7 best dog sunscreens 2024 UK: tried and tested to protect your pup
THE weather’s warmer and the sun is out (some days anyway) so now is the time to be stocking up on sunscreen, not just for you but also for your pooch.
Pets suffer from sunburn too, especially if they have pink noses and muzzles, and a short or thin coat – and the best sunscreen for dogs will combine protection with ease of use.
It’s no good having a greasy cream that’s going to go everywhere as he rubs his face against the furniture, you want something that will sink in easily, can be reapplied often and that survives being licked, because make no mistake, he will lick it.
Sunburn in dogs looks much the same as in humans, with red, angry patches of skin, itchiness and even blisters. Just as with us, too many UV rays can also cause skin cancer so there’s a good reason if ever you should need one to slop on the sunscreen.
Of course on hot days you should minimise the effects of the heat by walking your dog in the mornings and evenings, when temperatures are at their lowest and on very hot days stay at home – it won’t kill him to miss a walk whereas sunstroke very well might.
Make sure to apply sunscreen to his nose, paw pads, ears and tummy; his muzzle may well need sun protection too, especially if he’s light skinned. If you have a dog with thin hair, such as a whippet or bulldog, consider applying sunscreen all over the body.
If you’re not sure whether you need a cream, spray or balm, read on for our reviews of the best sun dog sunscreens available in the UK this summer.
Best dog sunscreens at a glance:
- Best overall dog SPF: Aniwell Filtabac
- Best budget dog sunscreen: Petkin Doggy Sunmist Spray
- Best sun protector spray: Warren London Dog Sunscreen with Aloe Vera Moisturiser
- Best sun protection balm: Hemp by Hownd Skin, Nose and Paw Balm with added Sun Protection
Petkin Doggy Sunmist Spray
Petkin Doggy Sunmist Spray (120ml), £8.79
Pros: Easy to apply, smells lovely
Most read in Product Reviews
Cons: Some dogs dislike being sprayed
Rating: 4.5/5
Spraying in a fine white spritz, Petkin Doggy Sunmist has a lovely coconutty smell and an SPF of 15. As it’s a spray, this is especially effective for dogs who need all-over protection as they can have a good blast of it across their bodies. And it’s easy to reapply, which is handy for owners whose dogs like to swim – just whip it out of your bag when woofer emerges from the water and spritz.
Unfortunately, my tester Rosie, a white Saluki/whippet, wasn’t keen on being sprayed. So I put it on my hands and rubbed it into her coat. She didn’t even attempt to lick it off, which was a win, and the other dogs in the park seemed unconcerned – I had wondered if they might all try to lick her as she smelled so good.
Strangely, considering Rosie smelled like coconut, the Sunmist doesn’t contain any – the main ingredients are octinoxate, octisalate and oxybenzone.
The Petkin sun protection range also includes sun wipes and sunstick but I’d recommend the mist as it’s easy and quick to use and, at less than £9, a bit of a bargain.
Size: 120ml SPF: 15 Spray or cream: Spray Multi-function: No
Aniwell Filtabac
Aniwell Filtabac (50g), £12.42
Pros: Absorbs quickly, protects like a second skin, soothes sunburn, good for irritated skin, works on other animals also
Cons: Lickable
Rating: 4.5/5
Aniwell Filtabac antibacterial cream protects your pup on several fronts – it acts as a second skin against the sun, soothes sunburn and irritated skin in general and covers wounds to protect them from infection. Oh, and it works on horses, goats, sheep and cows, too.
So how did it fare on a sunny morning with the dogs in the park? At first glance, the thick white cream looked as if it would take a minute or two to fully rub into tester Attlee’s snout, but it melted down to a thin protective layer within five seconds.
He licked it, of course, so it took a couple of applications but happily returned from the park half an hour later with a squidgy, wet and sunburn-free snout.
Filtabac, made in New Zealand, has been around since 1970 and its main ingredient is titanium dioxide. Alongside the 50g tube, it’s available in larger sizes, which is cost-efficient if you have more than one dog, or horses.
Size: 50g SPF: 29-33 Spray or cream: Cream Multi-function: Yes
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Hemp by Hownd Skin, Nose and Paw Balm
Hemp by Hownd Skin, Nose and Paw Balm with added Sun Protection (50g), £9.99
Pros: Organic, vegan, moisturising
Cons: Lickable, quite expensive
Rating: 4/5
Barrier against the sun in summer and salve for rough paw pads in winter, this honey-coloured balm covers noses and paws in a thin, non-greasy layer.
It doesn’t smell but it obviously tastes good as my tester, Stout the Labradoodle, licked off my first few attempts at application on her snout. Luckily it’s in a cute little tin, so it's easy to carry around all day and reapply when needed.
Everything in the balm is vegan and the main ingredient is organic hemp seed oil, which contains omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids to nourish the skin (hemp seed oil is used in lots of human moisturisers, too).
It also contains candelilla wax (a vegan alternative to beeswax), calendula, which has skin-smoothing properties, sweet almond oil, shea butter and vitamin E.
I love Hownd’s ethos, which is all about caring for dogs and the planet. All its products are vegan – even its food, with exotic recipes like Hearty Quinoa and Pumpkin Casserole and Fragrant Papaya and Lentil Dal. So, even though the price point for the balm is quite high, I'm happy to pay for a product that doesn’t cost the earth.
Size: 50g SPF: Yes Spray or cream: Balm Multi-function: Yes
Warren London Dog Sunscreen with Aloe Vera
Warren London Dog Sunscreen with Aloe Vera Moisturiser (120ml), £15.95
Pros: Easy to apply, cooling, good for itchy skin
Cons: Lickable
Rating: 4/5
This clear-coloured spray felt really refreshing when I tested it on my arm, like a cooling spritz, and my canine tester Attlee didn’t object to being squirted, so I guess it felt good to him, too.
The orange oil gives the product a citrussy smell which I thought might deter him from licking it off his nose – it didn’t. So, again, I had to be persistent with a few sprays to feel confident he was protected.
Attlee suffers from allergies and has a very itchy belly so I decided to test the cooling properties of the aloe vera the spray contains. Result – it stopped him scratching so, when the heatwave’s over, I’ll carry on using this to alleviate itches.
Size: 120ml SPF: Yes Spray or cream: Spray Multi-function: Yes
Be:sunsafe Dog Sunscreen Balm
Be:sunsafe Dog Sunscreen Balm (60g), £12.42
Pros: natural ingredients, non-greasy, keeps insects away
Cons: takes a while to soften, lickable
Rating: 3.5/5
My canine tester Attlee loves accompanying me to the pub on sunny evenings and, wearing Be:sunsafe balm, he’s always invited as the citronella wards off pesky insects. And, as it’s been tested on humans, I can wear it too. But is it as effective at warding off the sun in the park?
Be: Sunsafe is one of a range of balms for dogs made from natural ingredients by Be:Loved – it also produces a range of vegan dog shampoo bars.
The sunscreen contains vitamins A, E and F, beeswax, grapeseed oil, shea butter, coconut oil, chamomile, lavender, carrot seed and raspberry seed oil as well as citronella so it smells lovely, unless you’re an insect.
It took me a few seconds of rubbing between my fingers to soften enough to apply to Attlee’s nose, but when I did it was non-greasy and smooth.
Obviously, he licked my first application off but some balm remained and I was confident he was, as the name promises, sun safe with an SPF of 15.
Size: 60g SPF: 15 Spray or cream: Balm Multi-function: Yes
Biteback Products Sweet Sun Relief Midge Barrier Cream
Biteback Products Sweet Sun Relief Midge Barrier Cream with Sunscreen (250g), £14.50
Pros: high SPF, keeps midges away, can be used on horses
Cons: large pot to carry round, lickable
Rating: 4.5/5
This stuff looks professional – it’s white, it’s gloopy with an SPF of 30 and a faint antiseptic smell. (Apparently, that’s caused by something called bog myrtle oil.) But, as it wards off the infamous Scottish midgies as well as the sun, it needs to be tough. Oh, and it works on horses too.
