![Willing Dog Testers]( "Willing Dog Testers")
The Usual Suspects
When it comes to giveaways and product reviews, The Dog Express team has no shortage of dogs, ready and willing to put themselves forward in the name of research and to help provide an independent review for the thousands of dogs and owners who visit our website everyday. In the past 18 months our merry band of team dogsters have tried and tested many products and services, including countless dog treats, leads and harnesses, anxiety coats, vitamin supplements, doggy backpacks and orthopedic beds. As you can imagine, each package that arrives at our HQ is eagerly greeted by several sniffing noses (and that’s just the staff!), with food being the most coveted prize of all.
Occasionally we open a box and are excited by the arrival of a new dog shampoo or conditioner and our line of willing testers quickly dissipates down to just one. Jay the Border Collie has the unfortunate habit of thinking that everything is food and has still (amazingly) not associated the word shampoo with an impending bath! Jay is also so placid that giving him a bath is also quite enjoyable (for the team at least), and as our resident Bichon’s (Buddy & Ollie) have a professional bath and groom, it is left to Jay to be the resident shampoo tester.
However, our review today is of Scruffy Chops Rhubarking Mad Shampoo and as you will see from the product information below, the ingredients in this natural shampoo make it perfect for dry and flaky skin. Ellie (also a Collie) sheds her coat excessively twice a year and as such ends up with very coarse hair and very dry, flaky skin which causes her to scratch endlessly all day. So despite that fact that bathing Ellie is akin to letting a bull loose in a china shop, she became the unwilling tester for this review.
![Scruffy Chops Logo]( "Scruffy Chops Logo")
Scruffy Chops
ScruffyChops are the makers of natural dog shampoos (and a conditioner) that focus on the health and care of your dogs skin and coat as well as making them smell fabulous. Using innovative reduced plastic packaging and boasting some impressive natural ingredients such as Oatmeal and Dead Sea Minerals; ScruffyChops have created a range of dog cleansing products that care about you, your dog and the environment.
ScruffyChops was founded by Paul Burfoot and Daniel Bunyan who are self confessed dog lovers. Cooper (Dan’s dog) is a German Shorthaired Pointer, which is a breed commonly associated with minor skin issues due to having slightly sensitive skin. It was with Cooper and Maisie (Paul’s Miniature English Bull Terrier) in mind that Dan and Paul set about creating a shampoo that primarily focussed on the health of a dogs skin.
![ScruffyChops Shampoos]( "ScruffyChops Shampoos")
Product Review
ScruffyChops currently have 3 natural dog shampoos and a conditioner in their range, all of which focus on being gentle and soothing to a dogs’ skin as well as leaving the coat in wonderful condition. Each shampoo is made with 98% natural ingredients, including oatmeal, aloe vera and Dead Sea minerals, making them the perfect products for dry, flaky skin and dogs prone to itching and sensitive skin conditions. The range consists of:-
- Rhubarking Mad Shampoo – Conjuring images of hot puddings and mouthwatering sweets, the delectable scent of rhubarb and custard as soon as you open this shampoo is divine. As ScruffyChops say on their own website “your dog will smell good enough to eat (but don’t!)”.
- Sugar Doggy Shampoo – Dogs don’t smell great; it’s a known fact! But they can with the Sugar Doggy Shampoo. Scented with a warming brown sugar, caramel fragrance; your dog will be a welcome visitor to your couch, bed, car……….well, just about anywhere smelling like this!
- Zest in Show Shampoo – Fresh, fragrant and fun! The Zest in Show Shampoo combines natural ingredients with the smell of pink grapefruit. Turn your dog into a walking fragrant plugin (without the plugin part), with this fresh and zingy product.
- Muddy Marvellous Conditioner – Some dogs need that extra bit of softness bringing to their coats after bathing and the Muddy Marvellous Conditioner is just the product for the job.
So, what is in the ScruffyChops shampoos and why are they so good? Well, as 2 of The Dog Express team are qualified herbalists, we are able to assure you that the ingredients in the ScruffyChops products not only smell great and leave your dog with a clean, shiny coat; they are scientifically proven to have properties beneficial for the health of skin and hair (yours and you dogs!)
Oatmeal – Oats (Avena Sativa) have been used globally for centuries due to their abundance of beneficial properties. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, Zinc, Silica and essential fatty acids such as Omega 6 & 9, making it exceptional for skin and hair health. These naturally occurring properties have been successfully used in both humans and animals for many years to treat minor and severe skin disorders such as Eczema, Dermatitis and Psoriasis. They not only soothe the skin and reduce inflammation, but also reduce the itchiness associated with dry, flaky skin.
Dead Sea Minerals – Mud and mineral products from the Dead Sea have been frequenting the shelves of health stores and pharmacies for many years now and have been researched and proven to be extremely beneficial in the treatment of any kind of skin disorder. However, the addition of these minerals to dog shampoos is not so common, which is just one of the reasons that ScruffyChops stands out from the crowd. The Dead Sea contains in excess of 50,000 million tons of salts which are rich in minerals (26 of them no less). These minerals include Zinc, Magnesium, Calcium, Boron, Manganese and Potassium, all of which play a role in the natural health and elasticity of skin. Dead Sea minerals soothe irritated skin, prevent flaking and itching and promote ongoing skin health.
