What Is The Best Dog Shampoo For Huskies? 2023 Guide

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If you’re the proud owner of a husky, you’re likely wondering which shampoo is going to keep their iconic coats looking healthy year-round.

Regardless of whether you’re a first-time husky owner or an owner with experience, it can be confusing to find a dog shampoo that is safe to use on a husky’s coat. With so many options available, all claiming to offer different benefits, what actually is the best dog shampoo for huskies?

The best dog shampoo for huskies is one that is non-irritating, can reach the skin through their thick double coats, and can remove odors caused by outdoor all-weather exercise. Dog shampoos with known irritants or allergens should be avoided to maintain a healthy coat.

In our guide, we’ve compiled our top 6 tried-and-tested favorite dog shampoos for huskies to make it easy for you to choose the right one for your husky.

In a hurry? Take a quick look at our overall best shampoo for huskies below. Be sure to keep reading for a more in-depth review, as well as recommendations for huskies with specific needs.

Best Overall
Bobbi Panter Natural Soothing Dog Shampoo

Scent: Lavender

Benefits: Soothing for dry, irritated skin and fur

Pros:
  • Suitable for sensitive skin
  • Lavender extract leaves a fresh scent
  • Prevents coat from drying out
  • USA-based and cruelty free
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How Often Should You Bathe A Husky?

When we think about caring for a husky’s coat, our minds naturally think about the mammoth task of brushing and grooming. But how often should you bathe a husky?

Huskies don’t need to be bathed very often at all, as they will keep themselves clean and look after their coats by themselves. A few times per year when necessary is enough, and overbathing will cause more problems than it will fix, so it should be avoided.

Although over-frequent bathing isn’t necessary, a regular bathing routine is still important to remove odor and embedded dirt and debris from a husky’s coat. Routine bathing will make sure your husky maintains a tidy appearance – and we’re sure they’ll love the extra attention they receive!

A husky’s coat is designed to repel dirt away from their coat, so a frequent brush should be enough to keep them clean between baths.

For more information, check out our article on husky bathing here!

What Should You Look For In A Shampoo For Huskies?

A husky’s coat is one of their most identifiable features – so it’s important to choose a shampoo that will keep it healthy and clean.

A quick online search for dog shampoo will return hundreds of different options, all claiming to do different things. But how have we narrowed it down to 6 top options?

For huskies, there are a few factors we consider:

  • Ingredients: This is fairly obvious, but the ingredients that are in the shampoo are very important. We’re looking for natural ingredients that are non-irritating to a husky’s skin or active ingredients that can tackle specific issues such as dryness or hotspots.
  • Added benefits: Some dog shampoos are made to target specific problems. You can find a wide array of shampoos, including odor-neutralizing, medicated, de-shedding, and revitalizing. Keeping that in mind, we’ve found shampoos that excel in each of these challenges to help you find the right one for your husky’s specific needs.
  • Scent: Huskies have much better noses than we do, so the scent of shampoo is very important. Although we might find something pleasant, huskies can be easily irritated by strong, unnatural fragrances. Our recommendations are all husky-nose tested and approved!

Before purchasing any dog shampoo, you should always consult with your vet to check whether your husky has any allergies. Be aware that ingredients can be listed under different names.

One point we should note is that the appearance of your husky’s coat is often an indication of their health and can also be impacted by changes in their diet.

Another thing to consider is that a husky’s coat will become considerably more dull when they are about to blow their coats. If a shampoo doesn’t improve the appearance of your husky’s coat, consider talking to a vet about health testing.

The 6 Best Shampoos For Huskies

Ready to jump into it?

Each of our recommendations has been rigorously checked against our husky-care standards to ensure they’re safe and suitable for use on a husky’s coat. Each recommendation is suited to a slightly different requirement, so be sure to check them all out before making your decision.

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1. Bobbi Panter Natural Soothing Dog Shampoo

Best Overall
Bobbi Panter Natural Soothing Dog Shampoo

Scent: Lavender

Benefits: Soothing for dry, irritated skin and fur

Pros:
  • Suitable for sensitive skin
  • Lavender extract leaves a fresh scent
  • Prevents coat from drying out
  • USA-based and cruelty free
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Our overall best dog shampoo for huskies is the Bobbi Panter Natural Soothing Dog Shampoo.

This shampoo is our go-to for our husky’s regular bathing routine. It’s made with all-natural ingredients such as tea tree oil and aloe vera gel to soothe a husky’s easily irritated skin and fur.

Compared to other dog shampoos, the included soothing essential oils are highly concentrated, meaning they can actually penetrate a husky’s fur and reach the skin to work their magic.

Bobbi Panter has made its shampoo without salts to prevent a husky’s coat from being dried out in the washing process. Helpfully, this shampoo also doesn’t wash off topical flea treatments, so there’s no need to avoid bath time if your husky is being treated.

Many other natural shampoos are fragrance-free, as a lot of fragrances can be irritating to a dog’s face. Bobbi Panter, however, has included a very pleasant lavender fragrance which will make your husky smell so fresh you’ll want them sleeping next to you! Don’t worry, though; their fragrance is ‘tear-free’ and is safe and non-irritating to be used on your husky’s face and around their eyes.

This shampoo is helpfully available in both 14-ounce and 1-gallon quantities. We found that the 1-gallon bottle lasts us for over a year with regular bathing of one husky – a worthwhile investment!

2. Biosilk For Dogs Waterless Shampoo Spray

Best for a Quick Clean
BioSilk for Dogs Silk Therapy Deep Moisture Waterless Shampoo Spray

Scent: Unscented but very fresh

Benefits: Doesn't need water making it ideal for freshening up between bath times

Pros:
  • Ideal for freshening up between washes
  • Perfect for travelling with
  • Water not required
  • Includes jojoba oil to keep their coat healthy
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Do you ever finish a long walk with your husky and feel like they need freshening up but don’t have time for a bath? Don’t worry; BioSilk’s Waterless Shampoo Spray has you covered!

This shampoo does exactly what it sounds like – it gives your husky a quick clean without needing any water to rinse it through. Simply spray your husky from head to tail and brush through the coat to bring some moisture back to their coat and leave them smelling clean again.

The spray is packed full of pH-balanced ingredients that not only clean your husky’s coat but also help to maintain its health.

We don’t recommend using this shampoo as a replacement for regular bath times, but it is perfect for those particularly wet and muddy walks that leave your husky smelling unpleasant and looking untidy.

BioSilk is a luxury brand that has been trusted with human hair for many years, so it’s no surprise that their dog line is made to the same exceptional quality. For convenience, their waterless shampoo is the best on the market!

3. Arava Natural Medicated Dog Shampoo

Hot Spot Treatment
Arava Natural Medicated Dog Shampoo – Anti Yeast Anti Itch Dog Shampoo Arava Natural Medicated Dog Shampoo – Anti Yeast Anti Itch Dog Shampoo

Scent: Fresh, light

Benefit: A medicinal shampoo that soothes hotspots and skin infections.

Pros:
  • Contains 28 natural ingredients to reduce skin irritation
  • Suitable to reduce irritation caused by hot spots
  • Suitable for puppies
  • Reduces itchiness
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Don’t let the long ingredients list put you off of this shampoo. Unlike the others we’ve recommended, this shampoo contains active antibacterial and antifungal ingredients to help fight against skin infections.

If you have a husky that’s prone to hotspots, this medicated shampoo will be a lifesaver. For us, this is one of the only ones we’ve tried that has soothed the irritation enough to stop our husky from biting at their skin, allowing the hotspots to heal properly.

Because this is a medicated shampoo, we advise double-checking with your vet to make sure your husky doesn’t have an allergy to any ingredients. The low dilution of the shampoo means that for most huskies, this isn’t a problem.

Arava’s natural dog shampoo also has a light scent which isn’t medicinal – an added benefit!

We suggest only to use the shampoo if a problem such as a hotspot arises. For that reason, a single bottle can last a very long time!

4. TropiClean Thick Double Coat Shampoo for Dogs

Best for Deep Clean
TropiClean Dog Shampoo For Thick Double Coats TropiClean Dog Shampoo For Thick Double Coats

Scent: Sweet Citrus

Benefits: Cleans deep into thick double coats

Pros:
  • Is designed specifically for thick double coats
  • Included added ingredients to help detangle fur, improve skin/coat health, make fur water-repellent
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Here’s a shampoo that was designed with a husky’s coat in mind – the TropiClean Dog Shampoo for Thick Double Coats.

