Why Is My Golden Retriever Sad? 6 Legitimate Reasons

Golden retrievers are among the most common dog breeds in the US. Their calm, affectionate, forgiving, complaisant and benevolent attitude make them good family pets. They are also intelligent, easy to get along with, exciting and learn quickly. However, if sad, that’s not the case, therefore, your dog’s care should come first if you want to bring up the best retriever.

Our day’s lesson is to discuss common reactions to why is my Golden Retriever sad. See you around. There is a lot of information you can get your teeth into. We are going to make this a breeze for you, let’s kick it up with: why is my Golden Retriever sad?

Do Golden Retrievers Get Sad?

Yes, totally. Goldens are heartbroken when ignored, mistreated or left alone for long. Otherwise, they are very loyal, social and playful with their owners.

To be sincere with this, there are so many reasons for your sad Golden Retriever dog. As a matter of fact, humans are not connected to any verbal clue which they can rely on to know the reasons. But it is not over yet, in the next topic, we are going to decode the body language of your sad Golden Retriever and you will know what all that means.

We are so sorry that you are stressed with your sad Golden Retriever puppies but we have some ready solutions for what you are experiencing.

How Can I Tell If My Golden Retriever Is Sad?

Your Golden is not eating, it tries to avoid you, and not active. Have you noticed any compulsive behavior like your puppy being resistant? All these physical signs show that your friend is sad.

Let’s break this down into a more clear showdown. If it is uninterested with your treats, not sleeping as it used to, alternated sleeping patterns, eyes look squinty and dull with less energy in general.

At times, you might hear your Golden Retriever whimper or whine, that is when you are supposed to cheer up your dog.

Why Does My Golden Retriever Look Sad?

So much can be hidden in its sadness, just like there are many causes. As its owner, you should try to identify the common reasons for its sadness and resolve them to see if you notice a positive change. The most common are illnesses, death of another dog or recent stress it might have experienced.

You may have ignored your Golden of late and it needs your attention. It also might have been mistreated or not pleased with its diet. Typically, you just have to go through a number of possible causes before figuring out the exact reason.

A better way you can learn about ‘why is my Golden Retriever sad’ concisely is by reading more straightforward causes below.

Why Is My Golden Retriever Sad?

The common reason is illness. Others are stress, unhappy with the diet, injured, lacking enough practice and mistreatment including ignoring your Golden Retriever. But let’s look deeper into these in the next subtopic.

Six reasons for your sad Golden Retriever puppies are

Dog Depression

It is normal for a dog to be depressed, which happens through its natural instincts. When something that your Golden Retriever was used to changes, like the death of another family dog, or owner’s death, it can be depressed and will look sad. Perhaps we can look at it this way, it feels lonely and kind of ignored. 

At the end, you have to teach and help your dog recover and bounce back more strongly. That is all included below.

Injured Golden Retriever

Being in pain alone will make your Golden look dismayed and worried. Be careful because they are so smart in hiding their pain, they hide the injured parts in fear of more injuries. It might be sad to you also seeing your dog limping but it is always cool to plan well, do not just make your decisions out of your emotions.

Golden Retriever Illness

As much as possible, we would like to help you get a solution of why do Golden Retrievers look sad? Unfortunately, Golden retrievers suffer from diseases more than any other dog’s kind. Sickness is easy to notice if there are physical symptoms like eye problems or hip dysplasia.

On the contrary, some underlying medical infections such as cancer may be only possible to track with a vet’s assistance. At the end you will have to play your cards well so that you don’t lose honey.

Bad Diet Plan For Golden Retriever

Is it looking bored, unhappy or uninterested with its meals? It is possible you are not feeding your dog with the right meals, overfeeding it or not having enough. Sometimes it isn’t your fault, other people may be feeding it with the wrong meals.

Golden Retriever Not Having Enough Exercise

As Goldens are naturally jovial and should have an hour of exercise each day. If not undertaken, they lower their energy levels, experience difficulties to change into calm pets and eventually suffer from sadness.

Please don’t give your dog enough reasons to be sad. Read more below about this concern, why is my Golden Retriever sad, and how to solve it.

Mistreatment Of Dog

Starting from wrong training for your faithful family friend early life abuse and neglect, these can lead to a sad Golden Retriever homeless. Other serious matters is by denying your dog enough socialization such as locking it up for days.

Third-rate shelters making the Goldens to be rained on making their outer coats heavy also can turn them to dull and worried pets. Sad Golden Retriever rain photos and sad Golden Retriever meme in Pinterest can help you have ideas about glooming your honey.

Why Is My Golden Retriever Sad At Night?

Although this is not a serious issue, the options behind these are loneliness, anxiety and pain. 

A change of its routine in the night such as waking it up from its bed or disturbing your Golden, maybe involuntarily splashing some water to it. By doing this you do not need to get confused about why is my Golden Retriever sad.

