At a party, an old lady has Martha do tricks and is shocked to find out she can talk. She drops her hot dog, which Martha begins eating, and Helen apologises to the woman (named Mrs. Marbleton) and offers more food. Mrs. Marbleton is amazed that Martha can speak, but Ronald claims he also has a talking animal. Martha is concerned that Ronald has taught Nelson to talk, but it turns out to be Polly. Martha says, "It's just a parrot" (since parrots usually talk anyway), but Ronald thinks Polly is superior since she says what you ask her to say as opposed to Martha, who argues. However, when he tries to make Polly say, "Good parrot", she says, "Good dog" instead, so he calls her a "birdbrain" and walks off to perfect his training of her.
Helen and Martha take a walk, and Helen complains about how mean Ronald was to his parrot, but Martha isn't sure if "birdbrain" counts as an insult if it's directed to a bird. Martha then overhears Cisco and two other dogs discussing a new dog who's moved in, so Helen and Martha decide to welcome him to the neighbourhood. When they get there, they find a sign reading, "Beware of dog", and a large brown dog charges at them barking. Helen thinks the dog looks mean, but Martha thinks he was just startled and tries to make small talk. However, he growls at her before she can introduce herself and barks until his owner (a large man) calls him (whose name is revealed to be Bob) bad and they both retreat away.
Helen and Martha go back to the party, where Ronald returns with Polly. He tries to make her say, "Good bird", but she still says, "Good dog" instead. Martha successfully teaches Polly the phrases "Polly wants a steak" and "You must have fleas", annoying Ronald. Helen can hear Bob barking from his house and is annoyed, but Martha is sure Bob will tire of barking.
However, he continues to bark at night and his owner continues to scold him, leaving Helen and Martha groggy in the morning. They try to pacify him by offering him steak, but he barks at it instead of eating it. Bob's owner yells at him again, then takes the steak for himself, causing Martha to yell, "Bad owner!" at him.
As Helen and Martha go home, they discuss the newcomers. While both Helen and Martha are in agreement that Bob's owner is a bully, Helen thinks that Bob is just plain mean, while Martha thinks that his loudness is just due to pent-up energy. Thus, she tries giving him toys, but instead of playing with them, he just chews them up. She then plays lullaby music to him, which makes him sleepy. She tries to sweet-talk him, but when the radio runs out of battery power, he growls at them again. Martha has now changed her mind and decides that Bob is a bad dog after all and tears him a new one, only to fearfully run away upon seeing his chain is broken.
Bob chases Martha, and Helen tells his owner that his dog is loose. Martha tries to hide among Cisco and the other two dogs, but they run away. He chases her until he gets stuck in a fence, but then he gets unstuck and they run off. She buries herself in a sandbox, but he finds her, so the chase continues, until they reach the Boxwood house. However, when Polly says, "Good dog!", Bob becomes friendly. Martha has Polly keep complimenting Bob, and he drops all his aggression. Bob's owner shows up, and starts scolding him again, but Martha encourages him to call him a good dog, and they walk off. Just before leaving, Martha teaches Polly how to say, "Good parrot".
This episode provides examples of
- An Aesop: Don't be mean, or else the people you were mean to might start being mean to others.
- Alliterative List: Martha calls Bob a "monstrous mutt", "mangy mongrel", "big bully", "vicious varmint", "heinous hound", and "naughty no-good..." (the last word she never got a chance to say).
- Bittersweet Ending: Helen and Martha acknowledge that Bob's owner will probably go back to being mean, and therefore Bob probably will too as a result, but they agree to enjoy the pair's niceness while it lasts.
- The Chain of Harm: Bob's owner calls him a bad dog, and so Bob starts being mean to others.
- Faceplanting into Food: Martha, who'd been kept awake by Bob, falls asleep into her soup.
- Freudian Excuse: Bob may have been growly, but that was because his owner insulted him all the time.
- Giant Spider: Discussed when Martha says that she doesn't understand the "Beware of dog" sign, but she'd understand a sign reading, "Beware of giant spider".
- Hurricane of Euphemisms:
- Martha calls Bob a "ruffian", a "thug", and a "meanie".
- She later calls him a "monstrous mutt", "mangy mongrel", "big bully", "vicious varmint", and "heinous hound".
- Imagine Spot: When Ronald claims he has a talking pet, Martha briefly imagines what would happen if Nelson could speak.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Ronald claims that Polly only says what you want her to say, only for her to say, "Good dog" when he asked her to say, "Good parrot".
- Literal-Minded: In addition to Martha, Polly seems to be literal-minded too, since when Ronald tells her to "say it", she says, "It".
- Oh, Crap!:
- Martha goes from angry to nervous when she sees that Bob's chain is broken.
- She instantly becomes fearful upon noticing her friends have run away.
- Pun: Ronald calls Polly, who's a parrot, a "birdbrain". Martha wonders if calling a bird a birdbrain even counts as an insult.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Martha gives Bob a huge telling-off when she sees him growling at Helen:Martha: "Hey, Bob! You big bully! Leave her alone! Y'know, there are words for dogs like you: ruffian, thug, meanie! I never thought I'd say this, but you are a bad dog! And now that you've reached the end of your chain, I think I speak for the whole neighbourhood when I say..."
- Say My Name: Martha yells, "HELEN!" upon seeing Bob growling at her.
- Sleep Deprivation: Due to Bob barking at night, Helen and Martha are lethargic the next morning.
- Stock Animal Diet: Both Martha and Skits enjoy hot dogs.
- Tempting Fate:
- Martha is sure Bob will get sick of barking soon, but at night, he's still barking.
- Martha says that Bob will be more friendly once he's given the steak, but he isn't.
- Uncatty Resemblence: Bob and his owner are both loud and easily-angered.
- You Can Talk?: When Mrs. Marbleton finds out that Martha can talk, she gasps, drops her food, and stands agape.
