We call our current dog “Biscotti.” He is extraordinarily handsome, but not not as social as dogs I lived with earlier in my life.  One thing he does extraordinarily well is how well he follows the invisible path suggested by our fingers when we point. It’s almost magical to see. Now, along comes this article, which suggests a co-evolution between dogs and humans, identifying the ability to understand human pointing as a key piece of evidence. The ability to follow a human point seems to be built in. The title: “Puppies Are Born Ready to Communicate With Humans.”. Here is an excerpt:

Now, a new study, published today in the journal Current Biology, finds that even 8-week-old puppies with little exposure to humans can understand pointing and show sophisticated levels of social cognition in other tests. On top of that, the study found that each fluffball’s genetic makeup was a strong predictor of its ability to follow a pointed finger to a hidden treat as well as the pup’s tendency to pay attention to human faces.

Emily E. Bray, a psychologist studying animal behavior at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study, says that these feats of canine cognition are about as genetically based, or heritable, as human intelligence. “This all suggests that dogs are biologically prepared for communication with humans,” she says.

Finding a genetic basis for dogs’ social intelligence fills in a big unknown in the story of how they became domesticated and could one day help breed better service dogs—which need to be whizzes at reading human cues, says Evan MacLean, a comparative psychologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the study.