Dogs yawn often when they see a person yawning, and are more responsive towards their owner’s yawns than to a stranger’s, a research has suggested.
In the study by Teresa Romero and colleagues from the University of Tokyo, pet dogs watched their owner or a stranger yawn, or mimic a yawning mouth movement, but yawned significantly more in response to their owners’ actions than to the strangers’ yawns.
The dogs also responded less frequently to the fake movements, suggesting they have the ability to yawn contagiously.