Dog Training: Dr. Oakley Suggested That I Yawn

I want to offer a disclaimer. Usually, the material presented in this space is well documented in the ‘dog literature’ and has sound validity. This article, however, is based more on my experience and the wisdom of a wonderful, gifted, superb veterinarian, Dr. Oakley.

I remember the incident as if it were yesterday. - I was thirteen at the time and competing in dog obedience matches. I was competing at an intermediary level and about to advance to the highest degree of obedience competition. My obedience partner was a wonderful Labrador Retriever who was named “Diggity” (yes, our family did name her and call her “Diggity Dog”). This particular obedience competition was held outdoors and, in that part of the planet, the dog events were just part of the many activities happening simultaneously. There were dog obedience matches, dog confirmation, horse show jumping, livestock displays … it was a very busy place, with enough distractions to test the best trained dogs.

To add to the pressure, there were immediate family members and relatives attending, to see how Diggity and I would do. For a teen, it was an enormous event. - Diggity was thrilled to be there. It seemed as if her tail was wagging her whole body. Not only her tailed wagged. Her whole back end moved. There were glorious smells, wonderful sights, cheering erupting from different venues … and she was enjoying every moment. Her head swiveled in every direction; her tailed wagged at high speed; she wanted to soak in the entire experience.

As Diggity was enjoying the various stimuli, my anxiety was increasing and increasing. I was certain that this was a huge disaster in the making. I was uncertain as to what Diggity would do when we would enter the obedience ring. At that competition level, I would have to take off her leash. This level of competition was off-lead and the dog was supposed to be under control.

To calm my growing angst, I was in the ‘ready ring’ and practicing with Diggity. She was just so excited and I wanted her attention. I tugged on her leash a couple of times in an attempt to gain her attention and to let her know how serious this was. Certainly, Diggity sensed my stress and it made her wiggled all the more.

To our great fortune, Dr. Oakley was watching. Dr. Oakley was one of the supervising veterinarians for the event and he was a family friend. He called me and Diggity over to ringside; and he sat down on the grass and turned his back on Diggity. He suggested that I do the same. And, of course, I did - joining him on the grass with my back to Diggity.

Then, Dr. Oakley asked me to yawn. I could not believe my ears! Dr. Oakley said: “Like this, Catherine” and he began to yawn. The suggestion was so ludicrous that I did not even question it; and I began to yawn. At least, I pretended to yawn. I was neither tired nor was I bored. What I really wanted to do was to squeeze in an extra few minutes of practice with Diggity, before entering the obedience ring. Instead, I was sitting on the grass and yawning with Dr. Oakley. And, out of the side of my eye, I saw Diggity yawning too!

The three of us must have been a sight - a seventy plus year old man, a nervous young girl and a retriever sitting on the grass and yawning. After Diggity had yawned a couple of times, Dr. Oakley gave me a hug and sent me to the obedience ring. He told me that Diggity was ready and indeed she was. Diggity was stellar on that day and her performance was almost flawless.

Of course, I wanted to know the mystery of the yawning. And Dr. Oakley explained. In his practice, he had found that dogs were stressed when they visited his office. He noticed that they visibly calmed when they yawned. It was a social signal - in dog language. Therefore, by yawning, Dr. Oakley had asked Diggity to be calm. It also told her that he was relaxed. My yawning had been a similar request to Diggity and it also told her, in dog language, that I was calm (or, at least, ‘calmer’). When Diggity yawned, she was telling us that she had assessed the situation and concluded that we were correct. She believed us and was agreeing. And, with her yawn, she proclaimed that she was calm now too.

Yes, you probably are thinking that ‘Catherine has lost her mind’. Nevertheless, I think it does work. There are beginning to be smatterings of literature dealing with this aspect of dog behaviour. Whenever I see a dog yawn, I yawn back. It is a courtesy; and a confirmation to the dog that I am calming too. When I want to calm a dog, I yawn. And I think of Dr. Oakley who was a wonderful veterinarian, a kind friend to all animals and a dear soul.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster:  http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]dogs, training, calm, yawn, dr. oakley, angst, competition, veterinarian, labrador retriever[/tag]