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A flea infestation is arguably the worst part of owning pets. These prolific parasites can take over your home in a matter of days if you don’t get them under control quickly. If you’ve found a few fleas on your pup, it’s time for action. See our top picks for the best flea shampoo for dogs to kill these pests in their tracks, whether you’re looking for medicated or all-natural products.
| Overall | Runner-Up | Natural | Budget | Puppies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |
| Adams Plus | Vets Best | Tropiclean | Sentry | Biosilk |
| View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon |
| Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review |
What Should I Look For In Flea And Tick Shampoo?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all best flea shampoo for dogs — it largely depends on the type of ingredients you’re comfortable using on your pup. However, you’ll need to consider the severity of the flea infestation as well when choosing a product.
Medicated flea and tick shampoos include active ingredients such as pyrethrin, permethrin, and other pesticides, which are effective at eliminating fleas and their eggs and controlling future outbreaks. While these shampoos contain safe amounts of pesticides, many owners prefer not to use chemicals on their pups.
All-natural solutions contain diluted essential oils and other plant-based ingredients that have flea-repelling properties. Just keep in mind that these products generally aren’t as effective as medicated ones — and usually require more applications to entirely rid your dog of a flea infestation.
Another consideration is if your pup has chronic skin problems or sensitive skin. In this case, you may want to choose a flea shampoo that has soothing ingredients like oatmeal, aloe, and neem oil. Many of the best flea shampoos do.
Best Flea And Tick Shampoo For Dogs
We’ve chosen our top picks based on how effective they are, the combination of safe ingredients, their reputation, customer feedback, and pricing.
Best Overall: Adams Plus Flea & Tick Shampoo With Precor Review
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The most popular flea killer shampoo for dogs on the market, Adams Plus is extremely effective in killing fleas, flea eggs, flea larvae, ticks, and lice. It’s fast-acting and provides 28 days of control for pre-adult fleas. This shampoo is medicated with methoprene, pyrethrins, and piperonyl butoxide, but it contains very low levels that are considered safe for both dogs and cats. This is one of the most effective and safest flea shampoo for dogs.
Adams Plus is also formulated with soothing aloe, lanolin, coconut extract, and oatmeal to be easy on sensitive skin. Many pet parents say it’s a fantastic flea killer, has a pleasant scent, and leaves their dogs’ coats super soft and shiny. Safe for dogs 12 weeks and older.
Price
- $14.97 ($1.25 / Fl Oz) (12 fl oz)
Runner-Up: Vet’s Best Flea and Tick Advanced Strength Review
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If you’re not a fan of chemicals, this Vet’s Best Advanced Strength shampoo uses a blend of essential oils to get the job done. And many pet parents say it’s quite effective. It’s vet-formulated to kill fleas, flea eggs, flea larvae, and ticks on contact. While some customers raise concerns over essential oil toxicity in dogs, this shampoo contains heavily diluted amounts of thyme, peppermint, clove, rosemary, and cedarwood oils.
These essential oil concentrations are generally considered safe for dogs, but cats are particularly sensitive to essential oils. So, this product isn’t recommended for cats. Some users said the shampoo’s odor is too strong, but others like the scent. Safe for dogs 12 weeks and older.
Price
- $8.99 ($0.75 / Fl Oz) (12 fl oz)
Our Personal Experience With Vet’s Best
My dog Bella contracted fleas while staying at a rental beach house a few years ago. She is allergic to fleas, so it was even more urgent to get her relief than with other dogs in the past. I chose Vet’s Best Advanced Strength Flea & Tick Shampoo because it promised to act fast without resorting to harsh chemicals. Within a day of bathing Bella with this formula, she was back to her normal self with no itches or red bites in sight.
– Michelle Schenker, parent of rescued mixed breed dogs
Best Natural: TropiClean Natural Flea & Tick Shampoo For Dogs Review
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TropiClean is another extremely popular dog flea shampoo that contains safe concentrations of essential oils (clove, lemongrass, cedarwood, cinnamon, and sesame) as active ingredients. While it kills fleas, flea eggs, flea larvae, and ticks, it only provides seven days of flea control.
