I think this is a really funny picture of Lola. I snapped it just as she was in the middle of a big yawn.

Lola is switching gears.

Apparently dogs don’t yawn for the same reasons as humans — because they are sleepy or bored. It turns out that dogs yawn when they “switch gears” or are stressed. They will yawn to reinvigorate themselves and to calm down.

This is starting to make sense to me. I notice that Lola and Sam yawn when they are in their downward-facing dog poses, which they do after getting up from a nap.

I’ll have to pay attention the next time Lola is stressed to see if she is yawning, too.