Dog Training

My grandson is learning to live with his new pet, which is a cat, When I was growing up we had dogs and learning how to train them was important. There are of course many reasons for owners to want a calm, obedient and faithful dog.  For one thing, obedient and trained dogs are happier dogs, less likely to get into tussles with people or with other dogs.  Another reason is that many communities require that the dogs living in their neighbourhoods be well trained.  This is especially true for many breeds thought to have aggression and behaviour problems – dog breeds like pit bulls and rottweilers for instance.

And of course, training your dog well will also make he or she a much better family companion, especially in households where there are young children.  Many studies have shown that proper dog training makes a big impact when it comes to cutting down the number of dog bits and other behaviour problems encountered by dog owning households.

When considering training your own dog, or having someone else help you train it, there are certain basic commands that must be mastered in order for a dog to be considered truly trained.  These basic commands include:

• Heel – it is important that any dog learn to walk beside its owner on a loose lead, neither pulling ahead nor lagging behind
• Respond to the word No – the word no is one word that all dogs must learn.  Training your dog to respond to this important word can save you a ton of trouble.
• Sit – Training your dog to sit on command is a vital part of any dog training program.
• Stay – A well-trained dog should remain where his or her owner commands, so stay is a very important command in dog training.
• Down – Lying down on command is more than just a cute trick; it is a key component of any successful dog training program.

Dog training does much more than just create an obedient, willing companion.  Training your dog properly actually strengthens the bond that already exists between dog and handler.  Dogs are pack animals, and they look to their pack leader to tell them what to do.  The key to successful dog training is to set yourself up as that pack leader.  

Establishing yourself as pack leader is a very important concept for any potential dog trainer to understand.  There is only one leader in every pack of dogs, and the owner must establish him or herself as the dominant animal.  Failure to do so leads to all manner of behaviour problems.

A properly trained dog will respond properly to all the owner’s commands, and will not display anxiety, displeasure or confusion.  A good dog training program will focus on allowing the dog to learn just what is expected of it and will use positive reinforcement to reward desired behaviours.

In addition to making the dog a good member of the community, obedience training is a great way to fulfill some of the dog’s own needs, including the need for exercise, the security that comes with knowing what is expected of it, a feeling of accomplishment and a good working relationship with its handler.  Dog training gives the dog an important job to do, and an important goal to reach.

Giving the dog a job is more important than you may think.  Dogs were originally bred by humans to do important work, such as herding sheep, guarding property and protecting people.  Many dogs today have no important job to do, and this can often lead to boredom and neurotic behaviour.  

Basic obedience training and ongoing training sessions provide the dog with an important job to do.  This is especially important for high energy breeds like German shepherds and border collies.  Training sessions are a great way for these high energy dogs to use up their extra energy and simply to enjoy themselves.

Incorporating playtime into your dog training sessions is a great way to prevent both yourself and your dog from becoming bored.  Playing with your dog helps to strengthen the all-important bond between you – the pack leader – and your dog.

A first pet

My grandson just got his first pet, which is a small kitten, whom he calls Poco (The cat is named after the city we live in). So as he is planning to be a pet owner, he must be ready for the long-term cat care. Everything must be planned in order to avoid mistakes.

Poco will be a nice companion for him and his family. But he has to understand the kitten's needs. First, Poco has to eat. But you can't feed your cat (kitten) your leftovers. It is better to look for the best cat food that can give her the energy boost as well as good health you want her to have.

He also has to make sure that the surrounding his cat is living in is free from anything that can cause her accidents. He has to make sure that he does not let anything that is lethal and poisonous hanging about. When it comes to neatness, he has the right pet. Cats are known to take ample time in grooming themselves.

My grandson lives in a rural setting, so watching his kitten for signs of fleas is important. One of the signs can be too much grooming.

And if his cat is going to be an inside cat, and because cats are vain, he must also be tidy with everything. He needs to keep the litter box clean and well maintained. Did you know that the cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than ours? You may not smell a thing but the cat will.

Poco will not do her thing on the provided litter box if it stinks. My grandson may get the surprise of his life to see his cat's poops well hidden under your clean carpet or how about that basket of clean clothes.