I spread a thick layer on my tester Attlee’s nose – of course, he had a few licks but a white sheen remained, like the chalk at the top of a snooker queue, so I knew it was there, acting as a barrier against the sun. And his nose was still chalky white after half an hour in the park, so it lasts.
My only issue is that as it comes in such bumper-size pots, it is a bit unwieldy to carry around. Simply solved – I decanted some into a smaller pot.
Size: 250g SPF: 30 Spray or cream: Cream Multi-function: Yes
Lecon Princess Pet Hat
Lecon Princess Pet Hat, from £9.99
Pros: breathable fabric, cute
Cons: moves around when your dog walks
Rating: 3/5
There’s plenty to recommend the Princess Pet Hat – it’s made of breathable mesh fabric, comes in four different colours and is pretty darn cute.
Unfortunately, even though my tester Solomon sat biddably enough while I looped his long ears through the holes and tightened the drawstring toggle under his chin, he didn’t like walking around wearing it. So it flopped about on his head, providing variable levels of shade.
My conclusion: hats might work as sun protection for dogs who simply want to laze around, but if your mutt's on the move they’re not secure enough. I'm definitely hanging on to the hat for the Easter Bonnet parade, though.
Size: Small, medium and large SPF: No Multi-function: No
Where can I buy dog sunscreens in the UK?
Year-round, you’re most likely to find dog sunscreens available from large online retailers, however during the summer you will find them stocked by smaller stores on the high street and online pet retailers, such as Pets at Home.
Saddleries are a good place to look for pet sunscreen as many equestrians use it on their horses during the warmer months, as are veterinary retailers like VioVet and Vetsend, and don’t forget to check out the websites of smaller pet brands who specialise in natural dog products, including Murphy & Bailey, Paws Right There and Dragonfly Products.
We found the sunscreens tested in our feature at:
Can dogs use human sunscreen?
A word of warning – don’t use human sun protection products on dogs as some ingredients are toxic to them. During our testing, we discovered their propensity to lick their noses when the cream is applied, so using anything potentially poisonous is not a great idea.
Luckily there are several excellent doggie sunscreens and sprays on the market and we’ve taken them to our local park to test the best. Stay cool pups!
Which dog sunscreen is the best?
We’d recommend using one of the sprays across your dog’s body and rubbing a thicker sunscreen into their nose and ear tips for all-over protection.
All the products we trialled protected our dogs’ noses from sunburn but we’ll probably stock up on the ones that have other functions as well as sunblock, like the Hownd to soothe paw pads or the anti-itch Warren London.
And, for our next holiday to Scotland, we’re packing a lorry load of Biteback’s Sweet Sun Relief Midge Barrier Cream.
How to apply dog sunscreen
Just like humans, dogs are prone to getting burnt on pretty much any area that is exposed to the sun. So you'll want to apply dog sunscreen to your pooch's nose, tummy and anywhere else that isn't protected by fur such as paw pads and tips of ears.
Application-wise, just massage a bit of product into your hands and apply directly to the area, making sure to rub in so it has absorbed.
For thin-haired dogs, or canines going in and out of the water, you might find it more practical to go for a spray which will allow you to apply an all-over spritz.
If in doubt, check out the RSPCA Animal welfare advice for summer for more guidance on how to keep your pet safe in the heat.
How much do dog sunscreens cost?
Sunscreen for dogs varies in price, much the same as it does for people.
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The products we reviewed range in price from around £9 up to almost £16, but you will be able to find cheaper and more expensive products on the market.
Price can depend on several factors including ingredients, the SPF level, the product size and whether or not the sunscreen is multi-function – for example, does it protect paws in the winter, or help soothe irritated skin.