Abstract

LAKATOS, Gabriella. Evolutionary approach to communication between humans and dogs. Ann. Ist. Super. Sanità [online]. 2011, vol.47, n.4, pp. 373-377. ISSN 0021-2571.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4415/ANN_11_04_08.

Dog-human communication has been widely investigated recently for different theoretical reasons, in most cases through dogs' comprehension of human gestural cues. Dogs have been reported to be very skilful in comprehending a variety of human pointing gestures in many independent studies. This paper provides a short overview of the possible explanations behind the dogs' exceptional communicational abilities towards humans from an evolutionary perspective, concluding that the different and seemingly contradictory hypotheses are not exclusive but they might have a synergic effect.

Keywords : dogs; communication; pointing; domestication; socialization.