I recommend that he doesn't give his cat a reason to stray when it comes to those things. Give her what she wants. And what all cats want is a clean and odour free litter box.

He also has to find a good vet for your cats. My daughter and her family are friends with your local veterinarian. They need to be mindful of the simplest symptoms that your cat may show. Just by observing their pet, they will know if something is wrong. Call the vet immediately and ask their opinion.

My grandson and his family long before they made the decision to welcome a cat into the household, thought everything through over and over again. They did not act on impulse and my grandson had to commit to carrying out his responsibilities of being a pet owner and I look forward to meeting Poco when we next visit.

Why (older) men should do housework

Easy answer, it is good for your health, both physical and mental and it can help your relationship. In a new report Why older men should do more housework, published in January 2018 written by Honor Whiteman and fact-checked by Jasmin Collier, researchers have found that every day, older women spend an average of 2 hours more doing household chores than men. But it's not all bad. Older men and women who engage in more housework might have better health. Though if women get too much or too little sleep, the health benefits of housework diminish.

A new study which was recently published in the journal BMC Public Health was led by Nicholas Adjei and Tilman Brand, of the University of Bremen in Germany.

The research was designed to get a better idea of how adults spend their time in later life, and how certain day-to-day activities impact their health.

"The percentage of those aged 65 years and above," explains study co-leader Adjei, "is increasing globally due to higher life expectancy. It is important to understand how older adults spend their time in these later years and the possible positive and negative implications for their health."

In the study, the team points out that household activities have become the main "productive work" for older adults following retirement, but little is known about how such activities affect health.

After retirement, elderly men and women allocate more time to housework activities, compared to working-age adults. Nonetheless, sleep constitutes the lengthiest time use activity among the elderly, but there has not been any study on the associations between time spent on housework activities, sleep duration and self-reported health among the older population. This study looks at those issues.

The study found a positive association between time devoted to housework activities, total housework and health status among elderly men and women. Compared to those who spent 1 to 3 hours in total on productive housework, elderly people who spent between 3 and 6 hours a day had higher odds of reporting good health

With regard to the number of hours of sleep a night. Those who slept less than 7 hours and those who slept more than 8 hours reported negative health for both genders. However, the interactive associations between total productive housework, sleep duration, and self-reported health varied among men and women. Among women, long hours of housework combined with either short or long sleep was negatively associated with health.

The study concluded that although time allocation to housework activities may be beneficial to the health among both genders, elderly women have higher odds of reporting poor health when more time is devoted total housework combined with either short or long sleep duration.

For many seniors, if you ask, household activities are part of the daily lives of older people. These activities have become their main “productive work” after retirement. A study by Szinovacz found that retirees devoted more time to housework activities than their working spouses. However, evidence suggests that gender inequality in the division of household labour largely persists in high-income societies even after retirement Most studies confirm that elderly women spend more time on housework activities than men although time allocated to housework activities among men has increased over recent years

Older women typically perform routine, repetitive tasks such washing clothes, cooking and cleaning house, while older men are responsible for occasional tasks such as household repair works, vehicle maintenance and yard work. This inequitable division of housework is one of the factors that contribute to the observed adverse health differences among men and women including psychological distress and depressive symptoms.

The study found that between men and women, there was a positive association between housework activities and self-reported health. However, there were differences in the magnitude of the associations. Time devoted to both routine and repetitive housework activities was significantly associated with good health. We observed that elderly people who spent more than 120 min/day on cleaning, cooking and shopping activities had higher odds of reporting good health compared to those who devoted no time to these activities.

Gardening and maintenance activities were associated with higher odds for good health. Older people who spent more than 120 min/day on these activities were more likely to report good health compared to those who did not allocate any time to these activities. The odds of reporting good health were significantly higher for elderly people who spent more than 120 min/day on childcare activities compared to those who devoted no time to childcare.

This studies findings of the association between routine housework activities (cleaning, cooking and shopping) and health contrast with a recent study conducted in China. The China study found no significant association of cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping and health among older men, but washing clothes and house cleaning were negatively associated with health among women.

Meanwhile, our results corroborate a longitudinal study of 2761 older Americans aged 65 years. That study found productive housework activities such as cooking, shopping and gardening to be associated with lower risk of mortality.

Saving for Retirement, can you hit the target?

