In this episode, the Simpson family's dog, "Santa's Little Helper", chews on Homer's new shoes. The dog also destroys a prized family treasure and eats Homer's cookie. The family gets angry at the dog. As a result, Bart is forced to train "Santa's Little Helper" at an obedience school so that the family will not give him away. At first, the dog acts very badly. At the last minute, he passes the test.