Why Is My Golden Retriever Sad All Of A Sudden?

An unexpected change which can happen in the course of the night like the passing on of the owner, addition of another pet or member to the family.

We can connect to this easily by adding that a sudden change to its routine can trigger its sadness. Or it could be the reason why is my Golden Retriever sad all of a sudden.

Why Does My Golden Retriever Always Look Sad?

If it does, always look sad – by saying this it means more than a day, there is a serious reason for this. Normally, a sad dog recovers fast but if it does not, you need to find the answer as soon as possible. This sadness is caused by chronic stress, fear and anxiety resulting from change in your Golden lifestyle such as its social group and environment.

Long terms of sadness can be sometimes described as a canine version of depression. The signs are inactive and sad Golden Retrievers puppies, change in usual sleeping patterns and little or no food at times. This is not an enough reason to be worried, we will help you kick away your sad Golden Retriever sadness.

Having learnt the common reasons for why is my Golden Retriever sad, let’s learn more about the symptoms of sad Golden Retriever puppies.

Sad Golden Retriever Depression Symptoms

Unfortunately and differently from humans, you are not connected to any verbal cues with your honey. Luckily, in the next three subtopics, we are going to decipher your common sad Golden Retriever dog body languages with their meanings.

Less Than Normal Dog Appetite

You buddy does not want to eat and if he does, he only takes small chunks. Changes in the eating patterns or loss of appetite and other unusual changes.

Golden Retriever Avoids Me

When you come home, your Golden does not bother coming to see you. Chances are that your dog is intimidated, fearful or ill especially when it is vomiting so that it is not observing its hygiene. This is a common way to notice a sad Golden Retriever puppy.

Less Active Golden Retriever

If it is not its habit or usual behavior this signals that your dog is sad. It does not play with you or its toys, all that shows you need to help your honey recover.

Although a ‘lazy’ Golden Retriever dog may not always be connected with sadness, it is necessary for you to consider a number of possible ways and rule out the most likely meaning.

How To Make Golden Retriever Happy?

You do not want a sad dog, you need a cheerful dog which can help you keep away your stress and anxiety. After learning the possible causes of your Golden’s sadness, it is high time you get to know simple remedies and manage away its sadness. If you heed to the remedies below, you will no longer worry about why is my Golden Retriever sad.

Ensure Proper Diet For Your Dog

Properly feed your dog by giving the right meals in both quality and quantity. A hungry Golden Retriever is an angry dog. Do not feed your sad Golden Retriever puppies what you can’t eat too, ensure it is clean and satisfying.

Give them a lively diet such as Purina Pro Plan Sport Dog Food. Again, ensure it is in the correct amounts and observe time. In other words, do not feed it late.

More Exercise

Boredom is one of the causes of your dog’s sadness and you can easily manage this. Walk your dog, play with it, give it toys to play with for a minimum of two hours. Whatever that you do, make sure it is actively involved, participates happily and not by forcing it.

Golden Retrievers are naturally active and energetic, do not make them lay all day looking worn-out. Let them ‘smile’ as they pant. You will never wonder why is my Golden Retriever sad.

Don’t Reward Sadness And Reward A Happy Dog 

First, let us talk about how a happy dog looks. Dogs do not actually smile but look amusedly happy and that’s what we as humans connect out traits to their reactions through this anthropomorphism. Needless to say, by looking at your Retriever’s facial expressions, it is easy to know when it is happy, I mean, the lively eyes and positive excitement.

Encourage it to be happy by giving it enticing treats and playing its favourite toy games. A good idea to note is that food treats work better since dogs are food motivated.

Vet Consultation

First and foremost, the only serious drawback with Golden Retrievers is their share of health complications. At times, Goldens fall ill and this brings their sadness. For more serious conditions, like when it seems to avoid you or hides, you should consider looking if it is injured and can’t walk.

Good to note that there are other unobservable illnesses such as cancer. Once more, if you can’t help it out, why is my Golden Retriever sad? It is a good idea to invite your vet and save your honey’s life.

How To Cheer Up Sad Golden Retriever Puppy

Why is my Golden Retriever sad, how do I cheer up a sad Golden Retriever puppy? How about having special moments with your puppy by cuddling it as you feed it or walk it out.

Have a firm schedule to feed your dog, offer it an outing, practice more, visit friends as puppies like adventure. Feel happy when associating with it by putting on a happy face; your puppy will have cheered up before trying all of these.

Final Verdict – Why Is My Golden Retriever Sad

While a sad Golden Retriever dog looks cute though, you might have a problem noticing your dog’s state. There are a couple of gif sad Golden Retrievers in Tenor, Monophy and Giphy you can look at. Their images and gifs can guide you on your prospective sad Golden Retriever puppy.

Hope today you will overcome your dog’s sorrow and get a permanent solution so that you will no longer worry why is my Golden Retriever sad.

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️