FEED for THOUGHTFEED for THOUGHTWest Lebanon Feed & Supply’s

12 Railroad AvenueWest Lebanon, NH 03784

(603) 298-8600www.westlebanonsupply.com

May/June 2008Vol. II Issue IV

PROTECT YOUR PET FROM HEARTWORM Learn About The Disease and Steps To Take For Prevention

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

$1.00

• Ask the Pro - WLFS answers your questions• Recipe of the Month• Get to Know A WLFS Employee: Bram Litvinoff• Exclusive Customer Appreciation Coupon

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Heartworm season is upon us. Warmer weather has found its way into the Upper Valley and as the thermometer climbs, our daydreams about long, lazy days sipping lemonade out in the garden are finally becoming a reality. But the warmth brings out the bugs and the bugs bring on the risk of heartworm. During this season, please remember that mosquito bites do more than cause irritation; they have the potential to sicken or even kill your furry best friend. As the name implies, heartworms are a parasite that take up residence in the heart of an infected dog or cat. But how, you may ask, does a pet acquire such a disgusting disease? Think back to that day sipping lemonade in the garden, with Fluffy at your side. You may not have realized that at that moment Fluffy was actually a sitting-duck for heartworm. Transmission takes place when, for example, the mosquito bites your neighbor’s pet, who happens to be infected, and then comes over and bites your pet. The mosquito, while feeding on her meal of blood, also transmits infected larvae into Fluffy’s bloodstream. These “baby” heartworms then spend about four months traveling around the body, growing through several larval stages and finally reach adulthood in the heart. At this stage, what was once a microscopic larvae can now reach up to 11 inches long as an adult. The worms will now clog the heart and connected vessels and, if left untreated, will lead to heart failure and death. Both cats and dogs are vulnerable to heartworm disease, although it tends to be more common in canines. This is due to the fact that cats are not natural hosts for heartworm, which means that a cat’s body does not provide as ideal an environment for the development of larvae. The cat’s immune system is also very sensitive to the invading worms and migrating larvae will tend to get lost in the cat’s body, usually ending up in the lungs where they are destroyed by the immune system. This can cause problems for felines because the residue can accumulate in the lungs causing inflammation and may sometimes result in a fatal allergic-type reaction. These respiratory issues are often diagnosed as cat asthma in heartworm-positive cats. So how do we know if a pet is infected? The process, which should be admin-istered by a Veterinarian, is relatively simple and begins by drawing a small blood sample from the leg. For dogs, a test is run on the sample that will detect the pres ence of adult heartworms. However, because cats will generally have very few

As you read this edition of “Feed for Thought”, we hope you are enjoying the fresh spring breezes and warm days this season has to offer. Here at West Lebanon Feed & Supply we are passionate about bring-ing new products, new services, and innovative ideas to improve the lives of both you and your animals. Over the last year we have been develop-ing the concept of being a Wellcare Provider, a source that not only carries the basic necessities, but provides spe-cialty products and services that can drastically improve the lives of your animals. One of the most popular requests we receive is regarding the sale of pet Prescription Diets. Manu-facturers have strict guidelines for the sale of these special needs products and have had exclusive distribution arrangements through Veterinarians. The exciting news is that because there is no other facility like ours in the country, and because we have im-plemented a unique tracking system for carefully processing prescription diets written through our onsite Stonecliff Animal Clinic, we are proud to announce the availibility of Hill’s Prescription Diets at prices lower than most Veterinarians in the Northeast. Simply stop into our Wellcare Animal Center for more details and pricing. In addition to discounted Prescrip-tion Diets, our Wellcare Animal Cen-ter carries Frontline, Heart Guard, and numerous other products that you can now purchase all in one location. In fact, with prices under the mail order companies, you no longer have to wait by your mailbox to get what you need. We are happy to work with your Vet-erinarian in filling your Prescription Diet needs and are so pleased to now provide these special products.

-Curt & Sharon Jacques

Get To Know Our Staff Fresh Apple Dip

1 package 8 oz. cream cheese1 cup brown sugar1 tsp. vanillaSliced Granny Smith Apples

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This simple recipe adds a fun twist to fresh apple slices and is sure to make the kids gobble up their fruit! Put cream cheese in mixing bowl and beat with hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Slowly add brown sugar while continuing to beat mixture. Add vanilla and beat until fully smooth. Refrigerate for a half hour. Serve chilled as a dip for Granny Smith slices.

