Do(d)gy Behavior

Bones couldn't believe his ears. "How could you be taking her side?" He growled
Nina, his partner, paid him no mind.
"I said what I said, he is wrong." Nina growled back, standing her ground.
The two canines who were once snuggling were now growling at each other.
An argument sparking, almost in tandem with their owners Jacob and Ella who were arguing in their homes.

"Jacob has another female scent on him, you can smell it!" Nina barks..
"He's a busy man, meets other people, he's sure to have other people's scents on him!" Bones replies, standing up for his owner.
"Man's best friend indeed, instantly standing up for him." Nina spat.
As though on cue, Jacob came out the door past their kernels.
"And where do you think you're going?" Ella asked after him, her head poking through the kitchen door.
"I'm going for a walk with Bones, I can't stand your nagging and whining woman!"
Bones tail wagged furiously as Jacob attached the leach to his collar and allowed him to lead the way out of their yard.

"I can't believe that woman, accusing me of sleeping around immediately I entered my house to rest for the day!" Jacob muttered as he walked.
"These women are crazy!" Bones barked at him.
Jacob smiled not understanding but somehow appreciating the sentiment.
He bent down to scratch his ear, before continuing on the walk.

A few minutes later, they came across another couple, a lady with her dog.
Bones looked at this woman and a sniff from his nose confirmed his suspicions; this is the scent Nina was talking about, the same scent that was on Jacob's clothes before.
"Estelle? I didn't know you had a dog." Jacob greeted the newcomer.
"Jacob!" She replied, overly shocked, considering she's the one who walked up to them.
"I don't, she's a neighbor's pet that I'm helping to walk." She replied smiling.
"And I'm guessing this is Bones" Estelle moved to pet him but Bones let off a warning growl.
"I don't trust her" He growled at Jacob who apologized for his lack of manners.

"Yeah, I don't trust her either." The second dog replied.
"She has been walking me like it's a chore for the same time every week and now she's so uppity for the drab looking human."
"Hey, Jacob isn't drab!" Bones said standing up for his owner.
The dog whose name tag read Lulu just scoffed and turned, leading Estelle forward.
Bones turned and saw Jacob and Estelle were already talking so he walked up to Lulu.

"So she isn't normally like this?" The two dogs turned to look at Estelle animatedly telling Jacob something, Lulu's leach attached to a clip on her shorts while she used her two hands to explain.
"You mean she isn't normally like a love struck teen dog buzzing over her mate? No." Lulu answered dryly.
"Jacob is taken." Bones reasserted.
Lulu laughed dryly.
"Trust me boy, I've been in this park long enough. Males of all species are the same, the taken can still be took."
"Humans are no exception..." She nodded her head back at them and Bones turned to see Jacob talking animatedly back at Estelle, they then started laughing.

Bones could feel his trust shaking, he shook his head off it.
"You're wrong." He growled at Lulu.
"Careful boy, I've given birth to 4 of your age and have fought with twice your size. Don't start with me cause your owner is barking up another tree" She growled back at him.
"Oops, it seems they've gotten into a disagreement." Estelle said as Jacob tugged Bones back towards him.
"What's gotten into you boy?" He scolded Bones to a whimper.
"I'm sorry about that." He apologized to Estelle and Lulu
"It's fine, it seems it's just our cue to head back." Estelle replied smiling while Lulu seemed unimpressed.
"I guess you're right. I'll text you later about the details of that movie."
"Sure." Estelle said then moved into a hug.

Bones was shocked as he watched this woman hold on to his partner for so long before letting go.
As they walked home, the scene replayed in his mind and he could already smell her scent all over him.
Jacob seemed happier too, Bones could tell.
He walked a bit forward and turned to face him.
"How could you do that?" "Who is she?" He barked at him.
"You've been so out of sorts and aggressive lately? I hope you aren't ill " Jacob asked, misunderstanding the meaning for his dog's unease.

As they got back home, Nina immediately came to the door then growled at the unfamiliar scent that followed him.
Jacob took note of her too.
"Maybe we do need to invite the vet for a check-up." He wondered as he released Bones from the leach and allowed him back into his kennel.
"What happened? Why do you guys smell different?"
Bones didn't answer her, afraid of confirming his fears.
Soon after Jacob and Ella started arguing again and Nina howled at their noise but only Bones was quiet, his mind going back to the scene of Jacob and Estelle laughing and the words of Lulu.