6 Best Dog Shampoos & Conditioners For Siberian Huskies in 2024
Quick Guide
- What is the Best Dog Shampoo for a Husky?
- Popular Types Of Siberian Husky Shampoos
- 3 Tips On Maintaining The Perfect Siberian Husky Coat
- Overall Best Shampoo for Siberian Huskies
- 3 More Top Rated Dog Shampoos For Siberian Huskies
- 6 Tips On Bathing Your Siberian Husky
- FAQ Regarding Bathing Siberian Huskies
- Conclusion
The Siberian Husky is a breed that’s instantly recognizable with its long fluffy coat and distinctive markings. However, it’s also a breed that needs a lot of care and attention to keep their iconic appearance in tip-top condition – which is why today we’re going to be talking about the best Siberian Husky shampoos on the market.
This article is going to cover everything and anything you could ever want to know about the bathing and grooming requirements of the Siberian Husky. We’re going to talk about grooming hints, bath time tips, and we’ll answer frequently asked bathing related questions about the breed.
The bulk of this guide is going to be focusing on shampoos and conditioners that are appropriate for the breed. We’ll look at the kinds of skin and coat issues that the Siberian Husky suffers from, and we’ll look at what you should be looking out for in a good shampoo to mitigate them slightly.
We’ll combine all that information in our review section where we impartially compare and contrast 6 different excellent Siberian Husky shampoos that we’re happy to recommend to you today.
Let’s get started.
What is the Best Dog Shampoo for a Husky?
- Buddy Wash Refreshing Rosemary & Mint Dog Shampoo – Best Overall & Most Popular
- 4-Legger’s Organic, Hypo-Allergenic, Lemongrass & Aloe Dog Shampoo
- Nature’s Miracle’s Supreme Odor Control Natural Puppy Shampoo
- Earthbath Shed Control Green Tea & Awapuhi Dog & Cat Shampoo
- FURminator DeShedding Ultra Premium Shampoo For Dogs
- Douxo Chlorhexidine PS Dog & Cat Shampoo
Popular Types Of Siberian Husky Shampoos
Before we can talk about product recommendations or grooming tips, it’s a good idea for us to learn about the kinds of issues the Siberian Husky suffers from. We’ll be doing that in this first section, and we’ll also be looking at the kinds of shampoos you should be looking out for to help you and your pooch deal with them.
Skin Care Shampoos
The Siberian Husky is a strong breed that requires a surprisingly low amount of maintenance considering the length of their coat. However, they are well known to suffer from a wide range of skin issues that need special care and attention.
There are several things you can do to minimize the chances of your pooch suffering from a skin condition (like changing their diet and checking for allergies), but the easiest way to care for a sensitive skinned breed like this is by picking the proper shampoo.
There are countless products out there on the market that claim to help your pooch when it comes to skin care – and picking the best one can be difficult. You should be looking out for products that have a large amount of natural skin care ingredients (like aloe vera or green tea extract) instead of going for chemical based products.
Sometimes you’re going to need to resort to chemical products if your pooch is seriously suffering. There’s no beating the powerful compounds that are used in medicated shampoos when it comes to healing damaged skin – but they should be a last resort.
Usually, a happy medium of a good natural shampoo with a healthy dose of aloe vera will be more than enough to keep the vast majority of dogs in good health.
Deshedding
Most of the year Siberian Huskies are a low shedding breed. However, it might not always feel that way due to the light colored nature of their hair. The comparatively small amount of hair that falls off of their body shows up much more than other breeds due to its color, and while they’re a low shedding breed on paper, in reality, it doesn’t always feel that way.
However, there are two times of the year when your husky goes into super-shedding mode, and your home is going to look like it’s been hit by a blizzard of white hair. This happens in the spring and in the winter, and it’s a completely natural event that’s almost impossible to intentionally prevent.
During the spring when your husky’s body notices that temperatures are increasing it will shed its thicker winter coat and grow in a lighter summer coat. When the summer is over and temperatures begin to drop the winter coat of your husky will start to grow through (and the summer coat will shed).
