Researchers from the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona put 375 eight-week-old puppies through four tests, designed to establish whether even such tiny pups were receptive to human communication. The results suggest that communication abilities must be inherited instead of being learned.
Source: AKC, July 26, 2021. Link. The researchers now seek to learn how the communication ability is inherited. Such genetic information will give breeders of service dogs and companion pets alike a much greater ability to select highly communicative dogs for breeding.