For many customers, a trip to West Lebanon Feed & Supply isn’t complete without stopping by the warehouse to chat with Bram Litvinoff, our resident sportsman, maple sugaring buff, and snowmobile enthusiast. Bram is a person with a broad variety of interests and is good to talk to for info on where the game birds are nest-ing, how the sap is running, finding a local restaurant with a good wine list, or just about anything else. No matter what the topic of conversation, folks can tell right away that Bram is an individual who truly cares about people. His eager spirit and courteous attitude is both appreciated by customers and admired by his coworkers. Despite his proclivity toward tradi-tional New England activities, Bram actually spent his early years in Cali-fornia and eventually migrated north to New Hampshire by way of Long Island, New York. Outside of his many responsibilities here at West Lebanon Feed & Supply, Bram enjoys photography and produc-ing music, as well as tying flies for fish-ing, carving bird hunting decoys, and game bird farming. As both a sports-man and animal lover, Bram also enjoys training hunting dogs and spending time outdoors with Gage, his canine hunt-ing buddy. In fact, Bram says his ideal Sunday afternoon would be spent out in the field with his wife and dog, enjoying the outdoors and maybe flushing out a few birds for the table. Although Bram would certainly be considered an outdoorsman, he does, on occasion, like watching movies and reading. His favorite movie is Road Warrior and his favorite reads include the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien and the New Hampshire Hunting Di-gest. And either activity, according to Bram, goes better with a nice big bowl (or two) of Breyer’s ice cream.

This segment is dedicated to an-swering your questions regarding products and their applications, as well as tips and advice on gardening, animal care, home im-provement, pet health, and more!

I just bought baby chicks and now I need some advice on a feeding pro-gram. Can you help me?Absolutely. First of all, your program will be different depending on whether you have meat birds or layers. For layers we recommend that you use a medicated chick starter feed, which will help to prevent coccidiosis, until they are 8 weeks old. After this, switch to a grower feed such as Grower-Cal until about 20 weeks or first egg, whichever comes first. This is also a good stage to switch to a pelleted feed, if you plan to do so, and Grower-Cal comes in both a mash and pellet to make the transition easy. After about 20 weeks or first egg, you will switch to a layer feed such as Layer Pellets, Layer Mash, or Egg Maker Crumbles. For meat birds, you will start them on a broiler feed such as Broiler Crumbles. The birds can remain on the broiler feed until butchering but some folks will switch to a finishing feed such as Fat & Finish Pellets at about 2-3 weeks be-fore butchering. If you plan to grow organic birds, we do carry organic alternatives for all feeding stages of both meat and laying birds from Green Mountain Organic Feeds.I’m interested in growing potatoes and need to know how many seed pota-toes to buy and what types you carry.The average rule of thumb is eight to ten pounds of seed potatoes per fifty foot row. The seeds can be planted whole or cut up into pieces containing at least one eye. If you plan to cut, it’s recommended that you do so two days prior to planting so that they callus over (heal over slightly) to improve their start. Plant shallow at a 2”-3” depth, 12” apart in rows no closer than three feet. You can also use a 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 fertilizer to improve yield. Gradually mounding your rows will produce an earlier first harvest if you want “new potatoes.” If not, wait to harvest until early fall for the highest yield from each plant. As the plants grow, make sure to watch out for Potato Beetles.We carry a variety of seeds potatoes, each with a distinct appearance and flavor but our mot popular type is the Kennebec, which is a white potato, because they tend to winter over better. Yukon Golds are yellow fleshed and both Red Pontiacs and Red Norlands are a thin-skinned, red potato. We also have Russets, Blues, and Green Mountain variet-ies to choose from. Stop by our store for more advice on planting potatoes, fighting pests, and proper fertilization.Why is fertilizer so expensive this year and what can I do to fertilize my lawn and garden without paying an arm and a leg?As with most consumer goods, the price of fuel has drastically increased this year’s fertilizer prices. The price of potash, one of the main components in most fertilizers, has risen 300% over last year’s prices. The rise in the price of both potash and phos-phorous have been linked in part to short supply created from increased sales to other countries that are buying it up in large quantities. In addition, the price of nitrogen has increased in part because natural gas is used in its production.So yes, the price for fertilizer in general has gone up quite a bit and it’s unclear whether the trend will continue. But you are not without options. Many of the lower phosphorous or organic fertilizers that we carry may offer you more economic solu-tions. Safe & Simple organic fertilizers come in plant food, lawn food, pre-emergent weed control varieties, and more!

