Yawning dogs empathise with owners
A NEW study has found that dogs find human yawning contagious, which has led scientists to believe they may be able to empathise with their owners.
Although many animals do yawn, contagious yawning - that is a yawn which is set off by seeing others yawning - has previously been thought to only occur in human beings and chimps.
However, it has now been discovered that man's best friend is highly tuned in to noticing human yawns, with 72% of the 29 dogs tested yawning after seeing a person doing so.
In the journal Biology Letters, experts at London's Birkbeck College said the behaviour showed dogs were skilled at reading human social cues and "may relate to their capacity for empathy".
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Last Updated:
06 August 2008 3:15 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Burnley
