
Tired dog lovers who think their pet pooch is yawning right along with them may just be right, according to a Japanese study. Dubbed "contagious yawning", the new research says man's best friend can sense human fatigue and, in a possible show of empathy, will join humans in a big yawn. Canines yawn more often when it's their owner who's involved, added the study conducted by researchers at Tokyo and Kyoto universities, which was published in US science journal PLOS One this week. "Our study suggests that contagious yawning in dogs is emotionally connected in a way similar to humans," said Teresa Romero of the University of Tokyo who led the study. Romero's team measured the dogs' heart rate while observing their response to human yawning. She said this allowed researchers to rule out the possibility that the dog yawns were just a stress response. The study observed two dozen canines to see how they reacted both to their owners and to unfamiliar humans. The people involved in the experiment also made other facial expressions to see if the dogs sensed the difference. "The occurrence of yawn contagion was significantly higher during the yawning condition than during the control mouth movements," the study said, adding that "the dogs yawned more frequently when watching the familiar model than the unfamiliar one". Similar behaviour has been seen in primates including chimpanzees, it said, adding that contagious yawning in humans is associated with activity in the part of the brain responsible for feelings of empathy.
GMT 10:54 2018 Sunday ,02 December
Egypt wins membership of World Water Council board of governorsGMT 13:57 2018 Thursday ,29 November
UN weather agency: 2018 is fourth hottest year on recordGMT 07:52 2018 Thursday ,15 November
Massive meteorite crater discovered under Greenland ice-sheetGMT 14:25 2018 Sunday ,28 October
Indonesia quake losses soar to 1.2 billion dollarsGMT 07:44 2018 Wednesday ,24 October
Hurricane Willa gathers speed on way to Mexico's coastGMT 09:11 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
Sri Lanka, Germany top Lonely Planet's destination list for in 2019GMT 19:48 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Oil slick off China coast trebles in sizeGMT 13:38 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Spotted hyena returns to Gabon park after 20 yearsMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor