Hugging and interacting with your dog provides a relieving experience for many people. Ticks and mites cause diseases like skin lesions or blood depletion, or allergic reactions in dogs and humans. 

But not when your dog is infested with parasites such ticks, fleas, among others.

Luckily, there’re effective shampoos you can use to kill and repel ticks from your dog.

So, which are the best tick shampoos for dogs? After intense research, I came up with seven products with proven effectiveness for eradicating ticks from dogs. 

Top 7 Best Tick Shampoos for Dogs 2021 

1. Mycodex Triple Strength P3 Flea and Tick Shampoo

Mycodex P3 will effectively eradicate ticks and fleas from your dogs and cats. Armed with a powerful active ingredient like pyrethrin, this shampoo kills ticks and fleas on contact, thus relieving your pet from frequent bites. 

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Though not a natural shampoo, it won’t irritate sensitive skin. The presence of aloe vera, coconut oil extract, and lanolin helps in soothing and moisturizing the skin to prevent itching or irritation.

Mycodex P3 is a concentrated shampoo with triple-action capability. It lathers easily and heavily to allow the ingredients to penetrate through the animal’s coat. Apart from killing parasites on the dog’s body, it will also eliminate scales and dandruff.

With this flea and tick shampoo, your dog or cat will be protected from ticks and fleas for about one week. Thus, it’s recommended to wash your dog once a week to keep ticks and fleas at bay. The light fragrance from this shampoo takes away the foul odor from dogs’ fur and skin.

2. Wondercide Natural Bar Soap Flea & Tick Shampoo

Most shampoos come in liquid form. But here is a solid shampoo that will effectively eradicate and repel ticks from your dog. Available as bar soap, Wondercide shampoo contains several organic ingredients whose combination helps keep ticks and fleas at bay. 

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Its ability to kill and repel parasites emanates from the presence of geranium oil and citronella oil. The coconut oil assists in lathering to expose the skin and fur to the anti-parasite ingredients. Also included are soothing and moisturizing ingredients such as aloe vera, shea butter, vitamin E, olive oil, and honey.

The absence of harsh chemicals makes it a safe product for treating your dog against ticks and fleas. You can use it on all dogs and cats regardless of age. Unlike chemical pesticides, it won’t cause rashes or itchiness immediately after treatment.

Being a solid shampoo, it will give you more washes than liquid shampoos. The 4-once bar soap lasts up to a dozen washes. Plus, it is easier to use on a wriggling pet than liquid shampoos.

3. Adams Plus Dog Shampoo for Flea and Tick, 12 Ounce

Any professional pest exterminator will recommend this shampoo for eradicating ticks from dogs. Grooming your dog with this shampoo will kill ticks and other parasites while removing dirt and dandruff. 

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The main active ingredient in this shampoo is pyrethrin, a very efficient insect killer. Pyrethrin will readily kill adult ticks, larvae, and eggs. Killing the larvae and eggs gives you a chance to inhibit their development into the next lifecycle stage.

Other ingredients present in this shampoo include aloe, oatmeal, lanolin, and coconut extract. The purpose of aloe is to provide a soothing sensation to ease the irritation and itchiness caused by ticks. Coconut and lanolin are both popular skin ingredients that will help in moisturizing your dog’s skin.

Adams Plus shampoo also acts as tick a repeller, thanks to the pyrethrin content. It has a residue effect of about 28 days, meaning one treatment will go a long way. It’ll also kill and repel other parasites like fleas and lice, including their eggs and larvae. Plus, you can use it on other pets like cats.

4. Vet’s Best Dog Shampoo for Flea and Tick

Vet’s shampoo will readily kill ticks and alleviate irritation or itchiness resulting from these their bites. It contains powerful natural ingredients, skin soothers, and moisturizers. D-limonene and tea tree oil are the main ingredients that kill and repel ticks. 

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D-limonene is extracted from citrus and effectively kills ticks, including their eggs and larvae – to prevent Lyme borreliosis in dogs. Other ingredients present in this shampoo include oatmeal, neem oil, and aloe. These are EPA-approved ingredients and will help ease irritation and moisturize your pet’s skin.

Vet’s shampoo also cleans out allergens such as dandruff on the pet’s skin or fur to relieve the animal from allergy itchiness. Since it does not contain chemicals, it won’t cause itchiness or irritation on the pet’s skin.

You can use it on adult dogs and puppies of up to twelve weeks old. Other than ticks, Vet’s shampoo also kills and repels fleas among other parasites – for proper sleep, use the best dog beds. 

5. Sentry Dog Shampoo for Flea and Tick

Sentry provides an affordable yet powerful remedy for ticks and fleas in dogs. Its ability to kill both adult ticks and their eggs gives you the possibility of eradicating an infestation.

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With a residual effect of up to 10 days, this shampoo acts continuously on ticks that keep coming back to your dogs.

