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Last Updated on January 22, 2024 by Thee Puppypreneur
WHY DO DOGS YAWN
Why do dogs yawn? Dog yawning is a sign of body language and one of the many ways your dog communicates with you. By observing your dog and his body language you can get a better understanding of how your furry friend is feeling.
The body language of dogs is so vast but to name a few; like yawning, air licking, facial expressions, body posture. These all have to do with your dog’s state of mind and how they are feeling.
DOG YAWNING MEANING
- Tired
- Boredom
- Stress/Anxiety
- Contagious
- Digestive issue
Your dog could be yawning for several different reasons. The most obvious reason is simply that your dog is tired. This is normal as you and I do this when we wake up or before we are going to bed and so do dogs.
Boredom is another reason for dog yawning. When dogs become bored or disinterested in a situation, they will yawn to let you know that they are over the situation.
This could also be stress related or anxiety related. For example, let’s say you are at a park where there are lots of children running around and screaming, you look over and notice your dog is now sitting by you but yawning a lot.
This is your queue that your dog is not about the situation and could be stressed out by the children running or screaming. This could be causing your dog unnecessary stress. This can happen in many situations that dogs are not familiar with.
A study hypothesized that dogs yawning could be contagious and therefore could elicit a response from humans. In the study they found that
“human yawning elicited yawns in 72 per cent of the dogs tested, which is higher than the rate reported in humans (45–60%)” 1Joly-Mascheroni, R. M., Senju, A., & Shepherd, A. J. (2008). Dogs catch human yawns. Biology letters, 4(5), 446–448. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0333
Which proves that yes, yawning is contagious.
MY DOG IS YAWING A LOT
If your ever wondering why does my dog yawn so much? This could be a sign that your dog is stressed out and or is uncomfortable. Don’t worry too much if you see your dog yawning more than once a day, unless it’s minute after minute then this is something you should take notice of and address.
For me personally, I had been dealing with my fur kid’s allergy symptoms and every time we would change a food ingredient there would be a different body language she would exhibit.
When I changed to one ingredient in particular, I noticed my fur kid would go to the grass and then start yawning a couple times in a row and then would eat some grass. This told me the yawning was part of some stressor related to her digestion (as when she ate the grass I realized why she was yawning).
DOG SUPPLEMENTS FOR STRESSORS
If your dog is yawning a lot and for things that make him stressed out such as car rides, fireworks or children. There is
these bites contain valerian root often referred to as nature’s valium and ashwagandha which is another great herb for stress relief, and they have another option that contains melatonin as well to help promote sleep.
My other choice for a calming treat for those of you who might have a dog allergic to specific protein or flavoring such as turkey, this organic treat is made from a novel cricket protein along with hemp seed.
contain chamomile, valerian and ashwagandha as well but there is smoke flavoring instead of turkey.
Ashwagandha is known to help improve thyroid levels so if your dog is hyperthyroid the last thing you want to do is increase their thyroid levels more.
You will want to make sure that these supplements don’t interfere with any other conditions your dog may have or medications they are taking. As always please consult with a veterinarian before starting anything new in your pet’s life.
Check out our other article on other dog behavior your furbaby might be trying to tell you, such as;