One thing to note about this shampoo is that it contains the anionic detergent and surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a chemical compound commonly used in shampoos and cleaning products to create a lather. While SLS can be naturally derived or synthetic, the plant-derived SLS in TropiClean is all-natural.
While SLS may cause mild eye irritation in pets, scientists consider it safe in small concentrations in pet shampoo. We wanted to address this issue because there’s a lot of misinformation out there about SLS causing cataracts or permanent eye damage in dogs.
This product isn’t recommended for cats due to heightened essential oil sensitivity. Safe for dogs 12 weeks and older.
Price
Best Budget: Sentry Oatmeal Flea And Tick Shampoo Review
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If you have multiple dogs in your home and are facing an unfortunate outbreak of fleas, you may be looking for the best bang for your buck in a flea shampoo. If so, this Sentry product could be a good solution. Permethrin, a synthetic insecticide of the pyrethroid class, is the active ingredient in this shampoo. It’s safe for dogs but toxic in cats until it dries, so avoid using this product on cats.
It also contains oatmeal to soothe itchy, dry, and irritated skin and is great at conditioning your pup’s coat. The downside is that it only kills fleas and ticks but not flea eggs or larvae. And it only provides 10 days of flea control. Safe for dogs 12 weeks and older.
Price
- $27.20 ($0.43 / Fl Oz) (63.5 fl oz)
Best For Puppies: Biosilk Tearless Puppy Shampoo Review
Unfortunately, you should avoid shampoos formulated to treat fleas on puppies under 12 weeks of age because they’re too strong for their young bodies. While it won’t kill or deter fleas, this alternative puppy flea shampoo features soothing ingredients like milk protein, aloe vera, honey, chamomile, and vitamin E that can help relieve your youngin’s itchy and irritated skin from flea bites.
This shampoo is safe for puppies eight weeks and older. Some tips on managing fleas on little ones include:
- Bathe your puppy frequently to help control flea infestations.
- If you’ve spotted a few fleas on your puppy, use a metal, fine-toothed flea comb to remove them from your pup after bathing. Swish your comb into soapy water to drown the fleas you’ve removed on your comb. You may need to repeat this process several times over your puppy’s entire body to find all of them.
- If your young puppy has a major flea infestation, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible for expert treatment.
Price
- $9.89 (12 fl oz)
Best Anti-Itch Shampoo: Vet’s Best Flea Itch Relief Shampoo Review
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While this flea shampoo for dogs doesn’t repel or kill fleas, it’s a fantastic option to help give your pup much-needed relief from all the flea bites. This all-natural shampoo uses oatmeal, solvent-free orange and lemon peel oil, and neem oil to reduce inflammation from bites and soothe red, raw, and irritated skin.
It has a pleasant scent, lathers well, and leaves dogs’ skin and coat well moisturized. Just keep in mind to use this in conjunction with a treatment that actually kills fleas, eggs, and larvae. Safe for dogs 12 weeks and older.
Price
- $14.99 ($0.94 / Fl Oz) (16 fl oz)
Looking For Home Remedies?
If you’d rather tackle fleas on your dog and in your home entirely naturally, check out our article on home remedies for fleas. We recommend several all-natural products, homemade neem oil and other recipes, flea soap for dogs, and more. We also give you extensive advice on how to get rid of fleas in your home and your yard using entirely natural methods and products.
Follow These Tips To Rid Your Home Of Fleas (Video)
Once you’ve treated your furry friend, it’s time to act fast to kill the fleas lurking in your home. This video has some excellent advice to make sure you cover all your bases.
Consider A Long-Lasting Flea Preventative
Topical flea-preventative treatments are considered the gold standard of flea control in conventional veterinary medicine. And many vets agree that they’re much more effective than flea shampoos and collars. See our ultimate guide on the best flea and tick prevention for dogs, which includes our top picks for topicals and sprays. You’ll also want to check out our guide on how to get rid of fleas to prevent re-infestation.
Why Trust Canine Journal?
Sally has over 10 years of experience researching hundreds of pet health products to determine their efficacy and safety for our four-legged friends. She’s also worked extensively in health sciences research and communications. Sally is part of a team of dedicated canine professionals who all test and research the best pet products, not only for our own pups but for all of our readers.
Tagged With: Comparison, Fleas, Skin, Ticks