Dedicated anti shedding shampoos can help during normal shedding periods, but around spring and winter – there’s not much you can do to stop the onslaught (aside from grooming).
Soothing
Siberian Huskies are like most other breeds in the world when it comes to bathing – they hate it. We never understand why dogs love to get wet and mucky when it comes to play time, but from the moment they step in the bath they act like they are being punished.
Either way, it’s a real problem that needs solving. Shampoo manufacturers are doing their best to provide a solution with a range of soothing shampoos that are becoming increasingly popular. These products work on aromatherapy principles that use scented infusions to calm your pooch down – or at least that’s the idea.
There’s no scientific evidence to suggest that these infusions work – because as far as we know it’s never been tested. However, anecdotally there are several reports from real world owners that claim to notice an improvement in their dog’s mood during bathing sessions with soothing shampoos (and we’ve noticed a difference in our own dogs too).
We want to be careful to not oversell these products to you in this article. We’re confident you’ll notice the difference if you pick a well respected soothing product from a reputable brand – but they’re not magic. Your dog isn’t going to suddenly enter a zen-like state of tranquillity simply because they can smell a little lavender or mint.
3 Tips On Maintaining The Perfect Siberian Husky Coat
Now we know a little bit about the kinds of shampoo you should be looking out for when bathing the Siberian Husky. In this section, we’re going to share a bit of grooming advice that will keep your pooch looking better for longer (with less effort) in between bathing sessions.
Use Two Grooming Routines
We’ve just spoken about the molting seasons that the Siberian Husky is known to go through. As you can imagine, when your pooch is shedding through these periods, you’re going to have to adjust your grooming routine significantly.
During normal (non-blowing season) times you can get away with grooming your pooch around once a week. This is usually enough to minimize the amount of hair you’ll find around your home – although twice weekly is even better.
However, during blowing season, you’re going to need to groom your pooch at least once a day (and preferably twice) if you want to stand any chance of keeping your home clean. It’s the only way you’re going to minimize the amount of hair around your home significantly and no shampoo, conditioner, or other magic potion on the planet can replace the benefits of a good grooming routine.
Groom Them From A Young Age
Grooming is going to be a huge part of your life when you own a Siberian Husky. During the blowing season when you might be grooming your pooch twice a day you’re going to really appreciate having a pooch that enjoys the experience. On the other hand, if you’ve got an uncooperative canine, you’re going to have a much tougher time.
The easiest way to make your pooch happy when you break out the brush is to get them used to the fact that this is a part of their life from the moment you bring them home. You should immediately start trying to groom your pooch from day one. Rewards and positive reinforcement should be a huge part of this training, give them treats when they stay still and let you groom them, and give them even more treats when they let you touch their tail, legs, and other sensitive areas.
The grooming brush can be a distraction for some excitable little pups, and if this happens to you – you’re going to need to do a little “hand grooming” instead. Get them in the grooming position and groom them with your hand until they are completely comfortable with it. Once that’s easy enough, slowly bring the brush back into the mix and reward them when they accept it without any kind of fuss.
Invest In Quality Equipment
The amount of hair that your pooch is going to shed during the blowing season is astonishing. You’re going to spend at least 20 minutes a day grooming your pooch (including clean up time), and as a result – you should try and get the best quality grooming equipment you can afford.
High-quality brushes are more comfortable for your pooch, they feel better in your hand, they have clever cleaning mechanisms, and most importantly – they save you time. A premium grooming brush can detangle matting and remove loose hair much quicker than a “standard” or average quality product.
Premium grooming equipment isn’t that much more expensive than mid-range products (we’re talking about an additional $20 at most), and when you consider the amount of time you’re going to be interacting with your grooming gear – it’s money well spent.
