Dogs Can Catch Yawns, Too

Okay, I KNOW I can't be the only one who immediately ran off to yawn at her dog after reading this ...

this does work: I had a friend who would yawn to get her dog (black lab) to calm down around 8:00 each night... he dog would immediately start yawning, then go to his crate shortly after.

I wonder if Russian scientists got their two-headed dogs to yawn in sync.

I don't know about this one...my understanding is that dogs yawn when they're anxious. I don't know who is interpreting what here: they might be just freaking the dogs out a little bit. As far as being the first study to show empathy in dogs, that's certainly not true. If they could proveably demonstrate self-awareness, that'd be something (not that I doubt it myself).

Chris

Ok, so I know that scientists don't know exactly why we yawn, but one of the theory's about it being related to oxygen intake sounds pretty good to me. I mean, when you're tired your breathing becomes more shallow so you're getting less oxygen, and so you yawn. In a stuffy room full of people there's less oxygen and people start yawning (and feeling tired, but I think they're all linked). If you feel like you're going to yawn, a couple of deep breaths will stop the yawn from coming.

That makes sense to me.

But when you're looking at contagious yawning, wouldn't everyone be in the same room? And therefore affected by the same oxygen levels? It's not that I don't think contagious yawning exists, I'm just not sure I trust experiements where they heven't made mention of oxygen levels, and/or monitored the breathing rates of all involved.

Of course, I could be totally wrong :)

You guys know that other sites are identifying this woman as a former beauty queen who kidnapped and raped a Mormon missionary?

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24144138-2703,00.html

Oops, way wrong article... I thought this was about the lady who cloned her dog.

Marie,
they did a control group to show that when the human did not yawn, none of the dogs yawned

I'm a dog walker, and walk 22 dogs a day and I can attest to this. Happens all the time to me.

No stacy, I will try it too.

Dogs yawn because it's a pack behavior that relieves anxiety. Since you're part of their pack, if you yawn, they will also yawn...but not because it's contagious, they're telling you to calm down.

Perhaps humans did it for the same reason once, long ago, and the visceral memory remains.

Why on earth cn I not read anything on this page without yawning. Fiddlesticks! I couldnt even type the word without yawning!

I my fish tank was unaffected, more research is needed. Got to love grant money.