Dogs and Cats are great communicators.
Animals are very direct creatures. They are never vague or embellish. They are straightforward and consistent! We should all be that easy to understand.
With any foreign language, if you don’t learn it, you won’t know what they are saying. Dogs can be very easy to read, it is all in their body language.
In a previous post, I talked about when a dog sneezes, it is actually a response to joy.
Yawning
Yawning is also a great form of communication. When a dog yawns they are trying to calm themselves down.
If you pay attention, you will see an exaggerated open mouth yawn. Thatʼs them trying to be cool, they know they are insanely excited and that their euphoria is a little over the top. It can also be a way of expressing confusion.
Here is an example, you are working on a new obedience trick and you want your dog to understand what you are asking him to do. Learning something new can be confusing. Let’s face it, our methods of teaching are not always that clear.
If your dog is looking at you blankly, and not doing much but staring at you, you will most often see them do that exaggerated yawn. They are trying to calm themselves down because they know you are trying to explain something that they donʼt understand.
They are once again telling themselves to be cool and relax. So, if you see that yawn, stop and take a second and think if there is another way to approach? A different way that doesnʼt elicit a yawn?
Hope that helps!
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