Please be aware of these concerns during the summer.
FOXTAILS! Can get in ears, eyes, lungs and noses – keep your pet out of fields of the weed or consider protection such as the outfox for dogs: https://www.outfoxfordogs.com/
HEAT! DO NOT RISK leaving your pet in a car on a hot day. Too many pets have died when owners felt they would only be gone for a “minute”. Remember pets don’t sweat so their ability to relieve body heat can be limited.
SNAKES! If you live in the hot dry areas of the Santa Cruz or Santa Lucia mountains or visit dry places like Garland Park then consider rattlesnakes as a risk during the hot part of the day. Dogs investigate with their noses (and get bit there) and cats with their paws. You can consider snake aversion training http://socalrattlesnakeavoidancetraining.com/ or a vaccine if your pet is high risk https://www.embracepetinsurance.com/waterbowl/article/rattlesnake-vaccine.
You can find more information through your regular veterinarian or in these BirchBark blogs:
Blog Post Author:
Merrianne Burtch, DVM, DACVIM