Dogs and yawning

Did you know that there's some evidence to suggest that dogs catch human yawns [1]? That may not sound very interesting, but it could have important implications and might even suggest that dogs experience empathy with humans. Many dogs owners (myself included) insist that our dogs know how we're feeling, and yawning contagion is considered to be related to empathy, at least among humans. For instance, people with autism are less likely to catch other peoples' yawns, and autism is believed to affect the ability to experience empathy.

The links aren't rock solid, though.  First, do we really know why dogs yawn? Is it because they're tired or for some other reason, like confusion? I can imagine if I started making weird yawning faces in front of my dog, she might become confused! On the other hand, it looks as though we're only just getting a good handle on why people even yawn: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20100511/ARTICLES/5111013/1018

Beyond that, another study suggests that dogs don't catch human yawns at all [2].  However, the methods were different than in the first study.  While the first study had the humans yawning in the room with the dog, the second study just had video playback of the humans yawning.  That could have affected the results.

Do dogs catch human yawns? Maybe. Does that mean they know how we're feeling? Not necessarily. Has the lack of scientific evidence ever changed the mind of a dog owner on this subject? Not a chance.

References
1. Joly-Mascheroni, R.M., Senju, A., Shepherd, A.J. (2008). Dogs catch human yawns. Biology Letters, 4 (5): 446-448.
2. Harr, A.L., Gilbert, V.A., Phillips, K.A. (2009). Do dogs (Canis familiaris) show contagious yawning? Animal Cognition, 12 (6): 833-837.