08/15/2025
A dog yawns in training.
Seems pretty simple except there are six different scientific lenses that will tell you six completely different things.
The Stress Lens:
It is a calming signal, the dog is feeling pressure or conflict. Slow down, take the heat off.
The Physiology Lens:
Yawning oxygenates the brain. The dog might actually be gearing up for sharper focus.
The Social Bonding Lens:
It is contagious, they are mirroring you. That is connection, not conflict.
The Neuro Lens:
Yawning cools the brain to keep arousal in the learning zone. The dog is self-regulating.
The Operant Lens:
You have reinforced it without realising, it is just another behaviour in their toolbox.
The Vet Behaviour Lens:
It could be nausea or pain. You might need a health check, not a training tweak.
Same moment.
Six explanations.
Six opposite responses.
Here is the kicker, in the real world, you don’t get time to flip through textbooks before you act.
⏰You have got seconds.
🤷♀️You have got context.
🤔You have got your GUT instincts.
Your gut instincts only get sharp from miles on the lead, hours with dogs, and enough mistakes to know what the right call feels like.
Science only gives us framework.
Experience lets us use them in the moment.
So get out there and work with your dog to sharpen your gut instincts!
If you don’t have the gut instincts yet then work with a professional trainer like myself to learn your dogs body language so you have the framework.