Overall Best Shampoo for Siberian Huskies
Our 2024 Picks: Best Shampoo for a Husky | |||
Buddy Wash Refreshing Rosemary & Mint Dog Shampoo
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4-Legger’s Organic, Hypo-Allergenic, Lemongrass
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Natures Miracle Supreme Odor Control Natural Puppy Shampoo
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Earthbath Shed Control Green Tea & Awapuhi
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FURminator DeShedding Ultra Premium Shampoo For Dogs
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Douxo Chlorhexidine PS Dog & Cat Shampoo
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Buddy Wash Refreshing Rosemary & Mint Dog Shampoo & Conditioner
Now we’ve got a decent amount of knowledge about the kinds of properties we should be looking out for in a good Siberian Husky shampoo we can start to talk about some specific product recommendations.
We’ve searched high and low to bring you these products, and we honestly think that they represent some of the best products on the market right now. We’re not partial or biased towards any brand in particular, and these are our honest recommendations.
We found lots of excellent products that meet the needs of the Siberian Husky, but we think we have found one that ticks all the boxes and provides awesome performance at a great price. Today we’re going to be recommending the Refreshing Rosemary & Mint Dog Shampoo & Conditioner by Buddy Wash as the best shampoo for Siberian Huskies on the market.
This is a natural shampoo that doesn’t use any horrible harsh chemicals (including soap or alcohol) in its formula. Instead, there’s a powerful blend of coconut extract and other natural cleansers that work together to deodorize your pooch in an instant. The product generates a thick lather which will easily coat every single hair on your dog’s body – ensuring a complete cleanse from head to tail.
There’s a high-quality conditioner in this product that goes above and beyond to care for the skin of your pooch. There’s a massive dose of aloe vera in the formula that works alongside a nice green tea extract to soothe and calm any irritation that your pooch might be suffering from. It will also moisturize your dog’s skin and try to prevent the issues that plague the Siberian Husky from occurring in the first place.
The conditioner also has other natural infusions in the formula that are designed to enhance and protect your dog’s coat. Things like sage, chamomile, and rosemary work together to nourish each individual hair on your dog’s body to reduce shedding, reduce tangling and matting, and leave them with an impeccable glossy shine that lasts for ages.
This is one of the best soothing shampoos on the market, and a huge amount of effort has been put into the aromatherapy properties this product provides. There’s a nice amount of lavender, mint, and rosemary in the formula that works hand in hand with one another to soothe your pooch as much as possible.
Remember what we said earlier, these soothing infusions aren’t magic and we don’t want to overstate the relaxation properties this product provides. However, we’re sure you’ll notice the difference.
You get all of this power packed into a 16oz bottle that costs around $8, which is exceptional value for money. Buddy Wash is famous for creating this kind of quality at affordable price points, and this product is a prime example of why they have earned that reputation.
It’s an excellent product, from an excellent brand, at an excellent price.
It’s more than worthy of being to the very top of your shortlist.
4-Legger’s Organic, Hypo-Allergenic, Lemongrass & Aloe Dog Shampoo
Runner Up – In a close second place, our runner up today is 4-Legger’s Organic, Hypo-Allergenic, Lemongrass & Aloe Dog Shampoo. This is an awesome product that is more than worthy of your consideration – it was almost our overall winner today.
It’s a natural product that’s free from soap and alcohol. Instead, the awesome cleaning power it provides comes from a huge infusion of one of the most effective, luxurious and expensive cleansers on the planet – lemongrass. This stuff has antibacterial and antifungal properties that’ll kill everything and anything currently living on your pooch that’s causing them to stink. It’ll also protect against pests like ticks and fleas too (although it’s no substitute for a dedicated topical treatment).
Like the product we talked about above, there’s a huge amount of aloe vera in the conditioner of this product that’ll moisturize and protect your dog’s skin while promoting recovery from any existing skin conditions. Similarly, the blend of essential oils that have been hand-picked to work in perfect harmony with one another will nourish your dog’s coat, reduce shedding, reduce matting, and it’ll leave them looking better than ever.
There’s no aromatherapy in this product, but that doesn’t bother us one bit. We love the natural scent of lemongrass, and the fresh smell it leaves behind on your pooch is sensational.
