Why Do Dogs Yawn When You Kiss Them?

Dogs don’t have the ability to talk so they have to use body language and all sorts of other things to communicate. Why do dogs yawn when you kiss them? This is not a simple question that we can answer within seconds. In reality, dogs have been using this behavioral trait to communicate with you. Are they trying to tell you ‘’stop’’ or ‘’I like that’’? Let’s find out.

Yawning Is Appeasement Sign

As you may know, yawning is something dogs have been using for communication for ages. It can mean a lot of things and it is one of the signs or traits certain dog owners just like to see. Why do dogs yawn when you kiss them? It is basically an appeasement signal or sign and it means that he wants to calm down you and himself. Dogs who don’t like kisses or they feel fear due to some other reason will commonly yawn when you kiss them.

In simple words, your pet is telling you to stop what you are doing and back off. He is not aggressive and he doesn’t want to become so yawning is the best thing he can do in order to tell you that kissing is not something he likes. If your pet has been doing this all the time when you kiss him, it is wise to stop doing it.

An interesting fact is that some dogs will sneeze when you kiss them. This is a bit different. The sneezing here will actually be a form of laughing and you can imagine what this means. It can mean that the dog likes you to kiss him. However, sneezing can also be an appeasement signal! 

Some Dogs Like Kisses While Others Not

You need to know one thing. Some dogs will appreciate kissing and they will like it. They know what it means and as such, they can react accordingly. But, other dogs will not like kissing and they can even react a bit differently. 

If you have trained your dog and taught him what kissing means he will understand it and he will like this. Basically, he knows that you are showing him affection and he will be happy about it. But, dogs that don’t know what this means will consider it in a different way. They can even feed fear and they may have a need to defend themselves. This includes barking, biting and growling. All of these are signs of aggression hence you can deduce that your pet doesn’t like kissing.

The latter happens due to two things specifically. The first one is that the dog doesn’t understand that you are showing him affection. He doesn’t know what this means and he can act weird. Second thing is that when one dog approaches another, he will do it from the side. They never approach directly. When you want to kiss him, you will do just that. He will see your head coming close to him which is another reason why he may feel like under an attack! 

We must add that this can be a huge problem and issue in certain cases. When a child wants to hug and kiss a dog who doesn’t know what this means, nipping can be a common problem. It is a good idea to train your dog to understand this behavior as soon as possible if you have children who will play with him. 

Common Reasons Why Dogs Yawn

You know that dogs yawn due to all kinds of reasons. Below we will explain these so you can get a better idea about the behavior and also be able to understand your pet more. 

• To Calm Himself Or You

Many dogs will yawn in order to try and calm themselves or to calm you. This is an interesting reason and one that can help you more than you can imagine. It will happen when a dog is anxious and he needs to use something to calm down himself or to decrease tension. For instance, when you kiss him, he may yawn in order to calm himself but also you, if he believes that you are anxious. 

• He Is Confused

Dogs can yawn when they are confused. This will probably happen when you want to train him so you confuse him. He won’t know what to do hence he will yawn. It is not a very common reason but one that can be present in many different cases. 

• When He is Excited

One of the most common reasons here is related to excitement. This happens when you pet your dog or when you are preparing him to go for a walk. This is anticipation so try to prepare him as soon as you can. In general, your dog is excited, and yawning is one of the things he will do to show you that. Most dogs do this and it can help you communicate with your dog better. 

• Due To Stress

If you have a pet who is under a lot of stress, he will yawn all the time. There is one massive difference here. This form of yawning is different and you can tell. He will yawn much longer and he will also try to yawn harder than before. Look for other signs. If you have a pet who is whining, pacing, drooling, and licking you all the time, he may be under a serious level of stress. He needs help.

• Due To Conflict

When a dog plays with his toy and you come and take it from him, he will yawn. This is due to conflict. Instead of biting you, he will yawn. Thank your dog for not biting you.

The Final Word

Now you know all the reasons and all the things regarding the following question. Why do dogs yawn when you kiss them? They basically want to tell you to stop and you should listen to them. Some dogs don’t like kissing and they will do all sorts of things to avoid it and help you understand that they don’t like it.