We open on Martha acting as a coach to Alice, T.D., Helen, Carolina, and Truman. When they leave, she explains that the episode's vocabulary is about competition. The episode proper starts with Martha and Skits playing tug of war, when Helen asks them why they're so competitive. Martha says that she's not all that competitive, then runs off with the toy, knocking over a man selling flyers.
Helen and Skits run up to him and she and Martha apologise, which makes the man wondering if the heat is making him delusional. When he realises that she truly can speak, he hands Helen a flyer, which is advertising his dog show. She's not interested, so they leave to hang out with Carolina in the park, but the man yells to them that if Helen enters Martha, the dog would be a "champion".
At the park, Carolina expresses disbelief at the idea of Martha being a champion and claims she can more see Francois as one. Then, she wants to enter him in the competition, with Helen helping due to her knowledge on dogs, but Helen is dubious because Francois isn't even Carolina's dog. Carolina leaves, but when Martha asks where she went, Helen just says, "Um, nowhere."
Then, she goes to enter Martha in the dog show, but Martha isn't interested until the guy running it starts complimenting her. Helen isn't so sure when she learns it costs fifteen dollars to enter, but then Carolina shows up and enters Francois, claiming that Martha is doomed to lose. The show guy, whose name is Mr. Rudolph, says that the only way to know who the winner would be is to enter both dogs.
Later, Helen searches around in her room for a dollar so she can enter Martha into the contest and put an end to Carolina's smack talk about Martha. Helen takes Martha to Mr. Rudolph, who says that Martha does stand a chance of winning, but being shampooed would help her odds.
The shampooing costs five dollars, so Helen on the bus asks Danny for the money, but he thinks that's ridiculously expensive. She wheedles him into giving her money, then a reluctant Martha gets shampooed by Mr. Rudolph. Carolina shows up and again claims Martha doesn't stand a chance, which makes Helen defensive. Neither girl wants to be the other's rival, but they decide that it's a small price to pay, since both want their entry to win. Helen puts pink bows around Martha's neck and on her ears, cleans her teeth and ears, clips her nails, and walks her, but Martha finds these things painful, with the exception of the walking, which she finds boring.
On the day of the dog show, the contestants are Martha, Francois, Rinty, John, and a wiener dog. Francois dances, Rinty poses, John falls over, Martha recites a poem she wrote, and finally, it's time for the prizes. By then, however, the girls have stopped caring. Francois wins, with Martha in second, but then John wins the prize for Best Dog Named John, and the wiener dog wins a prize for Best Brown Dog. Then, Mr. Parkington discovers that the awards are made of plastic, so the contestants want to demand a refund, but Mr. Rudolph leaves. The contestants complain, then Martha tells them that on the plus side, everyone getting a medal means that everyone is a winner.
This episode provides examples of
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal:
- As a coach, Martha wears a baseball cap.
- On the title card, then when Helen is dressing her up, she wears bows.
- The illustration of a poodle on Mr. Rudolph's van wears a hairbow.
- Agony of the Feet: Martha recoils at the very idea of having her claws trimmed.
- And Your Reward Is Edible: Discussed when Martha hears that the prize of the dog show is a medal and wonders if it's food.
- Aside Glance: At the end, Martha looks at the viewer.
- Baby Talk: Carolina calls Francois "widdle Francois" and speaks to him in a smoochy voice.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Martha yells, "Quiet!" to the contestants to get their attention.
- Blatant Lies: Carolina awkwardly tries to lie that she can see Martha as a champion, despite having said, "Martha?! A champion?!" seconds prior.
- Canine Confusion: Martha is illustrated with humanlike teeth.
- Death Glare: Helen gives Carolina several dirty looks due to her claiming Martha doesn't stand a chance in the dog show.
- Faux Horrific: Martha Hates Baths so much that she literally yells, "Help!" when being bathed.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: When Martha asks if entering the dog show costs money, Mr. Rudolph says, "No! No, no, no, no, no... a little."
- Informed Attribute: We're told Martha has brown eyes, but due to the art style, we don't see her irises.
- Innocently Insensitive: Carolina tries to claim she's not insulting Martha, but then says, "It's not her fault she's not a champion like widdle Francois".
- Irony: Initially, Helen berates her dogs for being competitive, but then later, she starts being competitive while Martha isn't sure.
- Is It Something You Eat?: When Martha learns that the prize is a medal, she asks if it's food.
- I've Heard of That — What Is It?: When Carolina says she doesn't want Helen to be her "rival", Helen says, "I am not your rival! How can you stand here and call me your rival!? What's a rival?"
- Medal of Dishonor: The old lady looks at her dog's medal and says, "Best brown dog!? What kind of award is that?!".
- Suckiness Is Painful: When Helen is walking Martha, the latter says, "Ow!". Helen asks why, and Martha says that it's boring.Helen: "Yeah, but why did you say, 'ow'?"Martha: "It's so boring, it hurts!"
- Tongue Twister: At the beginning, Martha has Truman recite Peter Piper.
- You Can Talk?: Mr. Rudolph gasps loudly and wonders if he's hearing things when Martha apologises to him.
