"And get this, he kicked me out of my bed! I had to sleep on the floor, like a dog!" Max barked. Most of the others gasped in horror when they heard that bit. "No, anything but that!" Buddy yipped. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Chloe muttered, "You guys are supposed to sleep on the floor."

"He is the absolute worst dog I have ever met!" Max whined. He was standing on his chair with stiff legs and hackles raised. The Jack Russell terrier was very upset. Who wouldn't be if they were in his position? His home, his sanctuary, had been invaded by a stranger who thought he owned the place. Duke was outside thankfully, at least he had enough respect to leave the other pets alone. But Max was fearful of what might happen afterwards. Trembling, he whimpered, "What am I gonna do?!"

"Try talking to him. Max, you're great at talking people through problems," Gidget suggested. Not even looking over at the fluffy white Pomeranian as he spun in circles on his chair, Max shook his head and growled through clenched teeth, "There's no talking with this guy, talking won't work. He's scary and he's frightening and he's the death of all good things!"

"Really? We passed by him on our way inside and he was chasing a butterfly," Mel commented, confused. Raising an eyebrow at the Jack Russell terrier, Buddy asked Max, "Yeah, are you talking about a different dog man?" Snapping his head towards the pair, Max barked, "Of course not! Duke is the absolute worst! He won't listen to anyone, let alone me!"

"Sounds like you need to start acting like the alpha dog," Chloe remarked from where she was lounging on her seat. All eyes turned towards her as she continued, "Dogs are pack animals and each pack has an alpha. Max, if you want your turf back, you need to be the alpha dog of the house." His ears perking up, Max didn't say a word at first as he comprehended the advice he had been given. Nodding his head slowly, the terrier commented, "Yeah, alpha dog. I can do that." Scoffing, Chloe muttered, "Sure, you can try."

"Max, this isn't gonna blow up in your face, right?" Gidget asked nervously, a hint of concern in her voice. Holding his head high, Max didn't even acknowledge the Pomeranian's question as he stated, "Tonight, Duke will know where he stands."

———

"Here you go boys, enjoy. I'll be right back upstairs," Katie declared, setting the bowls down on the floor. With that, she went over to the basement, followed by Max barking. To her, all she could hear were barks when really the Jack Russell terrier was begging. "Don't leave me alone up here! Please don't go!" Max pleaded, trotting after his owner. Patting him on the head gently, Katie spoke kindly, "Wait here Maxie, I'll be right back."

"Don't leave me!" Max wailed. It was too late though, Katie had entered the basement and shut the door behind her. Max was left alone with Duke. Gulping nervously, the small dog slowly turned around. Scarfing down all of the kibble in his bowl until it was all gone, the mutt shoved the now empty bowl aside and moved onto Max's bowl. The terrier scowled. This was going too far. Puffing his chest out, he padded over.

"Duke, I need to talk to you," Max spoke firmly, holding his head high. The Newfoundland mix didn't bother acknowledging his pressure, continuing to eat all of the food. Irritated by this, the terrier barked, "Look, this is my house! My life! I'm not about to have some mangy mutt take that from me!" Finally lifting his giant head from the bowl, Duke muttered, "Don't tempt me, it's an appealing idea but I don't wanna do that if I don't have to."

"Oh yeah right! I don't believe that for a second!" Max growled. He charged at Duke in an attempt to frighten the larger dog, halting just inches away. Unfazed, Duke got up to his paws and lunged forward with snapping teeth. Yelping in terror, Max backed up quickly and bumped into a vase. Noticing the vase toppling over, Duke gasped in horror and rushed over, successfully stopping the vase from falling onto the floor. Watching the larger dog trying to lean the vase back up onto the table, an idea popped into Max's head.

An awful idea.

"Hey Duke," Max's voice called out slyly. Struggling to lean the vase upright with his nose, Duke groaned. Yet he glanced over to look at the other dog. Standing atop the coffee table in the living room, Max met his gaze evenly as he kicked his back leg out, knocking over the vase out there. It shattered into pieces upon contact with the floor, spilling the contents everywhere. Horrified, Duke moved to stop it, even though he was too late. In doing that though, the vase he had been trying to save also fell to the floor.

"Aw, isn't that a shame? And you know what Duke, Katie knows darn well that I would never do anything like this," Max sneered, perched on the arm of the couch. Baring his teeth, Duke growled, "That's it! I'm gonna-"

"What? What are you gonna do? Rip my face off?" Max questioned, holding his head high. Wagging his tail excitedly, the Jack Russell terrier yipped, "Perfect! Wait until Katie finds out! In fact, I can hear her coming upstairs right now!" This was true, both dogs could hear the young woman trying to run up the basement stairs as fast as she could. Hopping off the couch elegantly, Max remarked, "You'll be kicked out in no time!"

"Oh my goodness! Hang on boys!" Katie cried, arriving at the scene. Scooping Max up into her arms, she used her free hand to grab Duke's collar and guide him towards the back door. Opening it, she set Max outside on the porch alongside Duke as she explained, "Wait here boys, I don't want you cutting your paws on glass. I'll let you back in soon, I promise!" She then shut the door, leaving the dogs outside on the porch. Max couldn't even get through the doggie door when he tried.

He was stuck outside for the night, with Duke.