will react differently with a dog’s coat than a human hair. If you love your dog and if your dog has sensitive skin, do not take a chance on human shampoo even though it is hypoallergenic.

Does hypoallergenic dog shampoo work

Besides my own experience,  I decided to dig up some actual research on whether does hypoallergenic shampoo really works for dogs. The following is from “The Allergy Solution for Dogs: Topical Allergy Treatments“. a book that contains really great useful medical advice for dogs with problematic skin conditions.  Some of the highlights include:

• Reduce use of soap, which is what I have stressed during the reviews
• Ingredient such as aloa vera, Vitamin E etc are proven to contain anti-inflammatory properties. Oatmeal is especially great as a holistic ingredient. In fact, this is so important that I have written more about it in the previous section.
• One thing to note is that a shampoo is not enough to cure a dog who has serious problems with inch skin. You should definitely look into its diet as well as nutrient intake to ensure they are not causing any issues with the dog’s skin

Conclusion

Getting the best dog shampoo for sensitive skin can go a long way to remedy the skin condition of your dog. While there are a number of hypoallergenic dog shampoos in the market, I feel the ones recommended here are the best options for the money.