The only reason this product isn’t our overall recommendation today is the price. It’s $15 for a 16oz bottle, which makes it about twice the price of the shampoo from Buddy Wash. While this is a concentrated shampoo that you’re going to need less of per bathing session, it’s not concentrated enough to make up for the increase in price.
That being said, it’s an awesome product that still provides excellent value for money. If you’ve got the budget for it, you’re going to understand where every single additional cent has gone.
Nature’s Miracle’s Supreme Odor Control Natural Puppy Shampoo & Conditioner
Best Siberian Husky Puppy Shampoo – In our opinion Nature’s Miracle’s Supreme Odor Control Natural Puppy Shampoo & Conditioner is the best shampoo for puppy Siberian Huskies at the moment. It’s made from gentle ingredients, it’s cheap, and its performance is more than acceptable considering the price point it’s sold at. It’s a tearless formula (which is super important) and if soap gets in your pup’s eyes – it’s not going to cause pain.
3 More Top Rated Dog Shampoos For Siberian Huskies
Here are 3 other awesome products that we wanted to give a quick shout out to and are worthy of your consideration.
Earthbath Shed Control Green Tea & Awapuhi Dog & Cat Shampoo
This is a dedicated anti shedding shampoo that has excellent cleaning and cleansing powers. It’s a natural product, from a reputable brand, and if your pup is shedding a little more than you can handle – this is one to try.
FURminator DeShedding Ultra Premium Shampoo For Dogs
This is a cheaper, lower quality version of the product above. It’s not going to reduce shedding as much as the Earthbath product, but it’s still more than acceptable considering the price you’re paying.
Douxo Chlorhexidine PS Dog & Cat Shampoo
This is one of the best medicated shampoos on the market in terms of skin care that you can get without a prescription. If this doesn’t solve redness or irritation that your pooch is suffering from, then there’s a good chance it’s something more serious that needs professional medical attention.
6 Tips On Bathing Your Siberian Husky
So now you know about 6 of the best Siberian Husky shampoos on the market. Using any of them will leave you with a happier and healthier pooch. In this section, we’re going to share a few hints and tips that will make bathing a more enjoyable experience for your pooch (and less hassle for you).
Groom Before Bathing
The huge amount of hair on a Siberian Husky is very prone to matting and tangling. As you may already know if you get badly matted hair wet it becomes much more difficult to remove. Due to this, it’s much more efficient for you to give your pooch a quick brushing session before you put them in the bath.
You haven’t got to be super thorough here, you only need to remove the matting and tangling really (although removing loose hair is also beneficial too). Removing these matted sections is a great time saver, but it’s also important for the health of your pooch too. When matted hair gets wet, it acts like a sponge that retains a huge amount of water – and you’re not going to be able to completely dry it by hand.
These wet moist matted clumps of hair will begin to heat up from your dog’s body heat – which makes them the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Your pooch will start to smell bad much faster than normal if they’ve got moist matted hair on them – which is obviously less than ideal.
If you groom your pooch before bathing, all these issues disappear, and you save yourself time. It’s a no brainer.
Two Towel Drying System
The Siberian Husky has one of the strongest shake dry instincts on the planet. There’s nothing you can do to stop them from doing this, which means you’re going to get a shower from your pooch after you’ve finished giving them a bath.
The best way to deal with this shaking instinct is to use two separate towels when drying your pooch. First of all, you should have a large towel on hand when you turn the water off, you should instantly cover the back of your pooch with the towel and wait for the shaking to begin. This isn’t going to provide you with complete protection, but the difference it makes is significant.
After you’re past the initial shaking session switch out the towel and use a fresh dry one to continue with your normal drying routine.
Run The Bath Ahead Of Time
Siberian Huskies hate bathing, and anything you can do to make the experience more pleasurable for them is going to be appreciated by your pooch. One of the worst parts of the bathing experience for a dog is sitting around in the bathroom waiting for the process to start.
The loud rushing water and the smell of steam and shampoo will bring back memories of previous bathing sessions, and your pooch is going to be well aware of what’s coming up next.
