By this point in the novel, Napoleon has become the sole ruler of Animal Farm. Snowball has disappeared, and Squealer largely serves as his public face. He also functions as the chief propaganda officer, publicizing and generating popular support for Napoleon’s decisions. Napoleon has been training a pack of dogs, which he raised from puppies, to serve him; they not only protect him from anyone who seems to threaten him but also attack on command.

The quoted passage comes soon after Napoleon has put down the Rebellion (in chapter 7), in part through killing a number of animals who had opposed him. Clover survives, but she is shaken by the killings and the general atmosphere: they now lived in an environment where

no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere...

Soon singing Beasts of England is abolished, and the Sixth Commandment is modified to read, "No animal shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE."

Squealer and the other pigs shield Napoleon in case any other animals get the idea of staging a rebellion. Napoleon’s secrecy enhances rather than detracts from his aura of authority. The cockerel, a young male chicken, serves as a herald announcing the head pig’s presence when he does appear. The dogs are called a retinue, meaning a group of followers; the term is often used for attendants at a monarch’s court. In the next paragraph, the author tells us some of the numerous titles that are now used to refer to “our Leader, Comrade Napoleon.”