Do Goldendoodles Smell And How To Prevent It

Most dogs can be considered smelly a times as any other animal. However, you might wonder – do Goldendoodles smell? The answer to this is yes, they do but is it anything more than the usual bad smell here and there?

In this article, we are going to look at what factors can affect your Goldendoodle bad smell and what you can do to eliminate bad smells.

Goldendoodles are becoming popular pets and family dogs due to their friendly personality and having a low shed, hypoallergenic coats. Although, this a great dog breed, you might want to know do Goldendoodles smell and how to prevent it?

Do Goldendoodles Smell And Why

Owning a Goldendoodle can be very rewarding for you and your family. However, if your Goldendoodle smells bad, it can become an unpleasant problem.

Although, your Goldendoodle smelling bad can be caused by different factors. The good news is that, there are things you can do to improve your Goldendoodle’s odour.

Although, a smelly dog can be unpleasant, in most cases the problem can be improved or even eliminated. As mentioned above, the first thing you must do is to find out what is causing the bad smell.

The following conditions can result in your Goldendoodle to smell bad.

  • Dental Health problems
  • Ear Infections
  • Excess Of Gas
  • Coat
  • Anal Sacs
  • Runny Eyes
  • Atopy

Not only can this be a nuisance, your dog smelling bad, can be a symptom of a bigger and more serious health concern that needs addressing.

However, a variety of solutions are available to treat problems such as your Goldendoodle smelling bad.

Goldendoodle Dental Health Problems

As we progress to find out do Goldendoodles smell, the first possible factor to look at is dental problems. A possible cause for your Goldendoodle smelling bad, could be bad breath as a result of dental health problems.

In some cases, Goldendoodle could develops gum disease, to which one of the most common symptom is bad breath.

As a cross breed, the Goldendoodle inherits certain health problems from its parents – Golden Retriever and Poodle. And as both of these breeds suffer from gum disease, it’s likely hat your Goldendoodle develops the disease at some point through their life.

Cause Of Dental Disease

Although any dog can develop dental disease, when there is an inherent predisposition, it’s more likely for this to happen. This is the case for the Goldendoodle who inherits this from both of its breed parents – Golden Retriever and Poodle.

Before trying to eliminate the main symptom of this disease which is bad breath, first you must understand what causes it.

The following are the main causes of this stinky health problem:

  • When food gets stuck in the gum pockets and bacteria start growing resulting in infection
  • Similarly, after eating, food would remain on your dog’s teeth which will result in bacteria growth. When the bacteria is in the dental plaque stage, you can remove it easily. Whereas, when the bacteria toughens up and becomes calculus or tartar, your Goldendoodle’s teeth must be cleaned professionally

Treatment Of Dental Disease

The treatment for this condition is cleaning your dog’s teeth. Ideally, this is done preventative, so you avoid this problem developing in the first place.

In the case when the dental disease has already developed, the treatment is the same as the prevention – cleaning your Goldendoodle’s teeth. This can be done in a few ways:

  • Through the use of a doggy toothbrush and toothpaste. You should be doing this on weekly basis until the bad breath goes away and after that it can be lowered to – fortnightly
  • By giving your dog a dental treat or special chew toy. When chewing the toy, your Goldendoodle will be cleaning their own teeth
  • In the cases when the bacteria is too tough for you to remove, you’d have to take your dog to the groomers for their teeth to be cleaned professionally

Furthermore, to bad smells such as bad breath, you should take your Goldendoodle to the groomers regularly.

Goldendoodle Ear Infections

Another inherited disease that can result in your Goldendoodle smelling bad is ear infection. Do Goldendoodles smell due to skin infections? Yes, a common skin and ear infection that can result in bad smell, is Yeast infection. The smell that comes with this type of infection is strong and pungent.

If your Goldendoodle still smells bad even after a bath, you should take your Goldendoodle immediately to the vet.

Cause for Ear Infection

As the Goldendoodle’s ears are similar shape to the Poodle’s ear, they are prone to infection due to the excessive hair growth in the ear canals.

