Why Does My Dachshund Yawn So Much? 9 Reasons + 5 Tips

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Both you and your dachshund just got a great 8 hour night sleep, yet they’re still yawning? You might start to get concerned if it happens a lot, or you’re simply curious as to why they yawn so much.

What gives? Are they having problems sleeping?

Why Do Dachshunds Yawn So Much:

There are many reasons why your dachshund will yawn beyond needing more rest. They could be bored, in distress, feeling impatient, demonstrating disinterest, or even be excited. The most strange reason is that yawns can be contagious and they saw you yawn which then made them yawn.

In this post you’ll discover the most surprising reasons why your dachshund yawns so much (#7 has to be the most interesting) as well as 5 tips to help reduce how much they yawn.

Let’s jump right in!

Table of Contents

7 Reasons Why Your Dachshund Yawns So Much

1) Your Yawn Is Contagious

A yawn can actually be contagious.

At one point in everyone’s life they were in a room with another person who yawned and then couldn’t help but yawn themselves.

Dog’s experience the same thing!

Up until recently, it was thought that a dog yawning because they saw their owner yawn was a form of showing empathy.

However, recent studies have found that there’s no real evidence to support that contagious yawning in dogs is a signal for empathy.

Yawns are simply just contagious. And if you yawn around your pup, odds are, they’ll yawn too.

2) Bored

When your pup’s energy levels are low they may yawn to showcase their boredom.

A bored dachshund might yawn in an attempt to get your attention to initiate some playtime.

Usually being a drama king/queen gets their attention, maybe this will make them play with me…

Dogs are quite smart in the sense that they have a good idea how to get a reaction from you.

A yawning doggo could simply be a bored doggo. The more yawns you see could mean the more they wish you were playing with them.

Related Reading: 10 Best Toys To Entertain Your Dog | Boredom Buster Toys

3) Impatience

It’s 6:34 AM and your dog is staring at you still in bed.

They know their regular walk time is at 6:30 AM and you’re sleeping on the job.

During this stare off you might notice them yawn a few times while pawing at you.

Yawns here are likely indicating impatience.

They want you to get your butt out of bed and take them outside to do their favorite thing in the world. And likely to relieve themselves after a long night.

Another time you might notice a yawn of impatience is when you stop to chat while on a walk.

If you stop to have a conversation with a neighbor for more than a few minutes your pup might get impatient and start being a little dramatic.

During this time of being a drama king or queen you might notice a few big yawns followed by a sigh.

4) Distress

Your dachshund also might yawn because they’re feeling anxious or stressed out.

A dog that’s anticipating punishment might yawn as a reaction.

For example, if you’re training them in something new, they can tell by your body language and tone of voice that they aren’t doing what you want. They may respond with a yawn in anticipation that they won’t get a treat or are afraid they’ll be punished.

Excessive yawning or many yawns stringed together can actually be an indicator of large feelings of anxiety or even separation anxiety.

If you notice excessive yawning, not just a yawn here and there, it’s a good idea to take your dachshund to the vet.

5) Sleepy

One of the most important phases of sleeping is called REM sleep.

And interestingly, your dachshund only gets about 10% REM sleep where you might get anywhere between 20-25% per night.

This means your pup will need more sleep than you to feel well rested.

So if you and your pup both wake up from an 8 hour sleep but they’re still yawning like they’re still tired, this is why.

Your doggo requires more sleeping hours to feel well rested which is why you might notice them yawning so much.

8 hours might be plenty for you, but your dachshund will likely need 12-14 per day to limit their yawning.

6) Excited?

Ever noticed right before a walk your dachshund starts getting rambunctious but also yawning?

This is actually quite common.

They get so excited when you pull their leash out or say the word ‘walk’ that their body starts feeling all kinds of emotions.

And when that happens, any tiredness completely leaves their body and sometimes they’ll yawn!

Yawning has been said to help wake a person up.

So yawning from excitement could be waking your dachshund up to be ready for what they’re excited about.

7) Disinterest

Interestingly, AKC says that a dog yawning is a sign of indifference.

What they mean is if your dachshund encounters another dog and they are showing signs of aggression, your dog will yawn to show indifference.

Now, this doesn’t mean that they’re being submissive to the other dog, it means they want things to remain passive.

This is an important distinction because being submissive and wanting things to stay passive are very different.

