Yawning has perplexed scientists and researchers for decades. But humans aren\u2019t the only species subject to yawning. Dogs (and rats and parakeets) have also been known to unwillingly open their mouths, inhaling in a gesture of exhaustion. But why do dogs yawn and what does yawning really mean in dogs? Is it truly about tiredness, sending oxygen to the brain \u2026 or is it something more complex?<\/p>\n
\u201cDogs, just like people, will yawn when they are tired,\u201d explains Sara Ochoa, DVM, of DogLab<\/a>. But is that really all there is to the phenomenon of dog yawning?<\/p>\n Why do dogs yawn when they’re tired? And when they don’t like something? Photography by Sergey Gerashchenko \/ Shutterstock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Why do dogs yawn when they\u2019re tired? As Dr. Ochoa explains, dogs yawn when they are tired the same way that humans do. According to WebMD<\/a>, yawning stretches the jaw, therefore increasing blood flow in the neck, face and head. The intake of breath is deeper than \u201cnormal\u201d breathing, which causes a downward flow of the spinal fluid and blood from the brain. The cooler air that is inhaled during yawning enters the mouth, cooling the spinal fluid and blood.<\/p>\n Scientists speculate that the reasoning for this seemingly involuntary intake of cool air might be to cool down blood in the brain that\u2019s too hot. Those fluids trickle down, bringing cooler blood from the lungs to the extremities. So, more than yawning being about exhaustion, it might very well may be about body temperature. Of course, yawning is also a part of fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201c[In dogs], this is them stretching their facial muscles and trying to keep themselves awake,\u201d Dr. Ochoa says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a less common question … but why do dogs yawn when they\u2019re not pleased? Dog yawning happens often during training<\/a> or traveling<\/a> or sometimes even on a walk<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Ochoa, it\u2019s no coincidence. Dogs tend to yawn when they\u2019re less-than-thrilled about what you\u2019re asking of them.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is them showing that they do not like something. They may be more stressed [in a particular situation],\u201d Dr. Ochoa adds.<\/p>\n As you can imagine, that often makes for a lot of yawning during training class.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a dog is yawning in training class, he is either tired or bored,\u201d Dr. Ochoa says. \u201cIt can be a good sign or a bad sign.\u201d<\/p>\n Other reasons dogs can yawn might be stress or anxiety. In situations like traveling or even in obedience class, dogs might experience levels of stress<\/a> or anxiousness<\/a>. Another situation in which dogs commonly yawn? At the vet.<\/p>\n \u201cYour dog may be stressed or nervous. We will see dogs who come into the veterinary office for exams that will yawn,\u201d Dr. Ochoa explains.<\/p>\n Of course, differentiating which yawn is which is the hard part.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your dog is tired, that is the goal of the training class,\u201d Dr. Ochoa says. \u201cYou know that your dog may not want to do any more training. If your dog is bored at training, you may need to change your training to something more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Alternatively, a tired dog might indicate a dog that listens more readily than a highly-energized one. (They say to bring your pup to the dog park before training class for a reason, right?!)<\/p>\n Yawning in dogs is as much an enigma as it is in humans. While yawning is common in most vertebraed species, we can\u2019t be entirely sure of why either we or animals yawn. There are indications, of course \u2014 exhaustion, a need for cooler blood and fluid in the brain, not liking something or boredom \u2014 but until more is known about yawning in all species, we pretty much have to take it as it comes.<\/p>\n For both humans and dogs, that means an inability to stop yawns.<\/p>\n \u201cYawning cannot be stopped or prevented just like in people,\u201d Dr. Ochoa concludes. \u201cIf you are tired, you cannot help but yawn.\u201d<\/p>\n Same goes for Fido!<\/p>\n Thumbnail: Photography \u00a9 Przemys\u0142aw Iciak | iStock \/ Getty Images Plus.<\/em><\/p>\n Stephanie Osmanski is a freelance writer and social media consultant who specializes in health and wellness content. Her words have appeared in Seventeen, Whole Dog Journal, Parents Magazine and more. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Stony Brook Southampton and writing a memoir. She lives in New York with her Pomsky, Koda, who is an emotional support animal training to be a certified therapy dog.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Why Do Dogs Yawn? It\u2019s More Complicated Than You Think<\/a> by Stephanie Osmanski<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Why Do Dogs Yawn? It\u2019s More Complicated Than You Think<\/a> by Stephanie Osmanski<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Yawning has perplexed scientists and researchers for decades. But humans aren\u2019t the only species subject to yawning. Dogs (and rats and parakeets) have also been known to unwillingly open their mouths, inhaling in a gesture of exhaustion. But why do dogs yawn and what does yawning really mean in dogs? Is it truly about tiredness, sending oxygen to the brain \u2026 or is it something more complex?