There has been a small rat-terrier looking dog hanging around my house the last few days. I don’t know where he came from but he’s not approachable. He’s not approachable meaning that if you try to approach him, he barks at you and then kind of runs away a little. He’s kind of skittish and I’ve tried to run him off a few times but he seems to come back.

Image source: sxc.hu

I haven’t fed him and there is no food source around the house for him so I don’t know what his problem is. My son said that it tried to chase him yesterday but I really don’t believe him. I think the dog might have been wanting to play. The dog is small enough that if it were to get near me to try to bite I would probably hurt it very badly before it had a chance to hurt me. I don’t like small, aggressive animals and I can “take care” of the problem fairly quickly if it needs to be done.

I think mean or aggressive dogs are the product of bad owners and perhaps bad breeding standards. I think it’s all in the up-bringing just like humans.

Children are bitten by dogs far more than adults are. Perhaps it’s because they are more prone to run away or more prone to approach an unfamiliar dog. It’s important that you teach your children not to approach an unfamiliar dog and to notify an adult if they see one. You never know where a dog has been, if it is friendly or if it could be diseased. Read more

Here is a recap of all of the health and wellness channel’s 12 step posts… Thanks Liz at Healthbolt for doing the roundup!

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recover Month and in recognition of this, the bloggers at b5Media’s Health and Wellness Channel have put together their interpretation of the 12 Steps, looking at each step not just from it’s orginal intent but also in relation to their own blog topic. The result is an interesting and informative group of posting that provides ‘food for thought’ in own lives.

We’ve all heard of the 12 Step Program, but most of us won’t be able to recite what each step was. That’s because we are lucky enough not to need to. But for thousands of people around the world, the 12 steps is their world.

Mark over at A Dozen Steps lists the 12 Steps  that he believes are designed to bring the person who practices them to a spiritual awakening and a psychic change sufficient enough to bring about a radical change in thinking.

Angelique from Breaking the Mirror starts off with Step 1 and finds that this step could just as easily apply to many addictions and disorders.

Alicia from Mental Health Notes addresses Step 2, asking Can A Power Greater Than Yourself Restore You To Sanity’?

Karen from Pink Ribbon Review looks at Step 3 as it relates to her and her life as a breast cancer survivor.

Kelly from Grounded Fitness tackles Step 4, saying she believes everyone can benefit from doing a little honest soul searching.

Kendra from A Hearty Life dicusses Step 5, saying we need to stop hiding behind our own excuses, problems and shortcomings and take responsibility for our own actions.

Grace from Kids Health Notes contemplates Step 6, saying that while “defect of character” seems little to do with nurturing healthy children, in reality our weaknesses have a lot to do with keeping our children healthy and productive.

At Diabetes Notes, Kendra moves on to Step 7, saying humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.

Breaking the Mirror, looks at Step 8, saying if she was to make a list, she would probably start with herself, to be perfectly honest. Then, she’d move on to her immediate family, and from there, branch out to friends.

Alicia from Mental Health Notes further explores the twelve steps, this time looking at Step 9, asking ‘Should You Make Amends With Those You’ve Wronged?

Kristina from AutismVox focuses on Step 10, find that the call to self-scrutiny and to reexamination of oneself has always been important to her as an aid in figuring out how to help her son Charlie who is autistic.

Grace from Kids Health Notes looks into Step 11, saying she believes words can either bring life or death, curse or blessing, and that when we speak, or pray, specific words then something tangible takes place: Hope.

And for Step 12, the final step, Breaking the Mirror addresses ways that anyone can carry the message about their

As we slide into fall and the skies get darker earlier, sweatshirts are on at the bus stop and the leaves are turning beautiful colors, I can’t help but think… winter will be here soon.

When you really stop and think about it, aren’t you more active in the summer months than the winter months? I think I am with the pool, walks in the evenings and running with the kids all day long. So this little tidbit of information shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.

A five-year study found people treated in the summer were on average 8% more likely to see their blood pressure come down to healthy levels.

These same findings were reported from 15 VA hospitals across the US. Not only are blood pressure’s elevated in the winter months but the incidence of stroke and heart attacks are also higher. Is it the slowed activity, the colder weather and thus vasoconstriction or the salty “winter”type hot foods that we consume? Maybe it is all of the above.

via BBC 

Persons with heart disease need to worry with controlling their overall cholesterol levels and not just “bad” cholesterol levels.  So important that this is re-examined. High cholesterol and heart disease do not mix!

Researchers found that 37 percent of Americans with diseases that affect the heart and vascular system had reached recommended levels of LDL-C (bad cholesterol), but only 17 percent were at recommended levels for all lipids – LDL-C, HDL-C (“good” cholesterol) and triglycerides. In contrast, 85 percent of those without cardiovascular diseases were at recommended LDL-C levels, while 67 percent were at recommended levels for all lipids. 

