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Dog Health & Care

5 DIY Dog Shampoos With Coconut Oil You Can Make Today! (With Pictures)

Nicole Cosgrove
By Nicole CosgroveUpdated on July 4, 2026
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Cute cocker spaniel with shower supplies in bathroom Bath Dog

If you want dog shampoo with coconut oil, it may be hard to find. Not all retailers carry it, and some products are prohibitively expensive.

Fortunately, creating your homemade dog shampoo with coconut oil isn’t that challenging. That’s why we took the time to track down and highlight five different dog shampoo recipes that you can make yourself. No matter what you’re looking for in a dog shampoo, you can find it here.

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The 5 DIY Homemade Dog Shampoos with Coconut Oil

1. Simple Dog Shampoo with Coconut Oil

DIY Dog Shampoo
Ingredients:Castile soap, distilled water, coconut oil, and lavender oil
Cost:Low
Effectiveness:High
Scent:Lavender oil (customizable)

Just because you want to make your dog shampoo doesn’t mean you want the most complicated dog shampoo out there. With this simple dog shampoo recipe, you get the best of both worlds.

It’s easy to create and super effective to use, and you can customize the scent to whatever you want! It’s affordable, effective, and customizable, and it’s all-natural and an excellent moisturizer. If you try this simple dog shampoo, you may never get store-bought brands again.


2. Flea & Tick Shampoo

DIY Dog Shampoo
Ingredients:Distilled water, castile soap, lavender essential oil, peppermint essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil, and coconut oil
Cost:Medium
Effectiveness:High
Scent:Lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus

Nobody wants to deal with fleas and ticks, but fortunately, you can make homemade remedies. With this flea and tick shampoo, you’ll have a natural product that’s gentle on your pet’s skin and coat and gets rid of all those bugs for good.

The important thing to remember when using this homemade shampoo for flea and tick removal is that it needs to stay on the skin and coat for a little while. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes to take full effect; otherwise, you’ll end up washing it off before it kills the bugs!

Finally, while it can be tempting to customize the essential oils to get the exact scent that you want, you should not alter the recipe. The selected scents and essential oils are especially effective against fleas and ticks, and if you swap them out, there’s a good chance that you won’t get the effect that you’re looking for.


3. Sensitive Skin Shampoo

DIY Dog Shampoo
Ingredients:Distilled water, oatmeal, coconut oil, castile soap, lavender essential oil, apple cider vinegar
Cost:Medium
Effectiveness:Medium
Scent:Lavender

Not every pup can handle all the different chemicals and cleaning products in store-bought shampoos. Luckily for those dogs, there are formulas like this sensitive skin shampoo that do a great job of getting them clean while protecting their sensitive coat.

Oatmeal is the key ingredient here, but you need to get the right kind. It’s ground oatmeal, and you’ll need to grind it even further into flour. This gives the shampoo the maximum soothing benefits. The coconut oil is also excellent for their skin and coat.

This shampoo has awesome cleaning power, and the apple cider vinegar helps with parasite control. It’s an all-in-one DIY product that works great for your dog!


4. Extra-moisturizing shampoo

DIY Dog Shampoo
Ingredients:Unscented and uncolored dish soap, coconut oil, aloe vera, distilled water, essential oils, fragrance oils
Cost:Low
Effectiveness:Medium
Scent:Customizable

Sometimes all you want is a shampoo that will leave your dog with the softest coat possible. If that’s the case, this extra-moisturizing shampoo is exactly what you’re looking for. With coconut oil and aloe vera, it’s a masterful blend of moisturizing power in a single shampoo.

It also uses essential oils and fragrance oils for the scent, which means you can customize it to whatever you’re looking for. The most important part of this process is picking out the dish soap. If you go with a regular dish soap, you need to pay special attention that it’s both unscented and uncolored.

You can also substitute it for castile soap, which is recommended in many other recipes because it’s a natural ingredient that’s gentle on your dog’s skin and coat.


5. Super-Natural Shampoo

DIY Dog Shampoo
Ingredients:Ground oatmeal, baking soda, Dr. Bronners, coconut oil, essential oils, distilled water
Cost:Medium
Effectiveness:High
Scent:Customizable

If you’re making your shampoo, it’s probably because you want it to be as natural as possible. While every option on this list only uses natural ingredients, this super-natural shampoo takes it a step further.

Everything about it is great for your dog, and you don’t have to worry if your dog accidentally ingests a little. This shampoo also has natural skin-soothing properties, especially if you take the time to thoroughly grind the oatmeal before mixing it with the rest of the recipe.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can Coconut Oil Get Rid of Ear Mites in Dogs?

Yes! While the coconut oil in your homemade dog shampoo likely won’t be enough to get the job done and you shouldn’t put it directly inside their ear, gently rubbing raw coconut oil inside their ear canal over a few days should take care of the problem.

What Are the Benefits of Coconut Oil?

Coconut oil has many benefits, which is why you want it as an ingredient in your DIY dog shampoo. First, it helps prevent skin flaking. Second, it helps soften up your dog’s coat. Finally, if you leave it on long enough, it has anti-parasite properties.

While it won’t dispel fleas and ticks all by itself, it can act as a deterrent to keep new ones from hopping on board!

How Long Can You Leave Coconut Oil on Your Dog?

While you can safely leave coconut oil on your dog for 20 to 30 minutes to maximize benefits, you don’t want to leave it for longer than that. Coconut oil is thick, and if you leave it on for too long, it’ll clog up pores.

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Final Thoughts

With any of these natural formulas, you can create your dog shampoo in no time and get your pup clean with nothing but the best. Try them out for yourself, and see how effective they can be — and they’re great for your wallet too!

Related Read: Does Dog Shampoo Expire? What You Need To Know!


Featured Image Credit: Pixel-Shot, Shutterstock

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Nicole Cosgrove
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Nicole Cosgrove

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