Quieter dog morning

Things I did this morning to create less barking:
1. don't let them out the back until after seven
2. give them each a large biscuit first thing and breakfast later
3. lock them in the back room while petting and feeding the cat in the front yard so no hysterics at the front window
4. give them two-thirds of daily food at breakfast instead of half (fuller dogs are more sluggish)
5. proactively chastise for every little noise
6. proactive affection when quiet

I've already gotten two quiet nights from them before this. I no longer have to leash Lola the Wolfy One to keep her quiet. She sleeps on my rug quite calmly now. I think she was wandering around and getting lost before, and that is why she would howl in the middle of the night. I have given up on keeping Percy the mastuffy one off the bed. Let them work it out with him when they get back. Truffle doesn't mind. The bed is big enough for two large dogs and me.

On another front, Vlatkio says Zagreb is the Croatian airport of choice for traveling through, and also told me what airports to use when going to the coast. So I'm ready, except for having money, to get Frank's tickets.

Benicar questions

The FDA is reviewing 2 studies showing increased heart-related death rates from the use of the bl;ood pressure drug Benicar, which I have been using for a few years after the ones I was using before caused coughing.

The timing of this bothers me. Why? Because I know that Benicar is about to go generic. I know this because my insurance company has been trying to blackmail me into going back to the drugs that make me cough. They offer me six months free on the old drug and fifteen dollars a month after that, versus the fifty-five dollars I have to pay for Benicar. My doctor told me I should sit tight because the drug is going to go generic in about a year.

So I wonder. Was Benicar always dangerous and nobody happened to discover it until it was about to stop being a proprietary cash cow? or is Benicar even dangerous at all? Or am I too cynical about all this?

Edit: there's a new shiny angiotensin receptor blocker in the works: I wonder if that has anything to do with it?