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When we yawn, it usually means we’re tired, bored, or caught a “contagious” yawn from someone else. But for our four-legged friends, yawning doesn’t always mean sleepy.
In fact, dogs can use yawning as a way to communicate with other dogs and us about how they are feeling. We spoke with two expert vets and a dog behaviorist who helped us identify how to decipher dog yawns.
Read on to what dog yawns mean and how a dog’s dog body language supports that interpretation.
7 Reasons Why Dogs Yawn
1. Stress relief
Yawning can sometimes act as a self-soothing mechanism for dogs, says Qiai Chong, pet behaviorist and co-founder of Pet Coach Singapore. She explains that yawning can slow a dog’s breathing, which can help them calm down in stressful situations.
Stress yawns are usually accompanied by other signs, like cowering, panting, pacing, or hiding, adds Dr. Shannon Barrett, Charleston-based house-call veterinarian and owner of Downward Paws.
2. Happiness
“Yawns are as ‘contagious’ for dogs as they are for people,” explains Nell Ostermeier, DVM, a veterinarian and veterinary advisor at OnePack Plan. In these cases, your dog may yawn as a sign that they feel relaxed and safe with you.
Dr. Barrett says that a “happy yawn” from your dog will be slow and relaxed without any whining or growling.
3. Boredom
Just like you might yawn during a boring work meeting, your dog can yawn when they’re not properly challenged or mentally stimulated. Bored dogs often make their own fun, like chowing down on your underwear or digging through the trash.
If your dog yawns out of boredom, Dr. Barrett suggests looking for other signs like pacing, chewing, or digging.
4. Excitement
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Dr. Barrett says that dogs can yawn when they’re over excited about something fun – like going for a walk or playing fetch.
She adds that an excited dog will show other signs of happiness or excitement, like tail wagging, play bowing, or showing you their tummies.
5. Communicating with other dogs
Chong says that when your dog feels threatened, such as when meeting an unfamiliar dog, they may yawn to appease the other dog. This behavior is known as a calming signal. The yawning dog is trying to say they’re friendly and don’t want any trouble.
“Yawning in this context is often accompanied by signs such as a tucked tail, lowered posture, or avoidance behaviors,” Chong adds. Weirdly enough, dogs may also sneeze during play to say the same thing!
6. Empathetic mimicry
As mentioned above, Dr. Ostermeier mentioned that dogs yawn contagiously. Research shows that dogs do participate in contagious yawning. In a 2013 study, they suggested that the contagiousness of yawned could be dependent on how emotionally close a dog felt to the person.
In other words, a dog may yawn because they feel bonded to you.
7. Sleepiness
Of course, sometimes the reason behind a dog’s yawn is the most obvious explanation: They’re sleepy or tired.
“This kind of yawn is calm and accompanied by slow breathing, a relaxed body, and maybe even a stretch,” says Chong.
How to Respond to Your Dog’s Yawn
In most cases, your dog doesn’t need special attention for yawning. However, responding appropriately to your dog’s yawn could also improve your relationship, especially with puppies. For example, if a puppy yawns and you can they are tired, leaving them alone is your way of communicating you understand them.
Here is a cheat sheet outlining behaviors and how to respond to them:
Accompanying behavior | Meaning | Action |
Ears pinned back, panting, pacing, cowering | Stress or fear | Deploy stress-relieving measures or anxiety training. |
Wagging tail, relaxed body language, play bowing, | Happiness or excitement | Engage in play, pets, or other rewarding activities. |
Relaxed body language | Tiredness | Let them sleep or cuddle up |
Digging, chewing, pacing. | Boredom | Give them more mental stimulation, like walks or puzzle toys |
Tucked tail, lowered posture. | Appeasing a strange dog | Watch the dogs closely and intervene if one dog shows signs of aggression. |
Can a Dog Yawn Too Much or Too Often?
Most of the time, a yawn is not any cause for concern. That said, a dog who yawns and acts lethargic during the day may not be getting enough sleep. “If dogs cannot sleep, there is likely a medical reason,” Dr. Ostermeier explains.
Common medical reasons that could cause doggie insomnia may include the following:
- Anxiety: If your dog is anxious or afraid of something in their environment, they may spend their nights on patrol instead of cuddled up in bed. Dogs with separation anxiety may also be reluctant to bed down without their person.
- Arthritis: Dogs with achy joints may not be able to get comfortable in their dog beds and move around a lot as a result.
- Cognitive difficulties: Dogs with dementia can experience disruptions in their sleep-wake cycle. They may experience a type of “sundowning” and pace the house or bark at nothing.
- Stomach upset: A dog with diarrhea may need to poop more often and disrupt their sleep schedule.
- Skin issues: Dogs who have itchy skin due to fleas or allergies may spend all night restlessly scratching. If something is irritating their paws, like a splinter or foxtail, they may try to lick it out since they’re too uncomfortable to sleep.
- UTIs: A urinary tract infection (UTI) can cause your dog to take more trips in the middle of the night.
When to see a vet
Chong and Barrett suggest keeping an eye on them for any additional symptoms or behavioral changes, including:
- Barking excessively
- Changes in appetite
- Lethargy
- Paw licking
- Restlessness
- Yawning while eating or drinking
If your dog’s uptick in yawning comes with any of these behaviors, it’s worth consulting a vet for guidance.
Is It Yawning or “Fly Biting?”
Additionally, Dr. Barrett cautions that yawning can sometimes resemble a behavior called “fly biting”. Fly biting is a weird, compulsive behavior when your dog bites at the air as if they’re trying to catch a fly.
“[Fly biting] can signal gastrointestinal or neurological issues, so I always recommend taking a video of your dog for your vet,” Dr. Barrett advises.
This way, if your dog isn’t yawning or fly biting at the clinic, your vet can still help you tell the difference.
Remember Yawning Is Communication
It’s rare but possible for dogs to yawn excessively or out of a need for sleep. If your dog isn’t getting enough sleep, there may be an underlying medical concern. If you can, video record the accompanying behaviors for your vet so that they can observe the same behaviors as you do.
In most cases, however, yawning is perfectly normal behavior that tells you about your dog’s current state. By combining dog body language and context clues, you’ll be able to know if your dog is stressed, tired, relaxed, content, or bored. To learn how to combine different dog behaviors, read our guide on body language, ear positions, tail meanings, and calming signals.