WEBVTT - Why Do Dogs Yawn?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Seger. I've got to come clean. I like dogs.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, I own to My dog, Winchester does this

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<v Speaker 1>thing whenever I get home from work, where he's super

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>just tired, or maybe he's waking up. I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>but he seems pretty delighted. And yawning is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the primary ways dogs communicate in their whole complicated system

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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 breathe there and just chill out, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Yawns have no element of fear or aggression for dogs.

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<v Speaker 1>It's 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 yawns at each other.

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<v Speaker 1>Check out the Brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more

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