Has your dog ever yawned when you woke up? Recent research shows that dogs show empathy and emotional connection to their owners this way.
Dogs have been man's best friend for 14,000 years. Contagious yawning may have evolved to coordinate activities and strengthen our species-to-species bond.
A dog that looks at you loves you. Dogs show affection by looking at us, just like we do. Your pup releases oxytocin, the "love" hormone, during this staring contest. We're affected. When we look at our "furever" family, we release oxytocin like a new mom does.
Dog staring is good, says Yale University Center for Canine Cognition director Laurie Santos. "Looking into each other's eyes increases social bonding hormones."
"I see it on dogs who just adore a particular person, and I've seen on Luke and Will [her dogs] when we finished a great session of herding, and we both were equally proud of ourselves."
I have never seen it on an anxious or potentially aggressive dog, either defensively or offensively.