Fifteen dogs

One other complex idea explored in the novel is the idea that excessive power and domination are at the antipode of love, produced when mutual understanding is at a minimum. While there are instances of natural power grabs and displays of domination (e.g., mounting) among the dogs before their intelligence sets in, their intelligent awareness truly just opens the door to suspicion and misunderstanding in ways that were earlier unfathomable. Atticus' misunderstanding of Majnoun, Bella, Athena, and Bobbie in relation to his new order leads to his attempts/successes at murdering them. Miguel's misunderstanding of Majnoun allows him to feel as if he is in control of the dog. Conversely, Benjy's inflation of his own self-worth leads him to overestimate his power over Clare and Randy—and, ultimately, to be abandoned and killed. Telling, too, is how mounting changes after the onset of intelligence: it goes from something that one did not even think about to something with odd connotations, beyond the sexual and beyond instinct. Power and domination are thus the alternate approach to understanding another, given intelligent awareness of death: if one cannot unite with another in pursuit of mutual enrichment, then perhaps one can dominate another and bend them to one's will.