<\/p>\n \u201cDogs, just like people, will yawn when they are tired,\u201d explains Sara Ochoa, DVM, of DogLab<\/a>. But is that really all there is to the phenomenon of dog yawning?<\/p>\n Why do dogs yawn when they’re tired? And when they don’t like something? Photography by Sergey Gerashchenko \/ Shutterstock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Why do dogs yawn when they\u2019re tired? As Dr. Ochoa explains, dogs yawn when they are tired the same way that humans do. According to WebMD<\/a>, yawning stretches the jaw, therefore increasing blood flow in the neck, face and head. The intake of breath is deeper than \u201cnormal\u201d breathing, which causes a downward flow of the spinal fluid and blood from the brain. The cooler air that is inhaled during yawning enters the mouth, cooling the spinal fluid and blood.<\/p>\n Scientists speculate that the reasoning for this seemingly involuntary intake of cool air might be to cool down blood in the brain that\u2019s too hot. Those fluids trickle down, bringing cooler blood from the lungs to the extremities. So, more than yawning being about exhaustion, it might very well may be about body temperature. Of course, yawning is also a part of fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201c[In dogs], this is them stretching their facial muscles and trying to keep themselves awake,\u201d Dr. Ochoa says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a less common question … but why do dogs yawn when they\u2019re not pleased? Dog yawning happens often during training<\/a> or traveling<\/a> or sometimes even on a walk<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Ochoa, it\u2019s no coincidence. Dogs tend to yawn when they\u2019re less-than-thrilled about what you\u2019re asking of them.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is them showing that they do not like something. They may be more stressed [in a particular situation],\u201d Dr. Ochoa adds.<\/p>\n As you can imagine, that often makes for a lot of yawning during training class.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a dog is yawning in training class, he is either tired or bored,\u201d Dr. Ochoa says. \u201cIt can be a good sign or a bad sign.\u201d<\/p>\n Other reasons dogs can yawn might be stress or anxiety. In situations like traveling or even in obedience class, dogs might experience levels of stress<\/a> or anxiousness<\/a>. Another situation in which dogs commonly yawn? At the vet.<\/p>\n \u201cYour dog may be stressed or nervous. We will see dogs who come into the veterinary office for exams that will yawn,\u201d Dr. Ochoa explains.<\/p>\n Of course, differentiating which yawn is which is the hard part.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your dog is tired, that is the goal of the training class,\u201d Dr. Ochoa says. \u201cYou know that your dog may not want to do any more training. If your dog is bored at training, you may need to change your training to something more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Alternatively, a tired dog might indicate a dog that listens more readily than a highly-energized one. (They say to bring your pup to the dog park before training class for a reason, right?!)<\/p>\n Yawning in dogs is as much an enigma as it is in humans. While yawning is common in most vertebraed species, we can\u2019t be entirely sure of why either we or animals yawn. There are indications, of course \u2014 exhaustion, a need for cooler blood and fluid in the brain, not liking something or boredom \u2014 but until more is known about yawning in all species, we pretty much have to take it as it comes.<\/p>\n For both humans and dogs, that means an inability to stop yawns.<\/p>\n \u201cYawning cannot be stopped or prevented just like in people,\u201d Dr. Ochoa concludes. \u201cIf you are tired, you cannot help but yawn.\u201d<\/p>\n Same goes for Fido!<\/p>\n Thumbnail: Photography \u00a9 Przemys\u0142aw Iciak | iStock \/ Getty Images Plus.<\/em><\/p>\n Stephanie Osmanski is a freelance writer and social media consultant who specializes in health and wellness content. Her words have appeared in Seventeen, Whole Dog Journal, Parents Magazine and more. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Stony Brook Southampton and writing a memoir. She lives in New York with her Pomsky, Koda, who is an emotional support animal training to be a certified therapy dog.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Why Do Dogs Yawn? It\u2019s More Complicated Than You Think<\/a> by Stephanie Osmanski<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy\u00a0do\u00a0dogs\u00a0yawn\u00a0when they\u2019re tired?<\/h3>\n
![\"Pug](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/shutterstock_378162241.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhy\u00a0do\u00a0dogs\u00a0yawn\u00a0when they don\u2019t like something?<\/h3>\n
Why else\u00a0do\u00a0dogs\u00a0yawn?<\/h3>\n
How do you figure out the answer to, \u201cWhy do dogs yawn?\u201d<\/h3>\n
How can pet parents stop dog yawning?<\/h3>\n
About the author<\/a><\/h3>\n
Read more about dog behavior on Dogster.com:<\/h3>\n
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Why\u00a0do\u00a0dogs\u00a0yawn\u00a0when they\u2019re tired?<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nWhy\u00a0do\u00a0dogs\u00a0yawn\u00a0when they don\u2019t like something?<\/h3>\n
Why else\u00a0do\u00a0dogs\u00a0yawn?<\/h3>\n
How do you figure out the answer to, \u201cWhy do dogs yawn?\u201d<\/h3>\n
How can pet parents stop dog yawning?<\/h3>\n
About the author<\/a><\/h3>\n
Read more about dog behavior on Dogster.com:<\/h3>\n
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