Homemade No-Water Baths for Dogs

Keeping your dog clean is an important part of your grooming regimen. However, sometimes it isn't possible to bathe your dog with water. A no-water bath, also known as a dry shampoo, is an alternative that will leave your pet smelling fragrant and looking clean. A no-water bath on your dog is simple to create. Sprinkle the mixture on its coat and comb it through with a dog brush.

  1. Lavender Shampoo

    • Mix 1 cup of ground oats, 1/2 of cup baking soda and 1/2 cup of crushed lavender. Lavender both repels fleas and gives your dog a pleasant scent. The ground oats absorb oil in your dog's coat, and the baking soda neutralizes your dog's odor. The amount of mixture you use depends on the size of your dog. If you have some left over, store it in your cupboard in an airtight container or freeze it until you want to use it again.

    Lemon Balm Shampoo

    • To make a lemon balm no-water bath, combine 1/2 cup of crushed, dried lemon balm, 1 cup of cornmeal and 1/2 cup of semolina flour. As the mixture doesn't contain any fine powders, it works well on dogs with thicker coats. This dry shampoo will leave your dog's fur looking clean and glossy, as the cornmeal grabs dirt from the coat. For a different scent, try replacing the lemon balm with crushed, dried peppermint.

    Vanilla Shampoo

    • For a delicate, vanilla scented no-water dog shampoo, mix together 1 cup of cornmeal and 1 cup of bran. Then split a vanilla pod, carefully scrape out some of the seeds and place the pod among the dry shampoo mixture. Leave the no-water bath in a sealed container for two to three days to allow it to take on the vanilla scent. If you want a stronger vanilla smell, you can increase the number of vanilla pods you use.

    Flea Repellant Shampoo

    • To create a no-water bath for your dog that will naturally repel fleas, mix together 1 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of rice flour, 10 drops citronella essential oil, 6 drops lemon essential oil, 6 drops rosemary essential oil and 6 drops thyme essential oil. If you would rather have a different fragrance for your dry shampoo, you can experiment with different combinations of essential oils. However, if you change the oils, the bath will no longer repel fleas.