WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Do Dogs Yawn?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. Lauren vog Obam here with another classic episode

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<v Speaker 1>from our former host, Christian Sager. This one is about

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<v Speaker 1>one of my favorite topics that's something of a mystery

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<v Speaker 1>to science, dog psychology, and more specifically, social yawning. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, it's Christian Sager. I've got to come clean.

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<v Speaker 1>I like dogs. In fact, I own to my dog, Winchester,

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<v Speaker 1>does this thing whenever I get home from work, where

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<v Speaker 1>he's super excited and he's jumping around all happy, and

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<v Speaker 1>then he starts yawning for some reason. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe he's just tired, or maybe he's waking up. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, but he seems pretty delighted. And yawning is

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<v Speaker 1>one of the primary ways dogs communicate in their whole

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<v Speaker 1>complicated system of subtle body language. It could mean several things.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that yawning is actually the first expression

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<v Speaker 1>dogs learn to use when they're tiny puppies, So it

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<v Speaker 1>has multiple meanings depending on the situation a dog is in.

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<v Speaker 1>Dogs usually yawn when they want to send a pacifying

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<v Speaker 1>or calming signal out to other dogs or people, like, Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>let's take a breather and just chill out. Okay. Yawns

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<v Speaker 1>have no element of fear or aggression for dogs. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like the exact opposite of a threat. So imagine this.

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<v Speaker 1>You're in a fistfight and all you have to do

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<v Speaker 1>is just be like, yeawn, nothing dangerous or intimidating here,

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<v Speaker 1>just I'm I'm like bored. But wait, why would my

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<v Speaker 1>dog do that to me? Okay? Sometimes dogs yawn when

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<v Speaker 1>they're getting obedience training. If a dog is frustrated, he

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<v Speaker 1>might be asking you to give him a little break,

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<v Speaker 1>That is, if he sees you as the dominant one

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<v Speaker 1>in your relationship. It could also mean that your dog

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<v Speaker 1>might be just cooling off his brain. There's a veterinary

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<v Speaker 1>behaviorist at you See Davis that thinks dog brains get

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<v Speaker 1>hot during periods of inactivity. Dog brains get warm because

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<v Speaker 1>their circulation slows down, so yawning supposedly cools the arterial

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<v Speaker 1>blood down, helping the dog's brain function. There's one other

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<v Speaker 1>thing that yawning and dogs might mean. Dogs also yawn

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<v Speaker 1>when they're dealing with anxiety or uncertainty, and this includes

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<v Speaker 1>being excited. So maybe my dog is just trying to

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<v Speaker 1>control his enthusiasm. And Oh also, dogs yawn when they're

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<v Speaker 1>nervous too, Like in a VETS office. Do you yawn

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<v Speaker 1>when you're nervous? Check this out. Dogs can also catch

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<v Speaker 1>yawning from the human beings around them. You know how

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<v Speaker 1>if you yawn, then other people in the room around

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<v Speaker 1>you often start yawning. Well, that often has to do

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<v Speaker 1>with a person's capacity for empathy, you know, feeling what

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<v Speaker 1>somebody else feels. Well, there was a study about this

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<v Speaker 1>that was published in a journal called Biology Letters in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and eight, and they said twenty one out

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty nine dogs yawned at least once in response

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<v Speaker 1>to the yawn of an assistant in the room with them.

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<v Speaker 1>Human to dog yawn contagion. It sounds like the beginning

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<v Speaker 1>of a zombie movie where everyone just yawned at each other.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Christian and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>For more in this and lots of other catchy topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet how stuff Works dot com and

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