The good neighbour policy gets a real workout when the boys, and later Bub, tangle individually with members of the new family across the street. Steve lectures them but on his way to work as he's backing out the driveway, he is delayed by a fender-denting idiot who turns out to be none other than Mr. Kaylor - the neighbor across the street.

Chip's friend has a new, well-trained German shepherd, which emphasizes to Chip just how stupid Tramp is. At three in the morning a neglected slow boiling pot of fat on the stove explodes. Tramp's barking wakes the family. Chip and Sudsy now find they have something in common to talk about.