One of the nice bonuses of my job is that I get lots of pet news from quite a variety of sources. I just read about a study done in Japan, recapped by U.S. News & World Report, that is hard to resist passing on. Apparently some studies of humans yawning have concluded that “contagious yawing” affects 45 to 60% of us adults. In other words, if someone in the room starts yawning, about 45% of the adults in the room will also yawn. According to those human studies, that’s a “sign of the ability to empathize and bond with others.”

In yet another attempt to “humanize” our pets, researchers at the University of Tokyo have been studying pets to see if they yawn when we do. Basically, they put 25 people and their pets together in a cozy, comfortable room and had the people yawn, then waited to see if the pets would yawn too. Some of them did better than that, they actually fell asleep. The Husky and the German Shepherd yawned the most, the miniature poodle least. A Chihuahua, Lab and Maltese all yawned. Fourteen of the dogs didnt yawn at all (maybe the ones that were sleeping?) Results on the reaction of the other 5 dogs werent mentioned. Apparently dogs arent affected by “contagious yawning,” at least not between species. But that doesnt mean they arent “bonded” with us! We don’t need a test to tell us how connected we are to our pets.

You have to wonder what would have happened if they had done the study with cats. Cats sleep up to as much 18 hours a day. And, the consensus is that cats really don’t care what we people do – probably why they tested dogs. I read that bunnies yawn too. And, of course, the most adorable yawners of all are babies. (Have you yawned, yet? How about your dog?)