What Is A Yawn Anyway?Before we dive into the possible reasons behind yawning in dogs, it’s important that we understand what yawning is in the first place. The action of yawning is the same in our furry friends as it is in you and me. A dog’s yawn is a
Though every single person and most vertebrate animals yawn, it is still a huge mystery in the scientific community. Yawning has been linked to tiredness and temperature changes in humans, but there is no exact cause behind this involuntary reflex. It’s not often that we share such a mysterious behavior with our canine companions!
So Why Do Dogs Yawn?
The exact reason behind the dog yawn may be unknown, but we have studied our canine friends enough to come up with a few possible causes. Most of the time, these reasons aren’t anything to be worried about. To help you better understand your pup’s behavior, let’s discuss the most common theories below.
Let’s start with the most commonly understood reason behind canine yawning: tiredness. Just like you and I, our dogs may simply yawn because they are tired. Our pups can experience grogginess throughout the day, exhaustion at the end of a long day, and every sleepy spell laying at your feet.
An occasional yawn around these times may simply point to them needing a nap, and may end once they are well-rested. If your pup yawns around their standard bedtime, this may just be their way of telling you they are ready to curl up and go to sleep!
If your dog experiences excessive yawning, it could be a sign of stress. Dogs that are stressed can react in many different ways. Yawning around bedtime may be extremely normal for your furry friend, but any increase in frequency may be their way of telling you they are nervous. Some humans even experience yawning as a symptom of their anxiety, and dogs are no different.
Determining if yawning is due to stress or not will require you to pay attention to when the behavior occurs. For example, if your dog seems to yawn excessively when they are in the car and heading to the vet, it’s safe to say they may be yawning due to nervousness or anxiety. This also stands true for excitement in our furry friends, as our dogs may yawn when anticipating an activity they enjoy.
If you think your dog yawns due to stress, it may be their way of telling you they need a break. Try your best to either take a breather from the current activity, or even take them for a private walk outside. If anxiety is the true cause of their yawning, it should come to an end once they calm down.
There are more active ways that dogs communicate, but behavior can be a form of involuntary communication. If your pup experiences experiencing excessive yawning at all times, it may be best to contact a professional trainer or veterinarian to address their chronic anxiety.
Have you ever noticed that yawns seem to be contagious? A friend yawning next to you might cause you to yawn yourself. This might lead you to believe that yawns can be passed on. Not only is this a common occurrence in humans, but dogs seem to catch on as well. So what can this mean? A recent study thinks it’s just a sign of our dogs trying to bind with us.
While it’s challenging to measure empathy in our furry friends, our dogs participate in many behaviors that show how much they care for us. This stands true when they follow us around the house, sitting next to us when we are sad, and even matching our yawns. The next time your dog mimics your yawn, it may be their way of saying they love you.
If your dog seems to yawn excessively around other dogs, it may be their way of avoiding conflict. Yawning can be a sign of submission to other dogs, meaning a dog may yawn if they are trying to appear passive or non-threatening. This can occur when a dog is first meeting a new dog, or if their playtime has become too rough.
The next time your pup meets or plays with a new furry friend, watch out for any yawning during their interaction. This can be an interesting way to determine their limits when playing with others, and help you understand their social behaviors a bit more.
Similar to yawning in stressful situations, your pup may also yawn when they are excited. Overwhelming excitement can be challenging for a dog to manage, causing them to bubble over in some situations. Though excitement is a wonderful thing for our pups, it can lead to common signs of anxiety if they become extremely overworked.
For example, if you play a long game of fetch when you get home each day, they may be thrilled the moment you walk in the door. You may see them circling and pacing with happiness, and even yawning from time to time. This is a normal reaction in our canine friends, and should subside once they engage in the activity they are awaiting.
Just like humans, dogs can get confused. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see a dog yawn when they are going through certain types of obedience training. When you are issuing a new command, often times they don’t fully understand what’s being asked of them. It takes repetition before they actually learn what you are telling them that you want them to do.
As a result, you might see yawning behavior. This isn’t necessarily frustration, but just being a little confused about the new command. Once you’ve gone through the appropriate steps, your dog should stop this behavior and start executing the commands instead. For dogs that are stubborn, or considered of lower intelligence, it may take a few more repetitions to learn commands.
