A dog shelter rescued my little terrier mix, Gabriela, from an animal hoarding house when she was around 10 weeks old. She lived with about 40 other dogs, and the rescue told me the stench was so toxic that the homeowners were living in their car. To feed the dogs, they tossed kibble through a window and placed bowls of water down.
We adopted Gabi almost six weeks after her rescue. Four years later, her food standards have changed dramatically. The dog who once scrambled for kibble on the ground will now refuse to eat if I fail to top her meal properly with chicken or beef. She’ll sit to the side with her ears down, eyes wide, and then she’ll let out a sigh — like she’s disappointed in me.
So do dogs sigh because they are disappointed? Researchers in animal behavior have found there are several meanings behind that dramatic sigh.
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Associating Dog Sighs With Emotion
When Gabi sighs in front of her kibble dish, she is indeed expressing an emotion.
“Dogs sometimes sigh when they don’t get something they want — sometimes people read this as disappointment,” says Mary R. Burch, an applied animal behaviorist and the family dog director for the American Kennel Club.
Problematically, sighs can also be tied to other emotions. Just because a dog sighs doesn’t automatically mean it’s disappointed. Researchers have found there is more than one reason why dogs release a sigh.
In a 2024 study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, researchers conducted a literature review of observational studies on dog emotions. They identified nine themes, such as body posture, vocalization behavior, and stress-related behaviors.
Confusingly, sighing is a behavior that appears in more than one theme.
Multiple meanings stemming from the same behavior are one reason why the study of animal emotions has been challenging for researchers, according to a study in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Researchers are limited to observation techniques because their study subjects cannot confirm their feelings. Dogs can’t use a three-point scale to say they agree, somewhat agree, or disagree with the choice of shredded cheese as a topper.
Why do Dogs Sigh?
When Gabi sighs because I failed to properly prep her kibble, she may be expressing disappointment, but she may be sighing to get my attention to let me know that I need to see what else is in the fridge.
“Humans often sigh as a sign of exasperation,” Burch says. “For both dogs and people, sighing can occur as a sign of boredom or frustration. Sighing can be a way to release stress. Some dogs will sigh to get your attention.”
Away from the kibble dish, sighing can have other meanings for dogs. “Sometimes sighing is related to being relaxed, happy, or finally content,” Burch says.
A dog, for example, might be waiting to finally get into their dog bed. After a few circles and perhaps a little dig to get the cushion just right, they might plop into their bed and let out a sigh.
However, there are times when sighs really don’t have a meaning. Burch says that sighing for both humans and dogs can be involuntary. Or it can be just part of the breathing process in which air is taken through the nose but released through the mouth.
“Sometimes sighing is a neutral behavior, such as when the dog changes position. You might have seen a dog jump onto the couch, lie down, and sigh,” Burch says.
Can Sighing Be a Sign of Something Wrong?
Most of the time, sighing is behavioral and not related to a medical issue.
“But if it is repeated and you think sighing may be related to the dog trying to fill its lungs with air…you should take your dog to the veterinarian,” Burch says.
Repeated sighs may be gasps for air, which could indicate a breathing issue or anxiety, Burch says.
But if it’s just a one-off sigh near the kibble dish, the problem can most likely be remedied with a better topper.
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