Odesanmi Fahad

Did you know that dogs, like humans, can suffer from hypertension? Also known as high blood pressure, it’s a common ailment in dogs. Having high blood pressure means that as blood circulates in the body, the force in which it comes against the artery walls is too high. Like with humans, if left untreated, high blood pressure in dogs can cause health complications, so it’s important to know what to look out for and how to keep your furry friend healthy.

Dogs can have one of two types of high blood pressure: primary or secondary, says Georgina Ushi Phillips, DVM, a veterinarian based in West Chapel, Fla., and contributor to Not a Bully.

Primary hypertension doesn’t have a known cause, although genetics likely play a role in some breeds. Secondary hypertension is elevated blood pressure as the result of another health condition, like tumors, kidney disease, or hormonal imbalances. Secondary hypertension is much more common in dogs than primary, said Dr. Phillips, so if a dog has elevated blood pressure, typically there’s an underlying cause.

Diet and high-sodium foods can make hypertension in dogs worse, but one of the biggest contributors for today’s dogs is obesity.

Healthy blood pressure for most dogs ranges from about 110/60 mmHg to 160/90 mmHg, although the ranges can vary slightly by breed.

Most veterinary clinics will only measure systolic blood pressure, or the first number, which indicates how much pressure the dog’s blood is exerting against its artery walls while the heart beats.

Because dogs at the vet are often frightened or stressed, this is taken into account when interpreting blood pressure measurements, says Megan Conrad, BVMS, a veterinarian living in Oregon and a member of Hello Ralphie.

RELATED: What are normal blood pressure levels?

High blood pressure in dogs isn’t uncommon, but often goes undiagnosed, says Dr. Conrad. The signs are subtle and can be easily missed by dog owners. Hypertension tends to get picked up during a routine wellness exam or when a patient brings in their pet to investigate something unrelated. If you have a senior dog, your vet may be checking blood pressure regularly.

Outside of a vet visit, the symptoms of high blood pressure in dogs to keep an eye out for are:

Because these symptoms aren’t specific to high blood pressure and could have other causes, it’s important to see your vet and get diagnostic work done if your dog is exhibiting any of these symptoms.

If your dog has been diagnosed with high blood pressure, there’s no need to panic.

“Because the majority of dogs suffer from secondary hypertension, treating the underlying condition causing elevated blood pressure is the best approach,” Dr. Phillips says. In most cases, once the other condition is managed, the dog’s blood pressure will return to normal.

Your vet may also recommend lifestyle changes for your dog related to the underlying disease that will help lower blood pressure. For example, if heart disease is the culprit, your dog may need to be on a low-sodium diet. If it’s because your dog is obese, you might need to take the dog out for more walks or reduce its portion sizes to help it lose weight.

Veterinarians also use a variety of medications to directly manage hypertension, says Dr. Phillips. If your dog is put on medication, it’s important to monitor them regularly, as their medicine type and dose rate may need to be adjusted. These can include ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, or calcium channel blockers, just like the ones humans take to treat hypertension, such as:

You can use SingleCare to save up to 80% for pet prescriptions—as long as they are human medications, too. Most medications that you would pick up at your regular pharmacy are eligible for savings when you bring your pet Rx coupon (or the SingleCare app) to the counter.

RELATED: Can I save on medication for my pets?

Once your dog has been diagnosed with hypertension your vet may want frequent blood pressure measurements performed. If this is the case, you may be able to take measurements at home. “Veterinary-specific blood pressure monitors have smaller cuffs for smaller patients but beyond that, the devices are quite similar,” Dr. Phillips explains.

You can take a blood pressure reading from the tail or any of your dog’s four limbs. If your dog is especially short-limbed, like a dachshund, then the tail will be the best choice. Otherwise, it’s whatever location your dog most easily allows.

For an accurate reading, choosing the cuff size for your dog is important. The rule of thumb is that the width of the cuff should be 40% of the circumference of the dog’s limb, according to Dr. Phillips. A too-narrow cuff will usually show falsely elevated blood pressure, while one that’s too wide will show a falsely low reading. A handy trick is to lay the cuff lengthwise on the dog’s limb (or tail); an appropriately sized cuff will cover a little under half the limb.

Once you have the correct cuff size and the best location for your dog, it’s time to check the dog’s blood pressure. Higher stress will likely lead to a higher blood pressure reading, so you may want to reduce the dog’s stress before the reading by having it wear the cuff for a few minutes before starting the machine. Help your dog get comfortable with the cuff and reward calm behavior with positive reinforcements like treats, pats, and verbal praise.

Take note of what limb you use during the reading, so you can keep consistent with every blood pressure reading. Take several readings, keeping in mind that the first few may be high unless your dog is used to the process. “Take the median of several readings and document that for future reference,” says Dr. Phillips.

Since most dogs have high blood pressure because of another condition, the best way to keep your dog healthy and its blood pressure in a normal range is to be consistent with your vet’s visits, ensure that they get treated for any other health issues that may arise, and give them lots of pats—the last one may not be medically required, but your dog will approve.

While tourists are clogging the works elsewhere in Switzerland, local families like us (I think I can call us local now?) frequent beloved alpine resorts a little closer to home. We spent last weekend in Heidiland, one of the best mountain areas for families in Zürich and eastern Switzerland. We love its wide variety of hikes and activities for all ages and skill levels, spectacular views and how easy it is to access by both car and public transportation.

Here’s everything we did over our weekend (plus favorites from previous trips there), including hikes, theme trails, climbing park, alpine coaster, swimming, restaurants and our hotel. It’s close enough for a day trip, but definitely worth a longer stay over a weekend or summer break. Hope you find something you like!