Symptoms Of Ear Infection

If your Goldendoodle has an ear infection, you should expect to see the following symptoms:

  • Discharge from ears
  • Foul smell from ears
  • Fever
  • Swelling of the ears
  • Warm ears
  • Thick, black waxy substance in the outer ear area

In the case, your Goldendoodle is suffering with an ear infection and being lethargic, you should take it to the vet. Dog ears are very sensitive and must be kept healthy.

Do Goldendoodles smell especially bad when having an ear infection? Unfortunately, bad smell is one of the most unpleasant symptoms of this health problem.

Treatment For Ear Infection

To avoid bad smells such as the one that can come from an ear infection, you must take preventative measures. Some of these measures include removing the overgrown hair from your Goldendoodle’s ear canal.

The process of cleaning your Goldendoodle’s ears is the same as for a Poodle. Furthermore, you can do this yourself or take your Goldendoodle to the vet. However, avoid plucking your puppy’s ears.

Follow the advice below in order to avoid ear infections and bad smells as a result.

  • Keep the ear hair length short between ½ inch up to 1 inch the most (1cm to 2.5 cm length)
  • Keeping the hair short around the ears brings more air flow which prevents bacteria and wax build up in the ear canal

Excess Of Gas

Do Goldendoodles smell particularly bad due to poor diet and being gassy? Yes, that is a common problem in Goldendoodles.

Cause Of Excess Gas

As both Poodles and Golden Retrievers are sensitive to certain foods, this trait has also been passed on to the Goldendoodle. When you have a dog that has a sensitive stomach, it would most likely result in releasing gas often and therefore bad smells lingering.

Treatment For Excess Gas

The treatment for this problem is adjusting your Goldendoodle’s diet. Many times you won’t get it right straightaway, so you’d have to try different approaches until you find what works best for your puppy.

You should be feeding your Goldendoodle a balanced and nutritious diet. In addition, the foods you should be avoiding in order to eliminate gas are the following:

  • Grains
  • Chicken
  • Processed foods
  • Preservatives

There are many options in pet stores and online that are chicken and grain free.

Atopy

Atopy is when dogs are allergic towards different factors.

Cause For Atopy

Some of those factors that can cause these allergies include:

  • Food
  • Environmental factors
  • Dust mites

Symptoms Of Atopy

Some of the symptoms include:

  • Itching
  • Red rashes
  • Sneezing
  • Eyes watering
  • Bad smells

How bad do Goldendoodles smell due to allergies? As a result of allergies, you should expect your Goldendoodle to be pretty stinky. Furthermore, the bad smell comes from either the oily skin reaction or the leaky eyes. Read below to find out more about runny eyes and how to treat it.

Treatment For Atopy

The treatment for this health problem depends on what is causing it. If the allergy stems from food allergies, you should adjust their diet accordingly. However, if it’s from any other factors, medication might be required.

This can be in the form of liquid, pills or monthly injection to prevent allergic reaction. Finally, to establish the cause, you should take your Goldendoodle to the vet.

Runny Eyes (Eye Gunk)

Another inherited Goldendoodle health problem that can result in bad smells is Runny Eyes.

Cause For Runny Eyes

A common Poodle condition, passed on to Goldendoodles, is Runny Eyes. The cause for Runny Eyes is, the build-up gunk around the eyes that gets matted into the fur.

Symptoms Of Runny Eyes

The main symptoms ae as follows:

  • Bad smell coming from your Goldendoodle’s face
  • Wet look around the eyes
  • Fur sticking together around the eyes

Treatment For Runny Eyes

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent Runny Eyes. However, the good news is that is easily treatable.

Once the condition appears, to remove the gunk and therefore the bad smell, use the following:

  • Tear stain remover on a cloth to remove any residue

Anal Glands Infection

Any dog’s butt can smell as that is normal, especially if any poop gets stuck on the hairs.

However, if the smell is especially strong and fishy even after you clean your dog’s butt, it might be the anal glands.

Cause For Anal Glands Infection

Anal Glands infection can happen when your Goldendoodle struggles expressing their anal glands. Furthermore, if not expressed fully, the dog’s anal glands can develop infection.