Yawning is a normal behavior that you see in both humans and dogs. An occasional yawn when your pup is tired is to be expected, and shouldn’t warrant any concern. It’s completely normal for your dog to yawn. But there are some situations that should cause you to think twice.
If you notice that excessive yawning in any situation, it may be a sign that they need to step away and calm down. While this can be curative for dogs with situational anxiety, it becomes more challenging when this occurs in your home. If you find your pup yawning in rapid succession in the comfort of your home, it may be time to assess your home for any potential triggers.
Stress in dogs can be triggered by a sudden change of environment, new pets in the home, the sudden absence of a loved one, and more. Identifying the source of your dog’s anxiety may help you bring your pup comfort. It can also help put an end to frequent yawning. If you cannot determine the cause of their stress, it may be time to contact a professional trainer or veterinarian for guidance.
Upon closer examination, a yawn accompanied by a sigh could definitely be representative of deep contentment. Or a yawn earmarked by a shriek could be indicative of pain. To truly understand what our dogs are trying to tell us we must determine what type of sound our dog is making then search for the reason behind it. Make no mistake when it comes to dogs, a yawn does not always mean that your dog is tired. Humans yawn to get more air into their lungs and to help provide a bit of an energy burst, but the behavior is more complicated for our furry friends. Taking the time to get to the root of what your favorite companion is trying to tell you through his yawn-y vocalizations can be a key component to truly understanding your dog and his needs. Though it is charming and quite cute to observe, it is also an important means of conveying messages that can be key to a deeper relationship with our dogs.
Many studies have been conducted to try to ascertain more information about this interesting yawn chain reaction. The conclusions have been that our dogs do indeed respond to yawns with yawning of their own. The intensity of the yawning and its accompanying noises are reflective of the mood of the dog at the time of the yawn response. It could also be suggested that if our own yawn contained a melodious tune or two that Fido might be more predisposed to responding in kind. Noisy yawns are but one way our canine counterparts choose to communicate with us. Dogs also make use of barking, whining, howling, growling, shrieking, moaning, and groaning as ways to express their emotions and needs. These are important to consider as many of these sounds could be the very noise your dog is using to communicate with you when accompanied by a yawn.
Do Fidos yawn-y vocalizations make you feel like youre at the opera? You are not alone. Enjoy the melodious sounds but be sure to take some time to consider the message attached to the yawn. Your relationship with Fido will be deeper and more meaningful for it. Though there are many possible intents behind the yawn, our dogs vocal expressions are an endearing means of communication for us to enjoy.
One consistent factor we see is that yawning seems to be a mode of communication that is primarily intended for human rather than canine interaction. The astute owner will pay close attention to not just the noises the dog makes but also to what is happening at the time of the yawn to best understand what their beloved pooch is trying to communicate to them. If yawning is a means of communication and it can be fairly assessed that it is also a means of obtaining attention, we have to ask ourselves what our dogs are actually trying to say. We have seen that dogs yawn for attention, because of stress, and to display appeasement signals. But are there other things our dogs are trying to tell us with their yawning expressions whether vocal or non-vocal? The answer is definitively yes. Vocalized yawns and their silent counterparts are a means of expression that can be as varied as the vocal range of an opera singer. They are a sophisticated means of communication. Whether the yawns find their origins in stress or anxiety or are simply a natural reaction to their humans yawns, it would seem that any accompanying vocalizations are intended to deepen the strength of the message. Consider them canine exclamation points at the end of a heartfelt sentence. Contagious yawning is a phenomenon that is common in both humans and canines.
Since our dogs primary mode of communication is via mouthing, pawing, and sounds, it is highly likely that the noises that accompany a yawn are meant to convey a message. Interpreting the motives behind the message can be more challenging for us to discern. The truth is, yawning noises can be indicative of a lot of different things. For some dogs, a yawn is their version of a vocal stretch. They yawn, and the ensuing sounds help them to warm up their vocal cords and provide a welcome release for them. These types of yawns are more common after a full nights sleep when the body and the barker have been in “hibernation” mode for many hours. It is your dogs attempt to “wake” things up and get ready for the day. Some dogs adopt yawning noises as a means to gain their owners attention. Our ears are naturally attuned to pick up on sounds, and our dogs quickly learn that the quickest way to gain an audience with us by making noise.