Note: Thanks to Heidiland Tourism for sponsoring this trip. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Heidiland is a region about 1 hr southeast of Zürich as shown below, easily accessible by car or public transport (detailed directions in individual posts linked below). We’ve done many day trips to this area over the years. But it was nice to stay overnight, enabling us to enjoy the sunset and sunrise surrounded by mountains and have a more leisurely timeline.

For two days, we picked activities in this area that made sense for our boys, aged 12 and 15. At the end of this post, I have more suggestions both for families with younger children and adults who want something more challenging.

On Saturday, we drove from Zürich to Pizol, a mountain resort overlooking the Rhein valley. There are two sides to the resort, accessed with different gondolas, as shown on the summer hiking map below. We were on the right side of the map at Wangs.

We drove to Wangs and parked at the free parking next to the gondola station (near Schiggstrasse 27, 7323 Vilters-Wangs). You can also ride the train to Sargans, then take a bus to Wangs, Pizolbahn, about a 1hr10 ride from Zürich HB.

We rode the gondola from Wangs to the Furt middle station and started with the Mounteens detective trail, which took us about 2.5 hours with play time. It’s a new theme trail designed for older kids, with 10 activity stations along the trail, either with a question or a hidden clue to find. The trail is accompanied by a story book, which tells about a ghost that haunts the mountain and the four teen detectives that try to solve the mystery. My 12 yr old really liked the story and searching for the clues, even though some were very difficult to find. The trail ends at a playground and picnic area, with a restaurant nearby for ice cream and treats.

Then we rode chair lifts higher up and had a late lunch at the Pizolhütte with a view of the classic “Five Lakes” trail. I had a light meal of a delicious carrot soup and plate of local mountain cheese. My son had his favorite “Wurstsalat” and my husband the classic schnitzel and fries. I loved hanging out in the lounge chairs while my son practiced bottle flips with some other kids.

If you need lunch with a playground, stay at the Furt middle station where there are two restaurants with trampolines, climbing stuff, swings, etc.

After lunch, we strolled along the easy Panorama Mountain trail and took some nice pics before catching the last lift down the mountain around 16:00. If you do the whole loop, it’s about 1 hour, but you can easily cut it shorter if necessary. It’s easy walking and possible with a sturdy stroller.

For younger kids, we love the Heidi theme trail with lots of play equipment and adorable Heidi theme activities along the trail. See details here.

For older kids and adults, we recommend the popular and challenging Five Lakes Trail.

Back in the valley, we stayed overnight in nearby Bad Ragaz at the cozy and very friendly Boutique Hotel Bellevue, where we had a comfy suite overlooking the village.

The restaurant is clearly a favorite among locals, with lots of regulars happily chatting with the host. We enjoyed our hearty Swiss dinner and appreciated the flexible options for the kids. Later after our swim, we had ice cream sundaes with delicious local ice cream and some special flavors like ginger lime.

We liked being in the center of the adorable village, strolling around at twilight, watching the pink light fade on the mountains above. That’s our hotel lit up in the pic on the left.

That evening we walked through town to the Tamina Therme, where we spent the evening swimming and relaxing with massage jets, waterfalls, lazy river, hot/cold pools and sauna. Our favorite part might have been getting wrapped in a hot sheet at the end of the visit, so luxurious. This is also a great option for a rainy day.

The next day, we drove to the nearby Flumserberg, a big resort overlooking the beautiful Walensee lake and Churfirsten mountain range. We started on the left side of the map at Tannenheim and Prodalp. We finished on the right side of the map at Tannenboden.

You can drive up the mountain to Flumserberg, with free parking at the gondola stations at either Tannenheim (Bergstrasse 153, 8897 Flums) or Tannenboden (Molseralpstrasse 9, 8898 Flumserberg).

You can also reach this area by public transportation, either by bus 441 from Flums to Tannenheim, Post or by cable car from Unterterzen train station to Tannenboden.

We parked at Tannenheim and rode up the Prodalp Express gondola to the amusement center at Prodalp. We started with the Cliimber adventure rope park, testing our nerves and strength. We like the flexibility of the regular courses, which allow you to pick and choose your obstacles instead of completing a full pre-determined course. This time we did the 6 zip lines, which are new since our last visit, a great addition. They also have a mini course for small kids over 4, where the safety harness is always connected instead of having to clip on and off.

We ate lunch at the adjacent Prodalp self-service restaurant, which spills into the big playground with a bounce pillow and sunbeds for tired parents. I appreciated their big antipasti bar for those looking for a more healthy lunch option. This place can get crowded on sunny weekends, for good reason. But don’t worry, it’s easy to escape by walking just a couple minutes on the trail and suddenly you’re all alone with the pretty views.

Then we hiked around the mountain another part of Flumserberg, where we could ride the Floomzer alpine coaster, about a 40 min hike. It was nice to stretch our legs and leave the busy amusements behind for awhile and chat together as a family. The views were pretty nice too.

A little map for you so you know what to expect.

Our hike took us to the top of the Chrüz chair lift, where you can ride Floomzer alpine coaster down to Tannenboden, a thrilling 2 km ride with lots of bumps, turns, spirals and drops. It’s probably our favorite alpine coaster in Switzerland.

Videos are not allowed during the ride, so here’s a promo video from Flumserberg:

It is generally open 9:00 to 17:00 and costs CHF 13/adult and CHF 6.50/child. There are a variety of ticket options: multi-ride discounts, combos with the climbing park and gondolas, etc. See complete price list here.

For kids, we like the Saga “Wild Man” theme trail that starts at the top of the Prodalp-Prokamm chair lift, with fun activity stations along the way.

For adults and older kids, we like the gorgeous 4 Peak Tour or the full 7 Peak Tour if you are really motivated.

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:lol: Tigrinya sounds to me kind of like Arabic with a stutter I can't even express how Oromo sounds to me - I guess it just sounds like a

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