A health secret

I  have had marginally high blood pressure for most of my adult life. When I joined the Army in in the late 1960s I packed all kinds of aids into my dopp kit. The Army confiscated them from me. Once I started Basic Training my BP dropped to normal. I am sure that was due to plenty of exercise and a good diet. At the time each military unit prepared its own food and despite what you may have heard about mess halls it consisted of good balanced meals. I'll admit I couldn't eat the weekly serving of liver but it was still balanced.

After the Army I continued to have high BP. I resisted doctors' advice to medicate for it.

About eight years ago I cured my high blood pressure when our Boston Terrier Kibbitz came to live with us. It should be a widely-know fact that a cat or a dog can bring your blood pressure down. Don't know why it isn't. Two-way street, of course. You have to treat the dog or cat well. For the sake of this blog entry I will talk about dogs.

One of the most important things in a dog's life is consistency. Put the dog on a schedule: meals, walks, playtime, bed time. She'll love it.

It should go without saying that you should never strike a dog. If I walk up to Kibbitz and raise my hand she starts looking for a treat. No hitting. If you're trying to train a dog one of the best devices is a cola can with a dozen coins in it. Tape on the opening to keep the coins from falling out. If you shake the can it makes a loud, annoying noise and the dog will stop doing whatever she might have been doing wrong. 

Pet your pet. My blood pressure is always in the normal range and I suspect Kibbitz's is, too.

A word about cats. One of the ways a cat will show affection is by scent-marking you. For years I had a cat named Farley. When I returned home from work Farley would spend a great deal of time rubbing the area above his eyebrows on me. Low BP for cats, too.