Wolf puppies can play fetch.

This game is a snap for domesticated dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), which excel at interpreting human signals, such as those involved in playing fetch. Researchers had thought that this ability arose after people started domesticating our furry companions’ wild ancestors, grey wolves (Canis lupus).

As part of a study of wolf behaviour, Christina Hansen Wheat and Hans Temrin at Stockholm University in Sweden scored hand-reared, 8-week-old wolf puppies on whether they chased after a tennis ball and brought it back to a stranger who provided verbal encouragement. Of the 13 tested puppies, 10 showed little or no interest in the toy — but 3 puppies chased after the ball and brought it back to the unfamiliar human.

The finding suggests that the ability to interpret humans’ social cues was present in the ancestral wolf populations that gave rise to dogs. The authors say that humans could have selected for this trait during domestication.