Aloe Vera - The Aloe Vera plant has a multitude of natural properties which has seen its use in herbal remedies, tinctures and shampoos for centuries. Aloe Vera not only promotes healthy hair, it is beneficial for sensitive and/or dry skin, making it the perfect ingredient in a dog shampoo. A dogs hair and skin is more sensitive than a humans and the chemicals and fragrances used in our hair products are too harsh for a dogs coat. ScruffyChops natural products with the addition of Aloe Vera make them the ideal choice for all dogs, whether they have dry skin or not. It is rich in Vitamins A, C and E and has an abundance of other minerals and enzymes essential for skin and hair health.
Shea Butter - ScruffyChops used Shea Butter in their conditioner alongside the above mentioned ingredients, giving it even more beneficial properties for dry, itchy skin. Shea Butter is used in skin preparations for everything from Eczema and dandruff to scars and Dermatitis and promotes both circulation and cell renewal. It is rich in Vitamins A & E which helps protect a dogs skin from free radicals such as the sun and car pollution during their daily walkies and helps to retain skin moisture and elasticity.
![Rhubarking Mad Shampoo]( "Rhubarking Mad Shampoo")
The Test
The product that The Dog Express tried and tested (on a unwilling Ellie), was the Rhubarking Mad Dog Shampoo, which can obviously be purchased directly from the ScruffyChops Website, but is also available through many other stockists (high street and online). As previously mentioned, Ellie is a 6 year old Border Collie who suffers with periods of very dry, flaky and itchy skin whenever she sheds her coat. Ellie’s owner is our own Editorial Supervisor Sam, who was keen to find a shampoo that addressed the skin complaint but also contained natural ingredients. To say Ellie dislikes water is an understatement and even the delightful scent of rhubarb and custard from the Rhubarking Mad Shampoo was not enough to entice her into the bath. If this review was in video format instead of written, this would be the point where we’d fast forward 2 hours to the point where Ellie is standing in the bath covered in water (as is Sam!).
Luckily the shampoo itself is much easier to handle than Ellie. ScruffyChops products come in a pouch format, reducing the plastic packaging and helping the environment in the process. The pouches are easy to open, handle and reseal and are very cost effective at just £5.99 per pouch. The fragrance of the Rhubarking Mad shampoo really is as good as the write ups make it sound and unlike many shampoos Sam had used previously, the scent lasted on the dog for a considerable time after bathing.
The shampoo itself makes a very good lather with only a small amount (obviously dependant of the size of your dog and length of hair), and as they always say “the proof is in the pudding” which this shampoo delivered on. It is always important for an owner to know that a product is beneficial for their dog, but it’s not always that easy to get feedback from your pooch. With this product however, Sam was able to tell within hours that the natural ingredients and chemical free make up of the shampoo was soothing, hydrating and non-irritating for Ellie because Sam herself suffers from Eczema on her hands and arms and this shampoo not only left her hands feeling soft and moisturised, it did not dry her skin out like many human and canine shampoos – great news for Ellie.
Another 2 hour battle to get Ellie in front of a hairdryer and her freshly washed coat was shiny and smelt amazing. Furthermore, Ellie’s itching was greatly reduced in the days that followed and there was a noticeable reduction in the white flaky skin on her coat.
Our Verdict
The Dog Express has provided many product reviews, both here on our website and also to companies directly at their request for feedback and it is very rare that we give a product of company a 10/10 rating because even with the best products and services, there is usually something small that we feel could be improved upon. However, we are proud to give Rhubarking Mad and ScruffyChops a maximum rating because they and their product excel in every area that we have researched and tested.
We are huge supporters of companies and products that use natural ingredients and put the health and care of dogs at the forefront of their company ethos and ethics and ScruffyChops does just that. Founded on the desire to create a natural product for dry skin in dogs, this company as exceeded its objectives and has done just that – created a product that treats and soothes a dogs dry skin. With extra thought given to causes such as the environment, ScruffyChops have also taken into consideration their product packaging and how to reduce the use of plastic, which again they have succesfully attained with the sleek pouches.
The ScruffyChops website is user-friendly, easy to navigate and very informative, providing a blog and dog massage instruction page as well as product information and details on ingredients.
But of course the main reason for the 10/10 rating on this product is that unlike so many others available on the market today, Rhubarking Mad Shampoo does exactly what it says on the tin (or pouch!). So many products claim to be natural, but then have masses of additives and chemicals added – ScruffyChops products are 98% natural and we can attest to their non-irritating ingredients and properties. Many products claim to reduce dry skin and provide a lasting fresh smell – but again ScruffyChops actually does, as Ellie would happily tell you if she could speak!
The Dog Express is proud to recommend ScruffyChops Shampoos and Conditioner for your dog, whether they have dry skin or not and there are not too many products that we would give a 10/10 seal of approval on. Below are the contact details for you to get your ScruffyChops products today.
ScruffyChops Details