Submit your own questions to “Ask The Pro” - - - Send them to: Feed For Thought, c/o West Lebanon Feed & Supply, P.O. Box 5224, West Lebanon, NH 03784 - - - or Email us: Newsletter@Westlebanonsupply.com

WLFS Featured Product Pond Treatment: Algae Control The ice is finally gone and it’s the time of year when every pond or stream you see makes you want to stop what you’re doing and take a dip or grab your fishing pole and drop a line into the rippling water. Well the fishing should be good right now but it may be a little cold just yet for swimming. In fact, now is the time to treat your pond with algae control to ensure that both the recreational use and beauty of your pond are maximized.

We carry a variety of pond treatment products for plant and algae control includ-ing Cutrine-Plus, Aquashade, barley straw, barley pellets, and more. In addition, our knowledgeable staff will be glad to assist you with regulation compliance questions and help you find the right treatment for your pond.

West Lebanon Feed & Supply’s FEED for THOUGHTThis publication is provided to WLFS patrons and friends for the purpose of providing information and entertainment. The reader assumes all risk and respon-sibility for measures or actions taken in response to the content herein. Feedback, questions for our “Ask the Pro segment, and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. If you feel you are receiving this in error or would like to be removed from the mailing list, please contact us:

(603) 298-8600 newsletter@westlebanonsupply.com

Editors: Jen Jacques and Ira RichardsContributors: Jen Jacques, Ira Richards,

Curt Jacques, Sharon Jacques, Dr. Dan Kelly

heartworms that survive in their bloodstream, the quantity may not be enough to trig-ger a positive result on this particular test so a different test is administered for cats that analyzes different components in the blood. The test will give results indicating that a cat is either infected, has immature worms in its body, or has a past infection. To clarify if the cat has a current infection, further signs of the disease are looked at through radiograph or ultrasound. Prevention is the key for stopping the spread of heartworm. We recommend that all dogs in the Upper Valley be on a six-month preventative heartworm medication. This means that heartworm medication should be administered once a month for the entire season (May through October.) If pets are brought to warmer climates during the winter months, a year-round treatment schedule is recommended. Owners who faithfully treat their pets for heartworm generally do not need to be tested every spring. For regular patients, heartworm treatment can simply be picked up at the clinic during your annual checkup. For patients who have had any lapse in the administration of preventative medication are required to be tested before resum-ing treatment. -Dr. Dan Kelly

Stonecliff Animal Clinic

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Join us for Canine Awareness Day - May 31, 2008 - Featuring our friends from the Lebanon PD Canine Unit and the Vermont Police Canine Association - Enjoy refreshments and an opportunity to get a photo with police canines and their handlers - Proceeds will benefit the VPCA

COUPON EXPIRED

Spring does wonderful things for a dog’s spirit! Have you noticed how happy we become when the sun is shining and the grass gets green? My mom says I am a crazy dog when I run outside and do my “stop, drop, and roll.”Because we love to be outside, please put Frontline on us and protect us from fleas and ticks. We hate them as much as you do.

And please, because we have spring fever, keep us on a leash. And if we go swimming, remember that the water tends to still be very cold this time of year, even for us, and this makes us tire more eas-ily. West Lebanon Feed & Supply carries life jackets to help keep us safe.

WLFS employees, under the supervision of the Lebanon Fire Department, learn how to put out fires at the annual fire safety and extinguisher training session. Each employee had an opportunity to put out a live fire in order to gain hands-on experience in dealing with fire emergencies.

LET’S GROW PUMPKINS!WLFS Pumpkin Growing Contest

Saturday, October 25th, 2008It’s back! Our Pumpkin Day is a wonderful West Lebanon Feed & Supply tradition. For kids 12 & under, come into our store and receive your free pumpkin seeds, while sup-plies last. This is the perfect time of year to plant your seeds. Then in October, harvest your pumpkin and enter it to win a WLFS gift certificate. Prizes will be awarded for larg-est, smallest, best in show (perfect shape), one of a kind, and the pumpkin closest to the grower’s weight.

You must use the seeds provided by WLFS and you will need to register this spring in order to enter in the fall. Ages 12 & under.

Our Dogs...“They motivate us to play, be affection-ate, seek adventure, and be loyal.” -Tom Hayden

A very Happy Spring to all of my friends! -Bailey