It is clear that our body and that of dogs have many characteristics in common, and that is that we usually react in the same way to certain stimuli. An example is that we both yawn when we feel tired or sleepy, but yawning dogs also have other meanings.
And it is that they can reflect just the opposite of laziness: for them it is also a way of expressing stress and discomfort. In the latter case, several yawning in a row, and last longer than those caused by sleep. For this reason, it is common for these animals to yawn and shake when they find themselves in a new situation.
This instinctive reaction has a compelling reason, and that is that yawning causes an increase in heart rate in the dogs, a greater blood supply to the brain and enhances the oxygenation of the lungs, thus eliminating carbon dioxide from the body. With this process they renew their energies and fight nervousness.
A very striking explanation regarding the yawning of dogs is the one that concluded the study carried out last year at the University of Tokyo, which stated that dogs yawn for empathy, when they see that their owners do it. This "contagious" yawn has an emotional connection, as it is more likely to occur in reaction to the yawns of its owners than to those of strangers.
Is an irrational way of showing affection towards the people with whom they live, because this kind of yawning is given by the empathy they feel towards them. And although the exact mechanism that causes this reaction is not known, it is associated with emotionality and a high level of confidence. The fact that our yawning has to be real for the animal to respond in the same way is very striking; faking this gesture does not have the same effect.