TropiClean has cleverly thought about the issues that arise with cleaning a thick double coat and targetted them in this shampoo:

  • This shampoo helps to reduce shedding by promoting healthier skin with its included blend of botanical essential oils.
  • TropiClean’s shampoo will leave your husky with a quick-dry coat that repels excess water.
  • This shampoo can penetrate deep into the coat and reach the skin to remove trapped dirt and debris, thanks to the inclusion of a coconut cleanser.
  • TropiClean has added cationic guar gum and a detangler to their shampoo to make brushing your husky easier and leave their coat feeling extra strong.

Unique to many other dog shampoos, TropiClean’s dog shampoo has a sweet citrus scent, which is a very welcome addition!

5. FURminator Ultra Premium Deshedding Shampoo

Best for Coat-Blowing Season
FURminator deShedding Shampoo For Dogs

Scent: Calendula and papaya leaf extract

Benefits: Helps your husky to shed their undercoat faster

Pros:
  • Helps your husky to shed their undercoat faster, making coat-blowing season easier
  • Contains omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to improve coat and skin health
  • Paraben Free
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We all know by now that huskies are big shedders. But no matter how much you prepare, the sheer amount of fur that is shed during the coat-blowing season will always be quite the surprise!

To make the shedding process a bit easier (for both you and your husky!), we suggest trying a de-shedding shampoo. Although these are a relatively new concept to us, our favorite one that we’ve tried up to now is the FURminator Ultra Premium Deshedding Shampoo.

This shampoo works by helping to loosen your husky’s undercoat – the part that is shed when they blow their coat to get ready for warmer months. Rather than shedding it a bit at a time over the course of a couple of weeks, it’s much easier to get it all out as fast as possible to make cleaning up easier!

Don’t worry, though; no harsh chemicals are involved to make this magic happen. In fact, FURminator has included a bunch of natural ingredients to improve skin health and reduce irritation, including Omega 3, fatty acids, and papaya leaf extract.

Keep in mind that this shampoo is, of course, designed to encourage shedding in your husky. For a couple of days after their bath, you might notice a big increase in the amount of fur shed.

Don’t worry, though – this is normal. After a couple of days, the shedding process should stop, and you’ll be left with a fresher, much tidier husky that is dropping much fewer hairs around the home.

Just make sure you’re equipped with a strong enough vacuum to deal with the fur while the shampoo takes effect!

6. Healthy Breeds Siberian Husky Deodorizing Shampoo

Best Deodorizing
Healthy Breeds Siberian Husky Deodorizing Shampoo Healthy Breeds Siberian Husky Deodorizing Shampoo

Scent: Sweet pea and vanilla

Benefits: Leaves your husky smelling better than with any other shampoo we've tried.

Pros:
  • Designed specifically for huskies
  • Works against the strongest of doggy-odors
  • Hypoallergenic and Ph balanced
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Okay, if you’re looking for a product that is tailored for huskies specifically, then it doesn’t get any more specific than the Siberian Husky Deodorizing Shampoo by Healthy Breeds.

This shampoo has one benefit that particularly stands out to us – its deodorizing abilities are much more powerful than other dog shampoos available. If you have a husky that is prone to smelling especially bad after being out in the rain, this is the right shampoo for you.

This shampoo doesn’t just mask doggy odors but actually removes them and leaves behind a sweet pea and vanilla scent – definitely an improvement. It’s also pH balanced and hypoallergenic so there’s no need to worry about irritation to you or your husky’s skin during bath time.

In Summary

Overall, our favorite shampoo for huskies is the Bobbi Panter Natural Dog Shampoo. It’s non-irritating, deeply penetrating, and leaves your husky with a calming lavender scent. We do, however, keep a few different dog shampoos to use in specific situations, such as during excess shedding and if a hot spot arises.

If you have any questions for us, please leave a comment below or get in touch at info@themalamutemom.com.

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About The Author

Caitlin is the owner and lead writer for The Malamute Mom. She has over 10 years of experience with Alaskan Malamutes and Huskies. She is currently working on getting her PhD in materials science but continues to write for The Malamute Mom in her spare time.

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