Yawning

[MissGuardian]

My guys always yawn when they wake up. I don't think I've ever seen them do it any other time, though.

As a side note, yawning in dogs can also be a sign of stress and even an impending bite if the dog feels threatened. So don't assume that a yawn from a dog means he's relaxed, take everything into consideration and always be careful. I know my dog always yawns continuously when he's stressed (like at the vets or groomers). When I worked as a groomer, I spent the whole day yawning just from watching all the dogs yawn.

As far as I recall, they use the yawning to calm themselves or the surroundings down..

 

[Moon]

Yawning is a calming signal/stress reaction. Yawning is one of the first body language cues taught at behavioural seminars and stuff since people always confuse it with our yawns.

For example, many dogs at the daycare who are heavy barkers will give me a big yawn after I've told them to "No bark" during a bad barking fit. They know what I am asking, WANT to keep barking, and the yawn is a physical response since they are stopping themselves.

I'll see if I can find anything specific about it, but yawning is also listed as a sign of stress in humans! Something to do with making up for oxygen your body isn't getting when you breathe shallowly due to stress....

 

[lizmo1221]

This video I found on youtube (incedentally last week) sums it up pretty well, and goes beyond yawning to other common calming signals in dogs. Made by a dog trainer who seems pretty knowledgeable. Its long, but gives a lot of good info.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgnLgHFRJu4

 

[jorats]

Oh I see what you mean now... Very interesting, I'll have to keep an eye on Gypsy to see when she does it and whats happening to her at that moment. Should I be concerned if there's too much yawning by the dog. ( oh boy, I've really highjacked this thread)

 

[MissGuardian]

This video I found on youtube (incedentally last week) sums it up pretty well, and goes beyond yawning to other common calming signals in dogs. Made by a dog trainer who seems pretty knowledgeable. Its long, but gives a lot of good info.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgnLgHFRJu4

That´s what I meant.. She also mentioned Turid Rugaas, which is the person who wrote the book I´ve read about it in

 

[jorats]

I just watched the video... I think Gypsy is telling me to leave her alone.

 

[Dahlas]

I just watched the video... I think Gypsy is telling me to leave her alone.

LOL I am sure she is not telling you that Jo.....

 

[MMak]

I don't believe we'll ever know what it truly means... there seems to be no hard-proof evidence behind any of it, they are all theories, really...

I know in horses (besides watching for them to "lick & chew", lower their head, etc) many tend to see yawning as just a release of tension, relaxation and it's seen as a GOOD thing.

 

[Petunia]

I'm still looking for that info on yawning being a greeting in rats but I did have a tiny bit more to add on yawning in general

there was a discussion on a radio program about this once and they said that it they are sure it has a social meaning for people, not just simply trying to get more oxygen to your brain.
They were saying that when one person yawns its very common for others to also yawn.

They theorize that the original reason for yawning in our ancestors (apes) was that they detected some threat, and yawned to get more oxygen to their brains so they'd be ready to respond. Other apes would see the one yawning and do the same, to get ready for some threat that they were as yet unaware of, but warned of by the monkey who first yawned.

I would suspect that there are many different reasons for yawning, and not just a single one, and that it varies from one species to another. Just my opinion there.

I take a medication that causes yawning, and I don't really know why, the medication increases seratonin sp? in the brain

But I also find that I yawn more when I am on the phone and this may be partly due to my TMJ- the yawning helps to relieve the pressure of the phone against that joint.

I also yawn more when I am relaxed...

very interesting topic! I hope that we can find out more.

I still think my rats yawn in a friendly glad to see you way....... :giggle:

 

[Unepuce]

I know, I am ressucitating an old thread. But I was researching yawning and although I also searched Google, this description is the best match to what I was looking for:

What is interesting is that everytime I go to see my rats, they turn to me and yawn in my direction. If I am near they would sometimes go out of their way to turn around at my face and yawn at me. So I have nodoubt that this yawning does mean something.

My Émilie, who is turning 1 year old this month, has abruptly calmed her frantic ways for a few weeks now. She's still active and a complete rat girl who stashes and nests and bosses her men around, but she is now more interested in us humans, and it feels like she actually does enjoy some attention (short spans!) from us. What I also noticed is that she now yawns when I come up to the cage and she's alone and relaxed, mostly when she is in the Circus by herself. I know it's not a sleepy yawn, I was wondering whether it was a greeting yawn or a "don't disturb me" yawn, obviously hoping for the first...

Do you have similar experience with your rats? What does it come out as to you?

 

[Petunia]

My rats have always seemed to yawn as a greeting when they are happy or relaxed. I've never had a nervous rat or scared rat yawn around me, and the boys I have now didn't yawn that I saw, anyway, til they were more comfortable with me.

 

[jorats]

Having had rats since 2002, I've observed them a lot and to be quite honest, I have never been able to connect yawning to greeting. In dogs we know that yawning is appeasement, in humans, it's sleepy but also when you have indigestion. I would think more that yawning is a reaction to a feeling, so either sleepy or what? If it was a greeting, then we would all have rats yawning all the time and we don't. It could be a reaction to comfort though, like snuggly comfort. I've never related it to anything bad, or like in dogs appeasement.

 

[Ratlover2013]

I find my rats always yawn when they are all comfy and cozy.

 

[Unepuce]

There was still something bugging me when I posted last night, and I just put my finger on it now.

What really triggered the question is that these yawns I refer to really don't look "natural", like our sleepy yawns, or their stretchy yawns. It's a different, very deliberate yawn that really seem to carry some meaning. Every single time I have gotten those yawns, no matter the rat, I was intensely looked at before and after and clearly felt they were trying to say something.

At some point, I was wondering whether it was related to pain? I never thought so before, but I think Princesse did give me a few in her last weeks...

 

[jorats]

I could definitely see a yawn, one that is not triggered by being tired or waking but one meaning pure contentment.