Do your pooch a favor and run the bath ahead of time the next time you’re going to get them in the tub. Once everything is ready, call them in and put them in the bath immediately.
Put A Towel Down
The paws of a dog aren’t well suited to gripping on super smooth surfaces like plastic or ceramic bathtubs. When these surfaces are covered in soap and water they become super slippery, and your dog has to concentrate to maintain their balance (which causes stress).
This is a super easy thing to solve – all you’ve got to do is put a towel down before the bathing session starts. This provides a huge amount of grip compared to what they’d otherwise be standing on, and if they could thank you for it – they would.
Bathe Puppies In The Sink
It’s important that you use every trick in the book to make your pooch enjoy their bathing sessions, any bad memories they form as a pup are going to be with them for the rest of their life.
Bathing a puppy in a bathtub is a horrible experience for the dog. It’s a cavernous, massive space that’s twice their height (or more) that they instinctively know they cannot escape from. To make things worse, the tub is filling up with water and they don’t fully understand what’s going on.
To remove this issue, you should bathe young Siberian Husky pups in the sink. It’s much better suited to their small size and the claustrophobic feeling they get in the tub is removed entirely.
When they grow up, the first time they go in the tub after getting used to being bathed in the sink might be a little uncomfortable for your pooch – but don’t let that delay the transition. When your pooch is too big for the sink, it’s dangerous for them to be bathed there.
Note: Never try and do this in a sink that has curved sides as they are very difficult for your pooch to stand up on. This means that your bathroom sink is probably not going to be an option, and you should use the kitchen sink instead.
Put Steel Wool In The Drain
The long hair of the Siberian Husky combined with the sheer amount of fur on their body makes them a breed that is well known for causing havoc with your drainage system. They will tangle around anything that they come into contact with, and unless you find a way of stopping them from entering your plumbing system – you’re going to have a blockage on your hands sooner or later.
Luckily, there’s a super simple solution to this – put a little bit of steel wool in the plug hole. The hair that falls off of your pooch will get trapped before it enters your plumbing system, and it’s incredibly effective.
FAQ Regarding Bathing Siberian Huskies
To conclude this article, we’re going to quickly talk about some questions that our readers send us on a regular basis regarding the bathing requirements of a Siberian Husky.
How Often Do I Need To Bathe A Siberian Husky?
Siberian Huskies are known to be a very clean dog. They have similar self-cleaning properties to cats, and you can often find them licking their own coat to keep it cleaner for longer. Due to this, they’re a low odor breed that only needs to be bathed once every 6 to 8 weeks.
During blowing season you may want to bathe them a little more regularly to keep things fresh and clean and weekly bathing sessions will help keep your pooch (and your home) a little cleaner when shedding is at its worst.
Should I Shave My Siberian Husky In A Warmer Climate?
Siberian Huskies aren’t well suited to living in warmer climates. In fact, if you live in a cooler location you might escape much of the shedding during blowing season as your dog’s body doesn’t react to the change in temperature as dramatically as it otherwise would.
Some people think it’s a good idea to shave their Siberian Husky in the summer months to help them stay cool. This is very effective at lowering their temperature, as even their thick summer coat is an excellent insulator.
However, you should never do it…
When you shave a Siberian Husky, you remove most of the protection their skin receives from the sun’s UV radiation. They become much more sensitive to sunlight and they can easily burn and suffer from skin issues directly related to the shaving that has occurred.
Conclusion
So there you have it, that’s about all there is to know about the bathing requirements of the Siberian Husky. We strongly suggest you incorporate some (or preferably all) of the bathing tips we’ve shared with you into your routine – they’re going to make things better for you and your pooch.
With regards to the product recommendations we made earlier, we want to reiterate how impartial we are with these review sections. The products we selected for this article are honestly the best shampoos for Siberian Huskies on the market right now (in our opinion). We’d use any of them on our own dog, which is not something we say lightly.
They’re all winners to have been mentioned here today, and they are all more than worthy of being added to your shortlist.