My chihuahuas are no stranger to itchy, scratchy skin. All of our dogs have suffered from skin problems at one point or another in their lives. Sandy suffers the most frequently with her seasonal allergies, while Tank has dry skin. All of our dogs have had fleas in the past as well.
Fortunately, my experience as a dog groomer means I know just what to do when those back legs start thumping. I’ll share my favorite medicated shampoos in this article, after a quick bit of advice.
See Your Vet First
Many people believe that because I have a lot of experience with dogs’ skin, hair and coat, I can also diagnose their pet. The issue is that even if I was a doggy dermatologist, (which I’m not) whatever diagnosis I came up with would still be more or less a guess without diagnostics.
Many skin diseases in dogs look very similar to each other. The fastest way to get your pet feeling better is to get a cytology report from your vet and go from there.
All of the medicated shampoos listed below assume you know what is bothering your pet. These are shampoos I’ve tried myself and have worked, either on my own dog or a client’s dog.
Best Medicated Shampoo for Flea Bite Relief
If you notice tell-tale black specks on your dog’s skin, along with scurrying little brown bugs, it’s not too hard to guess your dog’s itching may be from fleas. I regularly inspect my dog’s skin, so usually catch the very first flea that comes in my house.
Whenever I see a flea, I immediately follow my de-flea protocol I wrote about here, but unfortunately the damage to the dog’s skin is usually done. Flea bites are just itchy and even if the fleas are dead, the bug bites still remain.
I usually reach for Tropiclean’s Flea and Tick Relief Shampooto help my dog’s get some relief from the itching while they recover. This shampoo isn’t meant to kill the fleas, mind you, this is a shampoo to relieve the itching from the bug bites.
Best Medicated Shampoo for Dry Skin
Dry skin can be brought on by a number of different things, ranging from diet to a sudden change in the weather. Most of the time, dry skin needs to be addressed through either changing the environment (such as adding a humidifier during cold snaps) or through diet changes.
It takes time for these things to work however, and in the meantime, nobody wants to see their pup suffering with dandruff and general itchiness. During these times, Virbac Epi-Soothe Shampoo is a good choice.
I like this shampoo because it is very gentle for dogs that have sensitive skin, and works well to address dandruff, dryness, and general skin irritation.
It works well for most dogs and is a veterinary recommended product.
Best Medicated Shampoo for Seasonal Allergies
If your vet has recommended that your dog be bathed more frequently to wash off pollens, you’re not alone in receiving these instructions. These were, in fact, the exact instructions given to me by my vet when Sandy developed seasonal allergies in the fall.
The vet recommended I use an oatmeal-based shampoo, so I selected Veterinary Formula Hotspot & Itch Relief shampoo.
I’ve used a lot of oatmeal-based shampoos before, including Earth Bath, Envirogroom, Nature’s Specialties and a dozen or so others, but I wanted something that would provide itch relief too.
This shampoo works so well that she doesn’t suffer in the fall at all as long as I’m diligent with the baths, and if I forget, the hotspot spray works so well she’ll come crying and begging for me to spray her. (She hates sprays, so the fact that she wants to be sprayed is testament to its immediate anti-itch effects.)
Though I have not personally tried any of the other shampoos in their line, it looks like they have a shampoo for pretty much everything. I would be inclined to try more shampoos from this line if my dogs ended up with different skin problems.
Best Medicated Shampoo for Skin Infections
None of my dogs have ever had a bacterial skin infection, but plenty of dogs cruised through our groom salon with various (non-contagious) skin infections. The most common type of medicated shampoo of choice was DOUXO S3 PYO Shampoo.
It’s available over the counter, but many vets locally recommended it for bacterial and fungal infections.
If you have a dog with a skin infection, you’ll need to get your dog an appointment with a veterinarian to sleuth out whether it is a fungal infection of some kind, yeast (which is a unique type of fungus) or bacterial—or heck, even an infection at all.
While none of my dogs have ever suffered a skin infection, if they did I’d feel confident reaching for this brand.
Best Plastic Free Option
There’s not a lot of anti-itch shampoo bars out there, and I’ve honestly been underwhelmed by almost all of them. I do hope that in the future, more companies will decide to make the same great shampoos they have available in a bottle with the shampoo bar form.
If you live a plastic-free lifestyle and are looking for an itch-relief option, the best I’ve found so far is the Manuka Wash Bar. I don’t believe it would work for skin infections but does nicely for mildly itchy skin that crops up from time to time with the dogs.
Not only does it soothe skin, but it comes with absolutely zero plastic (including the sneaky thin plastic that always seems to go around the bar) and has all the usual perks of a bar vs. a bottle.
I hope someday all shampoos will have a bar option, but for now this is the closest to a good ‘medicated’ shampoo bar we’re likely to get.
Similar Posts:
- How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your Home
- How To Give Your Dog A Medicated Bath
- 5 Benefits of Shampoo Bars for Chihuahuas
- How Often Should You Bathe Your Chihuahua?
- How to Deshed Your Chihuahua
