Well we have finally finished reviewing over 50 different oatmeal dog shampoos and we have a winner. Before we announce the winner, here is the criteria we looked for: first the shampoo had to lather nice, but more importantly it had to have a lasting shine on the coat and leave a healthy gloss and soft feel. Perhaps just as important it had to be able to eliminate dander and dogs dandruff (the skin flaking you often see on dogs). This is because dogs experience this dry skin very often, especially if they have digestive issue, or when they are alarmed or nervous. Because of this we felt most pet owners are looking for a pet shampoo that treats dander on a dogs skin.

Next the dogs  shampoo had to have a good smell as well as having agents that would remove odors from the dogs fur, or hair, not just mask them as many do. Also, the product had to contain moisturizing agents to ensure that the skin and coat of the dog would be replenished with moisturizing agents, which is especially important in cold weather months. The shampoo also had to have a ph level specifically designed for pets as dogs have a higher ph level than humans and human shampoo on dogs will actually cause more harm after the bath than good as the ph inbalance will damage the outer skin cell layer and cause skin problems.

Now the winner of the best dog shampoo – HydraPlex from evolutionsupply.com. This shampoo is really quite nice and meet all of our criteria to the max. First off, it is a completely waterless dog shampoo, meaning its base is made up entirely of Aloe Vera and Oatmeal – no water at all. The result is an amazing shine and great moisturizing properties.

Perhaps the biggest differentiator of HydraPlex is the fact that it contains zinc-pca which is an essential element that repairs damaged skin on dogs. We had it verified that almost all dogs have zinc deficiencies on their skin causing flaking, dog dandruff, and general dander. This formulation replenishes the missing znc allowing the skin and coat of the animal to thrive and look healthy.

Turns out that Dog Shampoo with Zinc-PCA is also a great anti bacterial agent, and best of all zinc is one of the most effective odor eliminators on living skin and hair follicles so it actually kills foul dog odors. HydaPlex is also infused with many essential oils to treat and, as evolutionsupply says, rebalance the skin. The result is really great – in fact almost all test participants indicated that this is the longest they have seen their dogs coat stay fresh and flake free.

Evolution Pet Supply, which sells the shampoo as “Healthy Pets PLUS” line of pet shampoos, also provides a medicated dog shampoo called RenuPLEX which treats more severe cases of dog itchy skin, rashes, hot spots on dogs, etc…. We used this shampoo once and it also worked great; in fact it eliminated a severe case of paw itching and scratching of some dog hot spots.

Next month we will test and provide the winner of the best waterless cat shampoo. Until then!