A submissive dog won’t defend themselves if an aggressive dog wants conflict, they’ll submit.

But a dog that wants things to stay passive is showing more confidence. They don’t want things to escalate but aren’t going to submit to the aggressor.

It’s best to remove your dachshund from situations like these as the last thing you’d want is for your pup to get injured.

Another way your dachshund might yawn from disinterest is to put another dog at ease.

In the wild, a dominant wolf in the pack would yawn to show disinterest to put others in the pack at ease.

If they noticed that one or some of the other wolves in their pack were showing signs of stress, a yawn from them can put those feeling anxious at ease.

It shows that what’s bothering the other wolves, the dominant wolf doesn’t see as a threat which helps the others relax.

Top 5 Tips To Help Your Dachshund Not Yawn So Much

1) Ensure a Good Night’s Rest

If your dachshund was restless and didn’t get a great night’s sleep, odds are if they aren’t able to catch up on their sleep, they’ll be yawning a lot.

If it was a random occurrence and normally they do get a good night’s rest, you don’t have to change anything.

But if you’re noticing your pup is restless often, you should consider changing things up.

Just like how people benefit from a nighttime routine before bed, to get them ready to sleep, so might your dachshund.

For you that might look like no T.V. or phone 1 hour before bed, no physical activity and maybe a nice book. These things help ‘prime’ you for falling asleep as soon as your bed hits the pillow.

Attempt to create a nighttime routine for your pup that will give them a better chance at falling asleep quickly and staying asleep.

Of course if their restlessness is persistent, you might want to consider taking them to the vet as something else might be going on.

2) Keep Things Fun

If you think back on the last 2-3 weeks in relation to activities you did with your dachshund and can’t remember too many fun activities, you might want to think about spicing things up a bit.

Without fun things to do/look forward to, your dachshund will likely yawn often because they’re bored and in a low energy state.

Try playing with them a little more, taking a new route on their walks, going for a hike, or maybe a trip to the dog park.

The more you’re able to keep things fun and interesting for your pup, the less likely you’re to find them yawning from boredom.

3) Keep The Peace

If you have two dogs or two dachshunds and one is yawning often around the other, it could be a sign they don’t want any conflict.

This can also happen at the dog park, or whenever your dog is faced with a situation where there is an aggressor.

If your pup isn’t interested in fighting or having any sort of conflict, they will yawn as a sign to the other dog.

It’s important to note that this isn’t your dog showing submission, it’s more that they are passive with the situation.

If the other dog doesn’t pick up on this signal, they won’t back down if forced into conflict.

This is why it’s important for you to try and keep the peace.

If certain dogs your dachshund encounters usually result in your pup yawning, it might be best to remove them from interacting with this dog.

Their yawn is more a sign of confidence than fear. They aren’t submitting to the other dogs aggression, they’re saying they aren’t interested in conflict.

But if the other dog persisted, your dachshund would likely protect themselves.

So the best thing to do is remove them from situations like these.

4) Keep The Noise Down

Not only can loud noises and sounds keep your dachshund awake when they’d rather be sleeping, but it can also be quite stressful for them. And we now know that both lack of sleep and stress can contribute to more yawning.

Dog’s can hear nearly twice as many frequencies and up to 4 times further than humans can.

This naturally means that their hearing is more sensitive and ‘normal’ volume levels to you could be quite irritating for your pup.

So if you have kids playing with loud toys or being loud themselves, or if you don’t have the best hearing so you turn the T.V on or play music quite loud, you might be contributing to them yawning so much.

The best thing you can do is be aware.

If you notice they’re yawning a lot you can take a second look at the volume levels in your home.

If they’re more on the noisy side, do what you can to bring the noise down to either let them rest or have a period of peace/less stress.

Your dachshund will be happy you care enough to make some adjustments.

5) Keep An Eye On Excessive Yawning

For the most part, yawning is quite a harmless bodily function.

However, if you notice your dachshund excessively yawning or yawning many times one after another, it could be an indication your pup is in a great deal of distress.

If the reason for them being stressed is obvious, it’s a good idea to remove them from the situation.

But if the reason for them being stressed isn’t obvious and you notice excessive yawning, it could be a sign your pup has separation anxiety.

If you feel your pup might be overly stressed out it’s important to take them to the vet to get a second opinion.

Other posts you might find interesting:

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5 Reasons Why Your Dachshund Has Bad Breath + 3 Tips

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