Making Homemade Pet Shampoo That Kills Fleas is super easy and really works too! You just need three ingredients and a few minutes to mix up your own batch! This recipe was recommended by our vet, and is safe for puppies too!
If you are a regular reader here at Mom 4 Real, then you have probably already "met" or heard me talk about our sweet Bostie, Nash. We've had him for a little over a year and love him sooo much! After dog sitting for a friend a few times, we decided that it would be a good idea to add another Boston Terrier to our family so he would have another dog to play with.
This fall, we added his little brother, Bentley to our family, and they have been the best of friends since! I shared this sweet photo of them napping together on Instagram ( FOLLOW HERE for more cute puppy pics and behind the scenes shots of our daily life). The only problem that we had when we brought sweet Bentley home with us was that he brought some extra friends home with him...namely, fleas.
We called our vet and asked what would be the best way to clean Bentley and rid him of the fleas, and she suggested making our own flea killing shampoo using a couple of things we already had in our pantry. I love our vet, because she doesn't try to sell us crazy expensive pet products, and only suggests that we use heart worm medication and flea and tick preventative medicine. Other than that, she suggests going as natural as possible when caring for our sweet pups, which is right in line with what I believe. This flea killing pet shampoo worked great and was super gentle on both of our dog's skin and fur!
Homemade Dog Shampoo Recipe
While most of these items can be purchased at your local grocery store, I like to provide Amazon links to the products as well, just in case you’d like to purchase them there. If you click any of the affiliate links to Amazon in this post and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.
- ½ cup of water
- ¼ cup of distilled white vinegar ( Purchase HERE )
- ¼ cup of Dawn dish liquid ( Purchase HERE )
- Soap dispenser with pump ( Purchase HERE or use an old hand soap dispenser )
Pour the water, vinegar and dish liquid into a soap dispenser and shake well before each use.
How to Give a Puppy a Bath Video
I put together a quick video showing how to make the shampoo and bathe your puppy too!
How to Use Homemade Dog Shampoo
- Wet your dog's fur.
- Massage soap into the dog's fur. The amount of shampoo you use will depend on the size of your dog. For our small dogs, I typically use 3-5 tablespoons.
- Let sit for 3-5 minutes...you can totally massage your dog during the wait time to keep them calm.
- Rinse your dog's fur. If there are dead fleas, rinse them down the drain. You may need to use a comb to remove any dead fleas that are stuck in the dog's hair.
- Towel dry your sweet dog...they'll be so happy to have no more fleas!
Homemade Pet Products
I've also got some other easy pet remedies and easy ways to clean up after them...find them all below!
Got cats that like to scratch up your furniture and urinate in unwanted areas? Find my Homemade Cat Deterrent Spray HERE! This stuff works wonders!
Got pet odor issues? Eliminate unwanted odors and stink with my Homemade Odor Neutralizing Spray!
Stinky carpets making you crazy? This Homemade Carpet Sprinkle is so easy to make and helps neutralize odors that may have seeped into the fibers of your rugs and carpets.
Have areas where your pet has had accidents and created nasty stains on your carpets? Use this super easy Cleaning Hack for Removing Carpet Stains...you won't believe what you can use to get rid of old stains and new in seconds!
I hope these cleaning tips and ideas will help you keep your pets and home clean and odor free!
Bonnie L. Waller says
The best pet shampoo is ZOTE soap from Mexico. It has Coconut Oil and Citronella Oil in it and it is very mild. It is mainly used for getting stains out of clothes, but it is a great soap for everything. It doesn't dry your skin, kills fleas, smells wonderful and even helps whiten the tear stains around white dogs eyes. I gave a bar to my groomer and she couldn't believe how great it worked on the white dogs. It left their fur soft, smelling great and soothed their skin. I also give it to my cleaning lady to use with a "Chore Boy" stainless steel scrubbing pad (doesn't scratch) to clean fiberglass, chrome, the oven, etc. No need to use harsh chemicals.
Jessica says
Great information! Thanks for sharing, Bonnie!
Beryl says
How can I get this product in Australia please.
Jessica says
Hi, Beryl! You should be able to find white vinegar, and you can substitute the Dawn with whatever soap you use to wash your dishes. Hope this helps!
Beth says
Beryl, if you're referring to the Zote soap from the first comment, check Amazon.com. They sell it there. Then perhaps you will be find it locally sourced or somewhere cheaper once you have seen it and know what it is. Hope this helps.
Beth
Jean Youngblood says
I've seen it at Walmart
Liza Herbst says
Good day. Do anyone have a recipy for this ZOTE soap? It's almost full summer with us and flees and tics will be a major problem! Thank you much. Liza. ☺
Christina says
Anything for cats with fleas? I try not to use poison. Thanks!
Jessica says
Hi, Christina! You can use this on cats as well. We have a cat that is badly allergic to everything, so we don't even treat her for fleas. We just keep her in and use this every once in a while. Hope this helps! xoxo Jess
Diane R says
Do you have anything for dog urine smell in carpet?
Jessica says
Hi, Diane! The best way to get rid of dog urine smell that is embedded in carpet is to use a carpet cleaner and enzymatic solution. You can rent carpet cleaners at places like Lowes and even at some grocery stores. I know it sounds like a pain, but it's the only way to really pull the urine smell out. Hope this helps! ~Jess
JULIA DEANHARDT says
Hi Jessica,
Do you have to bathe the cat to use this or can you do a damp washcloth wash?
Jessica says
Hi, Julia! I'm afraid, washing is necessary to get to the fleas that are in the fur. xoxo, Jess
ELAINE BARTOAVAGE says
I HAVE 14 CATS ALL ARE VARY EXPENSIVE PERSIAN AND EXOTIC SHORTHAIRS HAVE TO KEEP WASHING THEM BECAUSE THE OTHER CATS GO OUTSIDE BUT THEY DONT I SAW THE RECIPE BUT I LOST IT SO I AWANT TO MAKE UP A FEW BOTTLES
BURNS says
I have a 18yrs old Griffin who recently has been eating his feet and legs
I think
Rose says
My dog has been doing the same thing???
Vickie says
So how do we use the bar of zone soap in the shampoo? How do we make it into the liquid?
Jean Youngblood says
Grate it
Anita says
Can I add ground oatmeal the flea shampoo to help with dry skin
Jessica says
I think I would wash with the shampoo, then apply a ground oatmeal paste made with water. If you add it to the shampoo, I think the dish liquid may keep it from absorbing. Hope this helps!