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I knew there would be trouble letting that dog up onto the sofa.

We interviewed the former Boomtown Rats guitarist Gerry Cott this lunchtime. He now runs one of the most successful animal training companies in the country. And he brought along one of his - er - employees: a West Highland terrier called Bobby.

Glenis emailed working.lunch@bbc.co.uk
afterwards to say that Gerry can't have trained Bobby too well if it was allowed to sit on the couch that's used by our guests.

I take your point. I wouldn't let dogs on the sofa either. It's not a matter of hygiene, it's dominance - a dog on a chair thinks he's in charge.

But if you look at our studio, you'll see putting him on the couch was the best way for you to see him. He was too low down on the floor for the normal camera shot, and the table blocked the view.

A few people also emailed in fairly uncomplimentary terms to complain about the interview itself. Ian Jones and SL Feldman referred to us as a "dog show".

Well, yes, the programme did have a dog today. But the dog wasn't the show.

We looked at what's happening with your electricity and gas bills. Naga explained today's share price moves. We followed up the problems some of you have been having with the Cahoot website. And we looked at an issue that annoys so many Working Lunch viewers, nuisance phone calls.

But the dog wasn't even the story.

The interview with Gerry was about his personal experiences as someone who took a risk to set up his own business.

Just think about what he did. He took his hobby, something he loved doing, and turned it into his livelihood. Which of us wouldn't want to do that with our lives?

In the process he provided a service to his clients, generated sales and employment, and paid taxes - the taxes that help pay for our schools, hospitals and other public services.

This is (forgive me) no shaggy dog story. This is what business is all about. Our economic future hangs on the fortunes of our small companies. In a world where low-skill manufacturing is increasingly dominated by China and low-skills services have migrated to India - and when those and other rival nations are getting smarter and more technologically sophisticated - we will rely on companies that use their creativity and knowledge to spot new opportunities and exploit them. Small companies tend to be faster and more flexible, putting them in pole position. They are the new dogs that can learn new tricks, and we need many more people like Gerry to take that risk and set up shop.

And was it funny? Of course it was. His business is teaching dogs to do tricks, for goodness sake. Does that mean it shouldn't be on our programme? I don't think so. Business is the nation's lifeblood and livelihood, and that includes the comedy and drama alongside the hard work and inspiration.