How much do we need and should we save for retirement is a good question? The answer is based on a number of factors lifestyle expected and how long you expect to live. Each country and each individual will have a different approach to finding the right solution for this question. In England, the most widely used measures of retirement income adequacy in the UK are the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s (JRF) Minimum Income Standard (MIS) and the Pension Commission’s target replacement rate (TRR). MISs were developed in the UK and are based on feedback from a sample of the population on the types of goods and services they deem necessary for a socially acceptable minimum standard of living. The value of this standard ‘basket’ of goods and services is used to assess whether a person’s income is above or below this level.

Currently, the level for single pensioners is £9,998.37 These measures indicate whether an individual is able to achieve a standard of living in retirement that is broadly comparable to that which the individual had during their working life. Income needs in retirement are typically lower than income needs in working life and, as a result, replacement rates are typically expressed as a proportion of the individual’s pre-retirement income. In the table below are the replacement rates suggested by these formulas. I have added a column and translated the amounts to Canadian income. The third column shows what a person could expect to see as a retirement income if they stayed within the parameters of the formulas.

TABLE 1: REPLACEMENT RATES USED BY THE PENSIONS COMMISSION These replacement rates are used by both the industry and policymakers to assess the adequacy of people’s current levels of saving for retirement. However, both sets of measures have substantial drawbacks. The JRF MIS is designed to only give an indication of the minimum income for a socially acceptable standard of living. Given that the State Pension, for most people, already provides most of this amount, and most people aspire to far higher levels of retirement income, it is of only limited use to savers.

PPI, What Level of Pension Contribution is Needed to Obtain an Adequate Retirement Income? (2013) In Canadian dollars

PRE-RETIREMENT GROSS EARNINGS	REPLACEMENT RATE THRESHOLD	RETIREMENT Income expected
$22, 499 or less	90%	Up to $22,500
$22,500-$41,799	70%	$ 15,750 to $27,999
$41,800-$58,749	67%	$28,000 to $35, 219
$58,750-$93,999	60%	$35,220 to $46,999
$94,000 or more	50%	$47,000 plus

 In 2004, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) introduced the Retirement Standard. The ASFA Retirement Standard was developed in order to help people plan for retirement, given that research suggested that many people struggle when it comes to developing a budget for their future needs, especially when their retirement is many years away.

It does this by outlining three distinct income levels, as well as the sorts of goods that can be purchased with each. The first income level is tied to the Australian State Pension, the Age Pension. The second and third income levels identify the sort of goods and services that can be purchased with a ‘modest’ and ‘comfortable’ retirement income.

For the ‘modest’ and ‘comfortable’ levels, ASFA has constructed estimates of the annual budgets required by individuals to fund the chosen standard of living in post-work life. The ASFA benchmarks estimate the budgets required by both singles and couples in order to enjoy a ‘comfortable’ and ‘modest’ standard of living in retirement.

They are updated quarterly to reflect changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and also differentiate between older and younger retirees, who often have different needs that require appropriate funding. For each retirement standard, a basket of goods is constructed taking account of expert opinion, national surveys of expenditure and focus groups. The Australian model shows at a glance what your retirement lifestyle would look like and the amount of money you would need coming in to sustain that lifestyle.

  

In Canada and many other countries, people do not know how much they need to save for retirement. This is not a big issue as there are many planners who can help them. However, if there were an unbiased system that showed us a target like the one that is in a place like Australia, then people could be objective. A set of targets could give us a clear and understandable goal. On the basis of this goal, savers would then be able to calculate the amount of savings necessary to deliver the target income.

In January 2018 The Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association and the Hitting the Target Steering Group issued a report on the idea of targets and said “We envisage that the body which calculates the National Retirement Income Targets would host a range of bespoke tools which would allow a saver to select their preferred retirement income target level and be adjustable according to their age, whether the person is in a household made up of one or more people, and the cost of living where the person lives.

In the many cases where people will only be relying on pension saving to achieve their target income, it will be possible to adopt and promote standard rules of thumb. In more complex cases, where people are able to draw on a wider range of assets, e.g. property, inheritance or other savings, the targets could be used in conjunction with online tools which would support savers, and where applicable their advisors, in planning their retirement income.”