Booth-Clibborn Editions published Damien Hirst’s first artists’ book at pounds 59.95 this year, full of colourful pop-ups and ecetates but with a title, I Want To Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now that seems to pay tribute more to words than images. I only have to change the tone of my voice and say `You’re a naughty boy’ and my dog has his tail between his legs. “Your personality counts for a lot, too, when training dogs. You have got to be prepared to put yourself in the position of your dog and understand the way he thinks. Training methods have changed dramatically since I started 20 years ago. In those days, it was put the lead on and yank the dog around.

Now, you would speak to your dog in a kind voice and the teaching would be done in a sort of play method. If you’ve got a dog that pulls your arms out of your sockets, get his attention with a toy or a titbit, use the lead gently and give him a reward when he walks to heel This could be food, or just a bit of fuss. If they’re older, you’ll have to break their old habits first In these circumstances, patience is a virtue. There’s a general attitude in life that the older you get the less likely you are to accept change, but that doesn’t apply to everybody, and it doesn’t apply to dogs Everything a dog learns is done by routine If you start them when they’re young, they’ll learn quickly. “I don’t know why people say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. It’s certainly more difficult to teach them, for the same reason that it’s difficult for an older person to learn something new.

Close Fund Management claims that applying its lock-in to 1987 market conditions would have produced a 14 per cent gain for the fund.Drawbacks and risks: There is still a potential annual downside of 20 per cent. Although most of a market’s upside is “captured”, the sharper it is, the less will be locked in. You should be clear you know what you are doing before investing in this fund.Points out of five: 3.5.- Nic Cicutti. Charges include a 5.5 per cent bid/offer spread, discounted to 4 per cent until 14 November Financial advisers may rebate further commission. Annual management charges are 1.25 per cent.Plus points: Many investors may feel the need for some “downside” protection. With this fund, losses would be limited to 5 per cent a quarter.

The no- exit limit means that if stock markets are rising, gains can be locked in and left to roll over for another quarter. The product: Close World Escalator Fund. The deal: The fund is a unit trust that tracks a range of overseas stock market indices. The weighting is Europe, 22 per cent; Japan, Far East and Australasia, 26 per cent; North America 52 per cent. The investment is held in cash, together with futures and options contracts.
The options mean that in any one quarter the maximum exposure to any market fall is 5 per cent of funds invested. But minimum premiums are pounds 40 a month, which may be too much. A Norwich Union personal pension can start from as little as pounds 20 a month.