Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Who let the dogs out? Okay, okay, we know that one was bad—we'll show ourselves out.
Outdated references aside, the dogs featured in "Death in the Woods" become powerful metaphorical stand-ins for their owners.
In some way, they're like Mrs. Grimes herself. Jake and his son "kick and abuse" their dogs, but they remain loyal to their masters (3.6). Isn't that similar to the way they treat Mrs. Grimes? Although they treat her like their personal slave, she is unable to free herself because she has nowhere to go.
By the end, though, the dogs start to act a lot like the Grimes boys. After Mrs. Grimes dies, the dogs "sank their teeth into the grain bag" on her back (4.2). This is similar to the way that the two men act: they don't care about her well being as long as they get fed. Finally, the dogs tear off her clothes and drag her into a clearing.
You see, "when man dies [dogs] become wolves again" (3.14). Mrs. Grimes cared for these dogs while she was alive, desperately scraping enough food together to keep them relatively healthy. Like Jake and his son, these dogs now face a future where they'll be forced to fend for themselves. Who knows what they'll get into now?