The book is about a family who buys a dog (a Beagle). The father is sceptical because he does not think he has time enough to look after the dog. However, he becomes so fond of the dog that he decides to bring up and train the dog himself. Unfortunately, things do not turn out the way he thinks and hopes. Time after time things go wrong and very far from what he had expected, which results in a number of comical and bizarre situations.