Bugalugs One in a Million Dog Shampoo

The reason most dogs get bathed less often than their owners intend is not laziness, it is arithmetic. A wash takes an hour out of somebody's evening and the dog smells of dog again inside a fortnight, so anything that changes the cost of doing it changes how often it happens far more than any single ingredient in the bottle does.

This one is a concentrate: Bugalugs state it can be diluted at 10:1, which is why it turns up in salons as well as in houses. The formula is pH balanced and vegan, and Bugalugs describe it as cleansing and moisturising without irritating the skin, with a rich lather and natural essential oils of orange, lemon and nutmeg. It is made in the UK with water from the Lake District, listed for puppies over 8 weeks and all coat types, and sold in two bottle sizes.

• Two bottle sizes
• Can be diluted at 10:1
• pH balanced and vegan
• Natural essential oils of orange, lemon and nutmeg
• Suitable for puppies over 8 weeks and all coat types
• Made in the UK

It is a fragrance shampoo first. Bugalugs describe a long-lasting distinctive scent and in the same breath describe it as good for sensitive skin, and those two pull in opposite directions: for a dog with genuinely reactive skin a heavily perfumed wash is not the safe default, and a medicated or fragrance-free shampoo chosen by your vet is what that dog actually wants. No full ingredient list has been supplied to us either, only the three essential oils, and no pH figure is published despite the pH-balanced claim. Nor is there any stated contact time - nothing says how long to leave it on before rinsing.

Who it's for: owners who bathe regularly and want the dog to smell of something afterwards, groomers working through a lot of dogs on a diluted bottle, and anybody with a puppy past eight weeks old.