Why do dogs yawn?

Dogs yawn to communicate that they are feeling stressed or anxious but aren't willing to fight. Signals of this type are used to avoid conflict and are called appeasement gestures or calming signals.

Removing a yawning dog from stressful situations may decrease the risk of the dog biting a person or another animal or getting involved in a fight. Some people report that yawning back can help to calm the dog down.

Yawning in dogs looks exactly like yawning in people. However, yawning in people is known as a sign of tiredness, while yawning in dogs is a communication signal.