Yawning - Why?

[BoxerInSamui]

Boomer, as well as my beloved Buster (R.I.P. June 07), seems to yawn when he is either frustrated, confused, being scolded or thinks he might have done something wrong.

Am I correct in these assumptions? I do not believe it is because he is tired. Do Boxers yawn when they are tired?

Thank you,

Cord

 

[ehayes21]

Yawning is a calming signal; it's a stress release for the dog and usually a signal to you that you need to calm down.

Turid Rugaas has a wonderful book called "Calming Signals"; it explains a lot of the things we simply don't notice, but mean so much in "dog-speak" like lip licking and yawning...

 

[EAO76]

Actually it usually isn’t a sign for you to calm down but rather he is trying to relax himself and calm himself down. But either way yawning is a calming signal. Typically if your dog is yawning at odd times you can assume he is feeling stressed.

 

[ELubas]

Yawning is a calming signal; it's a stress release for the dog and usually a signal to you that you need to calm down.

Turid Rugaas has a wonderful book called "Calming Signals"; it explains a lot of the things we simply don't notice, but mean so much in "dog-speak" like lip licking and yawning...

Great book And she talks about how you can use these signals to "talk " to your pup. I have a reactive girl and it is amazing how I can "speak" to her, with yawning, lip licking, head turning, to let her know we are "okay"

 

[BoxerInSamui]

Thank you all for the information. Much appreciated!