Yawning is contagious in pets

We do it while we are in line waiting our turn, perhaps after a very unpleasant morning awakening, animals do it both domestic and wild.

It is therefore curious that by yawning, a behavior so common and shared by most vertebrate animals it is still the subject of studies by scientists who admit that they do not yet know it thoroughly.

But let’s go in order. In today’s article we will talk about yawning but try not to let yourself yawn too much. We will explain what types of yawns exist what emotional state can they indicate in dogs and cats e what their most probable meaning is according to scientists .

Yawn all you want

The first thing to say is this not all yawns are the same : there are spontaneous ones and contagious ones.

Spontaneous yawning is the easiest to identify and has a physiological function:
it therefore occurs spontaneously when the animal wants to remain more alert, perhaps fighting a certain drowsiness.

Much more interesting and mysterious is the contagious yawn which is what happens after you see or hear someone yawn. Why does this happen? In humans it’s easy: it’s about instinctive empathy towards the emotions and sensations of others but what about other animals?

In fact, we must be careful not to humanize pets and their behaviors . To find the answer, let’s now see what the emotional states linked to yawning are in the two most common species of domestic animals: the dog and the cat .

The dog’s yawn

Most of the time when a dog yawns in the presence of another animal, he does it to convey friendly feelings : it is therefore a clear relaxing signal to demonstrate it there is no intention to bully or attack.

Let’s think of a small dog protecting its food from a larger dog; in this case the latter may yawn to show that he is not interested in stealing his food.

However, there are also other situations to consider when faced with a dog’s yawning, sometimes more complex. In fact, even yawning is a self-relaxation mechanism who uses the dog both when he is happy and when he is subjected to situations of stress and tension.

They seem like two contrasting emotional states, but in reality Yawning for dogs is a universal signal aimed at inspiring peace and respect towards other animals.

As owners, we can understand if the yawn is generated by stress or tension observing the dog’s other behaviors: if the dog has low ears and tense muscles there is probably something wrong and it is better to make the dog feel comfortable, maybe even yawning.

The cat’s yawn

Even as regards the cat, yawning alone is not enough to determine the emotional state that generated it but we will also have to evaluate the other behaviors of the feline.

Generally if the cat yawns when he walks towards us or when he sees us coming home after a long day at work, he tells us he feels safe, is happy to see us and wants attention . This yawn will be often accompanied by other “positive” signals. such as rubbing near the paws or small meows.

Be careful though! Cats also use yawns to communicate other, less friendly emotional states.

For example, a cat nestled in a kennel or on our laps he may yawn just to let us know that he intends to sleep and doesn’t want to be disturbed.

Furthermore the cat also tends to yawn when nervous but, unlike the dog, he does not do it to reassure, but rather threaten the source of his stress showing his sharp teeth.

The possible meaning of contagious yawning

From what is written in the previous paragraphs we can safely affirm this the contagious yawn, i.e. the one caused by external stimuli, serves to convey emotions of various kinds.

However, this is not just something that concerns pets ; Scientists have also studied contagious yawning in chimpanzees, wolves, sheep, elephants and even lions.

The most supported theory is this Contagious yawning is an important means of communication for social animal species that is, those who collaborate in daily activities such as hunting, raising puppies and defending the herd from intruders.

Many speculate so contagious yawning connects animals on an emotional level to the point that we should rather talk about empathetic yawn . However, sufficient evidence to support this direct correlation is lacking.

According to a 2013 study, Pets yawn much more in response to their owners’ yawns than to those of strangers. This would suggest the existence of emotional harmony between pet and owner.

If you yawn and I respond to your yawn… and soon after we start behaving the same way, then this can improve our ability to decode the behavior of others even if we don’t speak the same language!

Now that we know these things…. We won’t even miss a yawn from our PET again! But let’s be careful not to overdo it!

Not all yawns have a secret meaning, perhaps that of our 4-legged friend he just needs to relax!

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