Have you ever noticed your dog yawning shortly after you pet them or just after seeing you yawn? It's a behavior that many dog parents find endearing, but what if it holds a deeper significance?

Dogs will yawn when they are feeling anxious or are in a stressful situation. Also, a more passive dog may yawn in response to a more aggressive dog to break up the potential conflict. On the ...

More importantly, the researchers write, your dog catching your yawn is a sign of basic empathy. Dogs are believed to empathize with us in other ways as well. A University of Helsinki study ...

Research supports this idea, with studies showing that domesticated dogs yawn more frequently when they observe their owners yawning than when they observe strangers (Miller et al., 2016).

Here are some fast facts on why we yawn and why yawning can be contagious – even between dogs and humans and over the phone. This reflex occurs most often due to state change, i.e. during ...