Whenever I cook hot dogs in the microwave they invariably split and/or burst open. I've tried shortening the cooking time, but haven't found a happy medium where they are thoroughly cooked, but remain unmutilated.  Is there some trick to cooking them in a microwave without this happening?  
Poke them with a fork in a few places. This will let the steam out in a controlled manner and prevent bursting.  or, even better, skip the microwave and boil them in a pan over the stove. 