BBC NEWS Science/Nature Pet dogs can 'catch' human yawns
I'm intrigued by this dogs copy owners business .
Alice is certainly cottoning on in our household . She got me up at seven , ideal timing as my belly was starting to growl , and once the coffee pot was gurgling and the breakfast tray was laden and she had been out and I was heading back upstairs with a low carb Morning Shine bar and a bowl of Rachel's honey yoghurt with berries slung in for good measure ( ok I'm not a low carb purist but so far I have managed to shed half a stone , a miracle for diet hating me ) , not to mention the toast and marmelade and other carb laden goodies for D , and my hefty pile of Migraine Defense pills , Alice made it clear she was not about to settle back for another three hours sleep ( her usual morning now ) . Her tummy growled in synch with mine and I realised all was not well . She was like this a lot when she first moved in with us , so I took her upstairs to keep an eye on her . Her former good mannersand shyness have now deserted her and she pushes past me to take a flying leap onto the bed , causing Pearl to stretch and retreat to the knicker drawer which is slightly ajar ..... the whole bed heaves . Water beds were not invented for the greyhound and I live in fear of a sudden collapse . Doesn't bear thinking of . I don't often go there . Water through the ceiling , ceiling collapse , insurance company producing a pet damage exclusion clause ? No thanks .

Dog settles , breakfast consumed , I finish the exquisite book I am reading " Love in the Present Tense " By Catherine Ryan Hyde .
Off to my first CatCall of the day by 8 45 .
Alice's tummy is still gurgling like a drain and she refuses her fish and rice , carefully produced for the greyhound with Issues .
I return , we decide to walk her now before the planned trip to purchase the Intense Truffle paint needed to complete the bathroom , namely to re-paint the roll top bath , to complement the Something Hessian paint which now adorns the walls ( deliciously , looking like light coffee flavoured ice cream ) . The hessian on the bath is not quite right . The intense truffle will be perfect but they just sold the last tin in B and Q as we arrived . As D arrived I should say in the interests of accuracy . I was at home reading Love in the Present Tense . Natural Hessian .

However Alice has been listening to the radio on the subject of Dog is like Owner and has decided that Dog with Tummy Issues should stay in bed . She refuses to budge . We use the Walk words . We mention getting her collar on . We give her a little push , many cheery words ... a pull .
She stares and pushes further down into the duvet .
She closes the eyes firmly .
We get the message , I am having a Pyjama Day , Nat has them all the time now its the Summer Holidays , I'm fine here thank you very much , sigh , its a shame I can't come on the Walk but hey enjoy yourselves , Sigh ......

We go to town .
There is no Intense Truffle paint . Anywhere .
The bath remains hessian .
But we have delightful Trufffle towels in readiness ......