It contains oatmeal, a popular cleanser, and a deodorizer. This helps in removing scales and dandruff, which cause allergic reactions to your dog. Also, sentry shampoo has a balanced PH to prevent itching or irritation on your dog’s skin.

Unlike many tick shampoos in the market, a sentry can be used on adult dogs and 12 weeks old puppies. However, its usage on pregnant, sick, or nursing dogs should be done with a vet’s consent.

Washing your dogs with Sentry shampoo gives them a shiny coat and a pleasant Hawaiian ginger fragrance.

6. Hartz UltraGuard Dog Shampoo for Flea and Tick

No ticks or fleas can resist the powerful anti-parasite ingredients contained in this Hartz UltraGuard shampoo. Phenothrin, the active ingredient in this shampoo, kills fleas, ticks, and other parasites with a single touch. 

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While some powerful shampoos might cause dangerous reactions to your dog’s skin, Hartz UltraGuard exhibits a soothing sensation even on damaged skin. Thus you can wash your pet regularly with this shampoo without causing irritation or itchiness on their skin.

Hartz UltraGuard also helps clean any scaling and dandruff to free the animal from possible allergens. Plus, it softens the fur to give your pet a shiny and healthier appearance.

The only setback with this product is that it won’t kill the eggs or larvae. So it would help if you used it alongside other remedies to control an infestation. Also, it doesn’t have a long residual effect, meaning you need to use it regularly.

It’s only recommended to use the shampoo on adult dogs and six months old puppies. The presence of phenothrin makes it dangerous to young dogs and felines.

What’s more, it’ll also kill other parasites, including lice.

7. Paws & Pals Dogs Flea and Tick Shampoo/Conditioner

The safest way to remove ticks and fleas from your dogs is to use a free product from harmful chemicals. The natural ingredients contained in the Paws & Pals dog shampoo will readily kill ticks and prevent them from coming to your four-legged friend. 

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These ingredients include aloe vera, cedarwood, rosemary, oatmeal, and clove, among others. These natural extracts act both as shampooing and conditioning agents. As a shampoo, Paws & Pals cleans the animal’s fur to give it a shiny appearance.

As a conditioner, it moisturizes and soothes the skin to ease the irritation and itchiness caused by tick and flea bites.

You can use it on dogs and puppies of all ages without worrying about their health. It’s also safe for cats and kittens.

How to Choose the Best Tick Shampoos for Dogs

Different households face different extents of tick infestations in their dogs or cats. That means a product that works for one situation may not be effective for another situation. However, with knowledge of some important considerations, it possible to choose the most ideal shampoo for your dogs.

Here’re are a few factors that I deem to be important.

Efficacy

An effective shampoo will effectively clean your dogs, eradicate ticks, and ease the bites’ effects such as itchiness and irritation. Even better, the shampoo should kill and repel other common parasites like fleas and lice.

If the shampoo kills the eggs and larvae, you have a good chance of eliminating ticks and keeping them at bay for an extended period.

Residual Effects

Ticks will not only be found on your pet’s fur but also surfaces. So, when you treat your pet with a shampoo, new ticks will later attach themselves to the pet. Therefore, it’s advisable to choose a product that stays active for a period long enough to kill ticks that keep coming back after its application.

Effect on Skin

Ticks might damage your pet’s skin causing it to be itchy, flaky, and irritating. When treated with harsh chemicals or ingredients, they might get worse and bring discomfort to your pet.

In such instances, it’s recommended to use natural products because they do not contain harsh chemicals that cause itchiness, irritation, or flakiness. Also, consider products that have a soothing and moisturizing effect of easing the results of the bites.

Effects on Pet Eyes

Some products in the market contain chemical fragrances and artificial dyes that may irritate your pet’s eyes. This is not only disturbing for your pet, but it also makes it difficult to wash the wriggling pet.

So, you may opt for pet-friendly fragrances such as eucalyptus, lavender, and citrus, among others.

Age of Pet

Puppies have more sensitive skin compared to older dogs. And not all shampoos are meant for dogs of all ages. Most products come with indications for age limit so that you don’t expose your pets to irritations, itchiness, or skin drying.

Some products are meant for dogs of all ages. Alternatively, you can get different products for adults and puppies.

Versatility

Dogs are prune to other parasites like fleas and lice apart from ticks. Therefore, getting rid of ticks and other parasites with one product will save you some money. A product that is effective on ticks is not necessarily effective on other parasites.

I recommend a product that is effective on fleas and ticks since they are the most common parasites. Usually, such products come with labels of the parasites they are meant for.

Conclusion

After reading this guide, I believe you’ll not have difficulty choosing the best tick shampoo for your dogs. As you have seen, many of the products are have reviewed are essentially meant to eradicate ticks with little or no adverse effects on your pets.

These are natural products free from harsh chemicals, which might cause skin irritation or itching on your pets. Choosing an effective and safe shampoo will help get rid of ticks from your pets.

Sources: 

1. Ticks on dogs and cats 
2. Ticks and tick-borne diseases: a One Health perspective