The so-called 'love hormone' oxytocin, linked to bonding in humans, could have played a key role in how dogs evolved to have such a close connection with humans, according to reports by ABC News and Huffington Post.

Researchers from Monash University in Australia found that giving dogs a nasal spray of oxytocin improved the dogs' ability to 'read' their owners and perform tasks, ABC News reported. The dogs were also tested using an inactive saline spray, but performed better after receiving the oxytocin, according to Huffington Post.

"This study tells us that the neuropeptide oxytocin is involved in the ability of dogs to use human social cues such as pointing, to their advantage i.e. to find hidden food," Jessica Oliva, the study's lead author, told The Huffington Post.

The study was published last month in the journal Animal Cognition