Welcome to the Impossible Dog Challenge!

Ok, here's the scoop - I'm at my wit's end!

We have just about the most perfect dog on the planet. He's a 9-year-old Bichon Shihtzu named Nicki, in perfect health. Lots of energy, doesn't shed, yap, demand attention, pee on my floor, jump up on me, or display any other annoying tendencies, and is incredibly flexible with our lifestyle. He's easy to train, and behaves himself wherever he goes.

He's been kennel trained since birth, and happily goes to his kennel when we leave the house or at bedtime. I'm a stay-at-home mom of two home schooled teenagers, so we are mostly home. Nicki usually gets a walk every day, and lots of one-on-one play time, mostly with my 16 year old son who adores him.

But here's the problem. About two years ago we started to go through a period where for about three days in a row Nicki would decide he needed to come up and sleep in our room, so at some time between 2:00am up until the time we got up he would whine, yap, "talk" and generally make a nuisance of himself until he was let out. Understand, he was NEVER let out of his kennel in the middle of the night, and if he had awakened us, he was only allowed out once we were up, and after he'd been quiet for at least 30 minutes.

After about three days, he would settle back in to allowing us to get up at whatever time suited us, which had been his pattern of behaviour since we purchased the dog (something we felt incredibly blessed by!). When he behaves, he's let out of his kennel as soon as one of us is up. This pattern might repeat itself once or twice a year.

Lately (like for the past month) he's been waking us EVERY night. This is a serious issue because my husband is a bona fide insomniac who needs two prescription drugs and a CPAP machine just to get to sleep. If anything wakes him in the night, he's done.

Nicki is fine if he can sleep on our floor - he'll happily lay there until we get up without disturbing us on purpose. The problem is, he's an active sleeper, so he might yelp or whine in his sleep, or wake up and scratch which causes his collar to rattle, or start a "licking frenzy". This will wake up my husband, and we're back to square one.

Nicki MUST sleep in his kennel in the kitchen.

What we've tried so far:

• ignoring him (which just causes the problem to escalate until Nicki's making enough noise for the neighbors to hear him)
• shouting at him
• banging/dropping his kennel while shouting at him
• smacking him (safely, but soundly)
• locking him in a dark basement in his kennel
• Throwing cold water in his face
• My son's solution one night when he'd started at about 2:00 am and had responded to NOTHING we'd tried, was to put an elastic band around his mouth and lock him in the basement. Not an ideal solution, but one born of a desperation to sleep.

An animal behaviourist suggested a shock collar that would shock hard enough that it would feel like his paw was being slammed in a car door - that was after chatting for 1.5 hours together, and coming up with NO OTHER SOLUTION.

Understand, Nicki does NOT need to go pee or have a drink when he wakes us, and his kennel is lined with the best pillow in the house - better than my own - so he's not uncomfortable. He just wants to sleep on my floor. That's it.

Problem is, a shock collar is about $300, and there's no guarantee Nicki would respond - he's incredibly stubborn. It's cheaper to put him down.

So, here's the challenge: If you are a "dog person", like a trainer or behaviourist, here's a chance to shine and get some good exposure. I will try all reasonable, humane suggestions that are posted in the comments section below. It can't cost more than $100, and I won't pay for it unless it works.

In turn, I will post this blog to Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, giving it as much exposure as possible, so if you have a winning idea, it could be a great source of free advertising for you.

Are you up to the challenge?

Post your ideas below!

Darlene