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Monday, September 15, 2008

Can dogs catch yawns? Yip!- CLICK HERE!

Sleepy dog? See the New Heated Bolster Bed for Pets

I read an article this morning that I found fascinating. Not because of the results of this study - but because it took scientific experiments to prove this.

In a nutshell, over in London, they did a study that proved that dogs have empathy towards humans by showing that they will mimic a human's yawning behavior:

The study of 29 dogs was conducted at the University of London in two stages. First, each dog watched a male researcher perform a large yawn, and then, in the control portion of the experiment, the dogs took turns observing the same researcher merely open his mouth.

Seventy-two percent, or 21 of the 29 dogs, yawned after watching the researcher yawn -- higher than the 45% to 60% rate reported in humans and the 33% rate reported in chimps

So now we know, our dogs have empathy towards are feelings.

I did my own experiment at home this morning. Sat down next to Jake and yawned. He yawned back. Called him in my office, looked at him and yawned. He yawned back. Next, I laid down next to him on the floor and yawned. He licked my face.

2 out of 3 ain't bad :)

Study after study, no matter how they slice the scientific evidence - the verdict comes back the same - dogs are good for humans and humans are good for dogs.

Since we are on the subject of dog yawning here is a tip that I heard recently:

If you want your pet to stop bothering you or jumping near you, yawn at least 3 times in quick succession. Animals yawn when they're tired (or as we learned above .. when you yarn). But they also yawn several times in a row to let you and any other animals know they're stressed or nervous. So, when your dog gets frisky, yawn like crazy to tell them "I'm tense, so give me a break."

Labels: Dog Yarning, Heated Dog Bed