Murphy’s Oil Soap To Wash Your Dog?

Is Murphy’s Oil Soap Safe For Pets?

Owning a dog comes with a lot of fun, lots of responsibility, one of which is bathing and grooming. Some years ago I learned that using Murphy’s Oil Soap to wash your dog is a super idea. But is Murphy’s Oil Soap safe for pets?

Sometimes I forget just how intelligent my dog is. Watson is a smart, happy Germen Shepherd, and a very quick learner. He also has some characteristics… emotional characteristics… that are strikingly human. We do love our dogs.

Today we had a full morning. We went tracking early in the morning; he was loving it and did an amazing job. We followed that up with a walk to a community park that is closed for the winter. Explored, sniffed, pooped, and chased balls until he was exhausted. By the time he was done, he was pretty dirty and his head smelled like fish where I spilled sardine oil on him during tracking. Lovely.

So, I bundled him into the car, took him to the grocery store with me and then off to the DIY dog wash.

The DIY Dog Wash

Independent dog wash stations are really great. Especially when you have a “German Shedder” or other type of dog that sheds a lot, it really saves on post bath cleanup. But alas, a bath is a bath, and our dog wash experiences are typically uncomfortable. Not for me, for Watson.

Even though he had been up and working early, playing all morning and had a full belly, he was annoyed. (You wouldn’t think that pouting was a common behavior for a male German Shepherd. Maybe he’s spoiled. Could be.) At any rate, he made it a point to let me know this experience was an insult to his canine manhood, and refused to look at me or respond to me at all while he was getting soaped up, scrubbed and rinsed.

Finding The Best Soap To Wash Your Dog

Just like people, all dogs are different. There are dogs with long hair and short hair, shedding and non-shedding breeds, dogs with dry skin, dogs with skin allergies, frequent hot spots other chronic skin problems. Some dogs have shiny, glossy coats, some have short wiry, dull-by-design coats (think Schnauzer). Dogs like Bassets and Labradors have coats that naturally shed water, others not so much. Smooth or short coats can be easy to care for (think Doberman Pinscher).

German Shepherds like Watson actually have what is referred to as a ‘double coat’. Their undercoat is soft and fine, covered by an outer coat that is thick and more dense. They do shed quite a bit compared to some other breeds (and we mean QUITE a bit. Hence the term “German Shedders”.) However, they are easy to groom, and there are several tools that improve your ability to keep them sleek and clean.

Germans shed more than normal a few times a year. Several years ago I purchased a Dyson Groom tool for my vacume cleaner. (It needs a connector fitting if you don’t have a Dyson vacume) This thing is AMAZING. It works on our old shepherd, whose outer coat has dissipated, and she is as soft and fluffy as a pillow. She sheds a lot, and this tool removes more hair than anything I have ever seen, and it’s mess free for the most part. The problem you may run into is your dog. Watson hates the vacume, so I can’t use it on him. Nika, on the other hand, thinks its the best part of a spa day. This is what her coat looks like now – this is 12 years old – not bad for an old girl! (You can see more pics of our dogs on my Winsome To Wisdom Facebook page)

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Uses for Murphy’s Oil Soap: To Shampoo Dogs

What’s In Murphy’s Oil Soap?

I have used Murphy’s Oil Soap to wash my dogs for years. It is non-toxic, biodegradable, phosphate-free, U.S. EPA “Design for the Environment” Certified, and is made from 98% naturally derived ingredients. I really don’t know what’s in it, and I don’t care, all I know is that it’s safe, it smells amazing, and it makes his coat soft and gorgeous.

We have a few small ponds on our property…one of them is a small frog pond that is filled with enormous bullfrogs. It is also filled with rotting organic matter in brackish water, an olfactory and sensory magnet that attracts Watson like flies to honey. So even on those occasions when he’s really filthy, I use the Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean him tip to tail.

It makes life a little easier using Murphy’s Oil Soap to bathe the dogs, simply because I have it on hand for a ton of other cleaning tasks around the house and the property.



I dilute it in some water and then wet him down with it. It does work up some lather, but not too much, very easy to rinse. I don’t need to worry about washing out his ears with a cloth dipped in water with Murphy’s in it, or even wiping down his face.

The thing I like best about using the Murphy’s Oil Soap to wash my dog is that it leaves his coat shiny and soft, but not stripped of the natural oils.

He definitely is no worse for wear!

(Just so you know, we were not paid or compensated in any way for writing this article. It simply reflects our experience with this product.)

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