[gavinmckenzie]

This is interesting. I've had both cats and dogs, and with the theory "they don't have fingers" I wonder why do dogs understand human pointing? Dogs of course communicate with a direct gaze (looks at empty food bowl, looks at human, looks back at empty food bowl) and can understand us communicating back with a directed gaze, but at the same time my dog definitely understands me pointing at something.

[sph]

Dogs are not wolves. They have evolved to read and somehow become more like us. I bet a wolf can't understand a pointed finger, just like they can't read sadness on your face. A dog can do both quite easily.

What's more fascinating to me, is that the relationship is not one-sided: we might have learned something from wolves as well. They have changed us, just like we turned aloof wolves into empathetic dogs. Maybe they have made our society more social, and less isolated? Wolves know there is strength in numbers.