What do we need to do to decrease our risk levels? Control your weight, blood pressure and blood lipid levels through good lifestyle habits and minimal stress. I do not know what to say about stress because that gets tough and is hard to control but it is important to minimize- I should practice what I preach, haha.

via Science Daily 

Here is some scary news for you… diabetics and high blood pressure. Doctors are not sure when to treat their patients even when posing and increased risk for advanced heart disease by being a diabetic.

But a new study finds that even when people with diabetes show up in their doctor’s office with a high blood pressure reading, there’s only a 50-50 chance that each of them will get some sort of attention for it. That might mean a change to their medications, or a plan to follow up a few weeks later to see if the reading is still high.

What happens to the other 50%. Does their pressure just get worse? Do they monitor their high blood pressure or just throw caution to the wind, without even know they are doing so?

The national goal for people with diabetes is less than 130/80 mm Hg. (For people without diabetes or kidney problems, the goal is less than 140/90, which is considered the cutoff for Stage I hypertension.)

The study also showed that it also came down to what the patients chief complaint seemed to be. If it was pain for instance- there was less of an urgency with higher blood pressure compared to if it was say… dizziness or palpitations.  Bottom line: be your own advocate!!

via Science Daily

Alicia said it best… “Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, we’re always doing something. This week, we’re rounding up our “Top 5″ posts.” And with that here we go- we are giving you our top 5 picks from our respected sites.

We will kick it off with Alicia at Mental Health Notes- She did her own take on the top picks…Top 5 Posts I had the most fun writing for Mental Health Notes

Kristen at Lively Women gave us Lively Women’s Top 5 Posts, 2007-2008- I’m joining the rest of the Health and Wellness bloggers in selecting my 5 favorite posts of all time since I started writing this blog. Who knew it would be so difficult??? Here are 5 of my all-time favorites (and picking just five was TORTURE):

Kristina at Autism Vox focused on one topic… About this vaccine issue- previous posts- With another round of vaccine court going on this week, the question of whether there’s a link between vaccines and autism is again getting a lot of discussion. Here’s five past posts on this blog that suggest how this one hypothesis about the cause of autism has become entwined…

Karen’s Pink Ribbon Review offered a wonderful idea- a look into her past blogging experience. A Blast From the Past: Five of My Favorite Posts From The Breast Blog… I started blogging about breast cancer on Wednesday, November 1, 2006. I know that for a fact, because I recently revisited The Breast Blog, my first breast cancer blog…

Gab at Fertility Notes has The Fabbest Five Pots From fertility Notes (so far)- …a combination of my favorite, your favorite, most commented, most viewed…

Gab also gives us Daily Tomorrow Looks Back At it’s Favorite Five Posts- The five most popular posts from the last few months…

Moving on, Angelique at Breaking the Mirror has a great twist on this idea- The post’s you’ve never seen... Instead of the usual round-up of favorite posts or highly regarded posts, I thought I’d pass along links to the five posts from 2008 that you probably never saw…

Grace and Kids Health Notes gave us Top 5 Posts at Kids Health Notes- So I pondered what the top 5 posts for Kids Health Notes would be.. and I realize it has to do with well-written posts that are relevant anytime of the year - and part of what makes a healthy childhood.

Liberty and Liz have been hard at work over at Healthbolt and just reached a milestone. With that they gave you My Pick- Healthbolt’s Top 5 Posts- I did some maths and five months working on ‘the Bolt’ equates to around 250 posts between us. That’s a whole lot of words. My choice for Top 5 Posts…

Mary Emma and Liz also had for us My Pick- To 5 Alzheimer’s Notes Posts- Sometimes it’s good to recap, so here’s a quick roundup of my favorite…

Scott at Health and Men gave us Health and Men’s Top Five of All Time

Mark at A Dozen Steps offered up Top Five All Time Posts… Theses entries have been, and remain, at the top of the statistics for most viewed every month here at A Dozen Steps…

Hope and Weighting Line- one of our newcomers but she has for us Weight Loss Blog Top 5 Pots For May… In case you’re new here, I’d like to share my top five posts for May (up to today). These posts are totally based on numbers. Here are my top five, most-viewed blog posts….read and enjoy!

Marijke and Help my Hurt gave us Top 5 Posts From Last Week- Here at the Health and Wellness Channel, we’re developing a regular tradition of weekly post round ups. Here are my top 5 posts for the past week…

Angela at Breastfeeding 123 gave us Friday Five: Top Five “Best”Breastfeeding 123 Blog Posts- …I think it’s the post of which I am most proud, the post into which I put extra effort and care. So I offer for your consideration, in no particular order…

And finally, Gloria at Cancer Commentary gave us her take on the top 5 with Top 5 Posts By Readership-…wanted to give you the most popular posts in the blog. Mostly read, mostly commented I guess.