Yawning

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I read somewhere that rats yawn as an affectionate greeting....

I'll see if I can find a link to that.

so I guess your rats really really like you! :wink2:
 
It was funny because yesterday I had Gizmo out with me and I was rubbing his jaw and his ear and he yawned like 5-6 times LOL.

I was like holy cow, am I that boring????

I was starting to worry.

If you can give me that link that would be great!

Lol -own TV lmao. Why didn't I think of that? We had Ratutalli on (sp?) I thought it was rather right up "Gizmo's" alley. :heart:
 
I want to read that too!
My Nirvana almost always yawns when I greet her.. Usually multiple times before she actually says hello.. Don´t really know if she thinks I´m reeaally boring, or if she´s happy to see me :giggle:
 
Petunia said:
I read somewhere that rats yawn as an affectionate greeting....

A few years ago, people on goosemoose were spreading that around but I mean honestly... how can a yawn be a greeting, I'd be really interested in seeing that article.
Wikipedia states the many theories but not substantiated, still very interesting to read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn Check out proposed causes.
 
I yawn after I wake up, after I get off the bike at the gym (lol) and when I'm super duper relaxed. I assume that's why ratties do it as well.
 
jorats said:
Petunia said:
I read somewhere that rats yawn as an affectionate greeting....

A few years ago, people on goosemoose were spreading that around but I mean honestly... how can a yawn be a greeting, I'd be really interested in seeing that article.
Wikipedia states the many theories but not substantiated, still very interesting to read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn Check out proposed causes.


I have no idea about rats...but in dogs yawning is a calming signal....so in a tense meeting a yawn could be used when greeting a new dog.....
 
Dahlas said:
jorats said:
Petunia said:
I read somewhere that rats yawn as an affectionate greeting....

A few years ago, people on goosemoose were spreading that around but I mean honestly... how can a yawn be a greeting, I'd be really interested in seeing that article.
Wikipedia states the many theories but not substantiated, still very interesting to read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn Check out proposed causes.


I have no idea about rats...but in dogs yawning is a calming signal....so in a tense meeting a yawn could be used when greeting a new dog.....
Do you have more info on this for dogs? links? Gypsy yawns all the time. I thought she was bored all the time. lol
 
Looks like the film didn´t mention yawning.. But the book that is mentioned in the description, is the one I have..
 
I did a search on yawning and the calming signal, there are a lot of personal blogs and personal websites claiming that yawning is a calming effect but nothing scientific.
A yawn is an autonomous reaction, an attempt of your body to increase oxygen level in the blood, I just don't understand how this can be linked to a behaviour.
 
I know when I yawn, I feel calm, just reading this made me yawn.. It is like a yawning calming sensation LOL
 
When you have low oxygen in your body, you are more tired, slow heart rate and slow breathing, so I can see how that indicates to people and animals around you that your stress level is extremely low. Maybe that's what they mean with dogs?
They did a study to show dogs having empathy, where a man yawned and 21 out of 26 dogs yawned as well but it had to be a genuine yawn. They repeated the test with a fake yawn and none of the dogs yawned. I was reading a trainer's blog and she says she will yawn at her dog to tell her dog to remain calm... is that a fake yawn? How do you force a yawn? Yet, in the study, it needs to be a real yawn for dogs to "get it".
 
What is interesting is that everytime I go to see my rats, they turn to me and yawn in my direction. If I am near they would sometimes go out of their way to turn around at my face and yawn at me. So I have nodoubt that this yawning does mean something.
 
A rat will turn towards you because they smell you. The minute I walk into the room and if the rat is awake or semi awake they will turn towards me. I have seen my rats yawn many times, mainly when waking up or falling asleep.
 
My guys always yawn when they wake up. I don't think I've ever seen them do it any other time, though.

As a side note, yawning in dogs can also be a sign of stress and even an impending bite if the dog feels threatened. So don't assume that a yawn from a dog means he's relaxed, take everything into consideration and always be careful. I know my dog always yawns continuously when he's stressed (like at the vets or groomers). When I worked as a groomer, I spent the whole day yawning just from watching all the dogs yawn.
 
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