Symptoms Of Anal Glands Infection

Goldendoodle with infected anal glands will exhibit the following symptoms:

  • Scooting and rubbing their butt on the ground
  • Bad, fishy smell
  • Swelling of the outside of the anus
  • Nibbling and overgrooming the anus and/or lower back
  • Suddenly turning round to look at their back
  • Experiencing pain when pooping

Treatment For Anal Glands Infection

To treat infected anal glands and eliminate the bad smells, you should follow the advice below:

  • Take your Goldendoodle to the vet
  • Your vet should clean out the anal sacs
  • This is followed by a course of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatment
  • You could help the recovery process by applying daily warm compresses to the area

Finally, it’s imperative that your take your Goldendoodle to the vets as this can turn into an abscess and break out open.

Washing Your Goldendoodle

Washing your Goldendoodle is important in order to keep the bad smells away. Furthermore, the Goldendoodle requires more grooming compared to other dogs because of his long coat and risk of ear infection.

However, overdoing it can lead to skin infections and underdoing it can result in bad smells.

Ideally, you should bathe your Goldendoodle every 3 weeks.

Importance Of Grooming Your Goldendoodle

Grooming is imperative for a dog breed such as the Goldendoodle as their coat require more care compared to some other dog’s. Furthermore, incorrect grooming can result in your Goldendoodle smelling bad. Your Goldendoodle requires the following:

  • To be washed every 3 weeks
  • Weekly brushing and coat treatment
  • Use a special shampoo for Goldendoodle coat

As mentioned above, you must ensure you don’t wash your Goldendoodle too often as that can result in skin problems.

In addition, you must ensure you look after the following:

  • Eyes – eye gunk
  • Ears – ear infections such as Yeast infection
  • Tail – matted coat
  • Paws – unkept nails
  • Legs – matted coat

All of the above can lead to your Goldendoodle smelling bad.

How To Pick The Right Shampoo

When it comes to washing your Goldendoodle and eliminating bad smells, it’s imperative you pick the right shampoo.  To achieve this, you must select a shampoo that reduces dander and removes oils. In addition to that, you need a treatment to reduce matting of your Goldendoodle’s coat.

The Goldendoodle shampoo should have the following qualities:

  • Balanced pH
  • Soap Free
  • The shampoo should smell nice, however it should be hypoallergenic to avoid any skin irritations

Does Generation Affect Smell

As Poodles are known to be an extremely low odour dog, you might wonder if generation and percentage in mix matters when it comes to bad smells and Goldendoodles.

Unfortunately, this can’t be predicted and according to breeders there isn’t a significant difference in odour when it comes to different generations.

If Goldendoodles smell would depend on the causes discussed above. However, fortunately there are solutions to the most common conditions that result in bad smells.

If you want to learn more about Goldendoodle generations and their characteristics click here Goldendoodle Size Chart With Pictures

Final Thoughts

Do Goldendoodles smell worse than other dogs and what contributes to the bad smells?

Does your Goldendoodle need more grooming, change in diet or visit to the vet? That depends on the cause of the bad smell.

In this article, we have looked into some of the possible conditions that can result in your Goldendoodle to smell bad.

Some of them include:

  • Ear infections. This can emit a particularly bad smell. If your Goldendoodle has developed an Ear infections, it would require a proper cleaning and antibiotics which must be prescribed by your veterinarian
  • Bad breath can be a result of dental health problems such as gum disease or plaque build up. This is resolved by cleaning your dog’s teeth frequently or taking it to the vet to get it professionally done
  • If your Goldendoodle is not on the correct diet, it can lead to gas release and therefore bad smells. This is treated by adjusting your dog’s diet and testing what their intolerances might be
  • Matted coat can lead to your Goldendoodle smelling bad. The answer to this problem is frequent washing and brushing of the coat

Firstly, you must identify what is causing your Goldendoodle to smell. Secondly, apply the appropriate treatment. Fortunately, most of the conditions that cause bad smells, are easily treatable.

unusualpetsguide

My name is Iliyana and I'm a passionate animal lover and pet owner. As there is significantly less information online about unusual and exotic pets, I decided to found this website and recruit expert writers to help pet owners.

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