Golden Retrievers are one of the most loving dogs out there, they have such a big heart, and they truly care about their owners. They are also great rescue and assistance dogs. If I can name one flaw about this amazing breed, it’s going to be the golden retriever smell.
Despite Golden Retrievers having such beautiful golden coats, it’s the number one reason why golden retrievers smell. While all dogs smell, especially when not put through to frequent grooming, big dogs with a thick or folded coat are more susceptible to bad smells. Even a healthy golden retriever that eats well, is playful, and has no health problems can smell bad. Which can be very puzzling to the new dog owners.
Fortunately, there are many effective and efficient ways that you can make your golden retriever smell better. So in this article, we are going to help you solve all of your questions, from do golden retriever smell? And what are the causes for Golden Retriever to smell? To how To Make Your Golden Retriever Smell Better?
Table of Contents
Do Golden Retrievers Smell?
The short answer is yes. Golden Retriever smell bad when you don’t Groom them regularly. Although most dogs smell when you don’t bathe them frequently. Golden Retrievers tend to smell worse than any other dog because they have very dense and thick water-resistant hair that is prone to hold and keep bacteria, dirt, and secretions close to them.
Golden Retriever smell bad quite often despite the regular grooming, due to infections (particularly ear and skin Infections), which can also increase in bodily secretions and bacteria, as a result your golden retriever starts to smell bad.
A bad smell also can indicate a serious skin disease that may endanger your beloved dog, so if you noticed any weird smell despite grooming your dog, your dog may have a skin problem, you need to visit a vet, so he can treat your dog from any problems.
A regular check won’t hurt anyone. “Better safe than sorry”.
What Are The Causes For Golden Retriever Smell?
As mentioned above, all dogs including Golden retriever smell, at one point or another, regardless of their physical characteristics. The smell sometimes can be very overwhelming and hard to bear, especially when you don’t know what you are dealing with. There are many reasons why do golden retrievers smell, here are the three most common reasons why do golden retrievers smell;
a. Golden retriever smell Cause number 1: Ear infection
There are many reasons for a golden retriever to have smelly ears, from continual moisture, lack of cleanliness, to excessive hair on top of or inside the ear canal.
Depending on the smell, you can easily tell how bad the ear infection is. A light smell means that you just need to clean your dog’s ear. However, if your Golden Retriever has a sickening smell, it means that the infection is severe, you should visit the vet immediately. You can easily detect a stinky, infected ear, the bad smell of an infected ear is unbearable.
b. Golden retriever smell Cause number 3: Skin issues
Dogs with double-coated skin, such as Golden retrievers, are prone to developing skin fold dermatitis. This stinky skin disease occurs because of close skin contact, creating a warm, moist environment that is perfect for an overgrowth of surface microbes, such as bacteria and yeast. Which unfortunately causes irritation and inflammation, breaking down the skin barrier and leading to an infection and a bad golden retriever smell.
Allergies can cause other skin infections. Allergies in Golden Retrievers manifest in itchy skin, rather than watery eyes and sneezing like they do in people. As your golden licks, scratches, and chews at his skin, he traumatizes it enough to damage the skin barrier, allowing bacteria to enter through breaks in the skin, leading to a stinky infection.
c. Golden retriever smell Cause number 4: Lack of grooming
You are not allowed to ask why does my golden retriever smell if you don’t even bathe your golden retriever, it is obvious a dirty dog is a stinky dog!
Try to schedule his grooming three times a week. Bathing your golden retriever is maybe the only solution that you are going to need for this golden retriever smell. A good shampoo can even protect his skin from any future infections, as well as keeping your puppy smelling like soap.
Brushing your golden retriever goes a long way in helping to decrease any unpleasant smells between baths. Brushing gets rid of dried saliva, dead skin cells, dirt, and anything else hiding out in your dog’s fur. It will probably shock you if you know how much better your dog will smell after a simple, but thorough brushing.
You may also consider cleaning his bed every ten days, it makes a good difference not only in how your golden retriever smells but also in how your house smells too. Try to wash your dog’s chew toys and fleecy ropes. Your old dog saliva can also cause a bad smell.
How To Make Your Golden Retriever Smell Better?
The smell of a Golden Retriever can range from healthy and pleasant, to lightly smelly, to downright stinky and sometimes unbearable. Luckily there are many things you can do to make your Golden Retriever smell better;
a. Bathe them regularly
As we mentioned before. The most common reason why do golden retrievers smell is the odor that your dog can hide in their coat. To avoid that bad smell you just need to bathe them frequently. If you want to keep their smell good and clean, you can bathe them once every week or at least three times a month.
b. Groom them 2-5 times a week
Grooming is the perfect solution for the bad smell. Start grooming your dog after every bath. By grooming your dog, you will be able to check his skin from any infections as well as be able to remove dead hair, debris, or dirt that could cause an odor in your golden retriever’s fur.
Check out our article on how to groom your Golden Retriever!
c. Brush their teeth
Bad breath is a very normal thing for dogs, but if the smell is getting worse every day, it could indicate many problems. It is very easy to tell when the smell isn’t normal, just let him lick you and if the smell is unbearable and very stinky, it could mean that they have gum disease.
Bad breath smell can easily travel through his whole body. When they start licking themselves, the smell can spread through their saliva, causing your golden not only a bad smell, but also an infection.
As a bad smell can spread easily, a good smell can too. So try brushing your golden retriever at least once a week, and slowly move it up daily. However, if their breath is fruity or sweet is not always a good thing either, because it could indicate that they have diabetes.
Check with your vet regularly to make sure that your beloved puppy stays healthy as ever.
d. Wipe down their ears
If you still can’t find why do golden retrievers smell, then it is probably their ears. Ear infection can also cause a bad smell. Luckily you can fix it easily, just make sure that your golden is relaxed and not nervous, because an ear infection is very painful for them. Start by wiping down your golden retriever’s ears to make sure that there are no fungal bacteria behind or inside their ears, then use cotton balls to gently wipe any debris or dirt from the inside of their ears.
e. Try new shampoos
A bad shampoo can dry up your golden retriever’s skin, causing him a dry, flaky smell that will start to smell over time. Trying new organic shampoos is always a good idea. Because natural products can help with itchy and dry skin.
Final Thought
Do golden retrievers smell? Yes, but it’s not something a warm bath can’t fix. A bad smell, as bad as it can be, maybe an indicator of a greater disease. So make sure that you check with your vet on a regular basis
