If you own a dog, youve probably seen him yawn. A lot. And even though a yawning dog is adorable, you may have also wondered, “Why do dogs yawn so much?” Do they yawn for the same reasons humans do? Is it even something you should be concerned about? After all, dogs have no shortage of strange habits, like eating grass and following you into the bathroom. [rd-video id=”1362533″ /].
What Does It Mean When a Dog Is Yawning a Lot?
If you notice excessive yawning along with other signs of stress (tail tucked, ears back, avoidance, cowering, looking away, lip licking, big eyes, etc.), it may be a sign of stress. ), you can assume that your dog is worried about the outcome of the conversation or circumstance and is experiencing fear, uncertainty, anxiety, or stress.
The author and illustrator of the book Doggie Language, Lili Chin, explains that a stress yawn is accompanied by a body that is not at ease or asleep and could mean that the dog is feeling:
Your aim should be to make your dog feel better when you notice them yawning a lot (or displaying other signs of stress).
Why do dogs yawn when they don’t like something?
It’s a less frequent occurrence, but why do dogs yawn when they’re unhappy? Dog yawning frequently occurs during training, travel, and occasionally even on walks.
According to Dr. Ochoa, it’s no coincidence. When dogs aren’t thrilled about what you’re asking of them, they frequently yawn.
“This is them showing that they do not like something. They may be more stressed [in a particular situation],” Dr. Ochoa adds.
That frequently results in a lot of yawning in training class, as you can imagine.
Dogs who yawn during training sessions are either exhausted or bored, according to Dr Ochoa says. “It can be a good sign or a bad sign. ”.
Other reasons dogs can yawn might be stress or anxiety. Dogs may feel stress or anxiety in situations like traveling or even in obedience school. Another situation in which dogs commonly yawn? At the vet.
“Your dog may be stressed or nervous. Dogs that enter the veterinary clinic for examinations will occasionally yawn, says Dr. Ochoa explains.
In this study, sixty dogs from the Nebraska Humane Society’s shelter were used by Buttner & Strasser. The dog was placed in front of an unknown experimenter, who would yawn in front of the dog after calling it by name. Each dog was also put to the test in a control trial that was identical to the original but in which the test subject simply opened their mouth instead of yawning.
According to the authors, the context in which a human yawn occurs may affect how dogs perceive it. When they are under stress and observe a person yawning, they may yawn themselves. But when they’re more at ease, like when they hear their owner yawn at home, they might mistake it for sleepiness and yawn contagiously for other reasons. To investigate contagious yawning and determine whether it is actually connected to dogs’ capacity to recognize social cues from humans, tests on dogs must be conducted in more “comfortable” environments when they are more at ease.
But dogs also yawn when another species yawns, including us, so it’s not just primates who exhibit contagious yawning. We are aware that dogs are exceptionally good at detecting social cues from people. Is it conceivable that due to domestication and coevolution with humans, dogs have become so adept at reading our body language that they yawn in sympathy with us when we yawn?
Some experiments seem to support this idea: one study found that dogs yawned more in response to the sound of their owner’s yawn than to another individual. But, another experiment using live models didn’t find this relationship.
A recent study specifically examined whether dogs that contagiously yawned more had higher levels of the stress hormone (cortisol) in their saliva in an effort to resolve these discrepancies. They also examined whether dogs with contagious yawning performed better on a task that tested how well they could pick up on social cues from people, which would support the idea that they have some level of “empathy” for people.
FAQ
What does it mean when your dog yawns?
Simply put, dogs yawn when they are stressed. Dogs use a variety of signals to calm themselves when they are stressed or uneasy, according to Norwegian behaviorist Turid Rugaas, author of On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals. One of these signals is yawning.
Does a dog yawn always mean stress?
The majority of behaviorists and trainers advise owners to look out for signs of stress in their dogs, and excessive yawning is frequently one of these signs. This information is true because dogs do appear to yawn when they’re feeling anxious.
Why does dog yawn when I pet him?
When you pet your dog and he yawns, you might assume that he needs a siesta. Dogs yawn because they are excited. They are yawning, however, not because they are bored, but rather because they are excited that you are paying such close attention to them and that they are feeling so loved.
Do dogs yawn when bored?
Yawning is also probably a way to stretch the muscles in your face, which can, in fact, “wake you up” if you’re tired or bored. Similar to how we yawn, dogs probably yawn for the same reasons. “Exhaustion is one of the reasons why dogs yawn,” Dr. Nelson says.