Q: Is it safe to shave or short-crop my 2-year-old sheltie? If not, please recommend heat relief I can provide for my pup. I walk him during non-peak hot periods during the day, keep him in air conditioning, keep his water cool and thin his coat with thinning shears. – P.H.

A: Yes, it's safe to cut your dog's hair short for the summer, but don't leave him vulnerable to sunburn with too close a shave. It's not really necessary to cut off the coat of longhaired dogs in most cases, however, and certainly not in yours, where your dog gets the benefit of air conditioning when it's hot.

Not to mention: The longhaired Lassie look of the Shetland sheepdog is one of the breed's most appealing features. Why would you want to mess with that?

Without shaving or cutting short your dog's coat, you can remove some of the weight for summer. Keep the coat regularly combed and brushed, paying special attention to the undercoat. In double-coated breeds like the Sheltie, the soft undercoat can mat into a mess that looks and feels very much like felt. It's essential to strip out the undercoat with frequent brushing – or regular trips to a professional groomer – to keep this mat from forming.

If you go to a groomer, consider having just the underside of your dog – mid-chest, belly and the insides of the back legs – shaved to provide a large expanse of skin access to the air while keeping the appearance of a lovely long coat intact.

If your dog's coat is heavily matted, I would recommend not worrying about appearance and having a groomer cut the fur short all over. That way, your dog can be comfortable – matted fur hurts! – while you get in the habit of regular brushing so the situation never gets that bad again.

I have two dogs who get a special summer cut. My Sheltie, Drew, gets the belly shave I described above along with a leg-feather trim not only to stay cooler, but also to keep from picking up burrs. And my retriever, Heather, has a thick, mid-length wavy coat that holds brackish water and burrs when I take her out in rough country. She gets a close-crop trim to make it harder for burrs to stick and easier for her to be sprayed clean after swimming.

Weighty question
Q: We have a 2-year-old Lab/German shepherd mix. The other day my husband and I wanted to see how much she weighed, so we got out the scale. My husband weighed himself and then picked up our heavy dog. Unfortunately the scale would not weigh them both. We tried three times. After that, our dog would not come near us. When we called her she would hide in the corner or run outside. What's up with that? – J.B.

A: I'm guessing she found the experience of being picked up frightening, and she didn't want to go through it again. Have her weighed on the walk-on scale at your veterinarian's next time she's in there. In the meantime, if she looks in good weight – you can feel but not see her ribs, and she has a tucked up "waist" – I wouldn't worry about what she actually weighs.

A reminder
Q: Could you remind people who insist on tethering their pets in the back of their pickups that the bed gets very hot? They should put down a blanket to keep their pets from burning their pads. – J.H.

A: Consider people reminded. Riding in the back of a pickup truck isn't an ideal way to travel for any dog, even if securely tethered. If the back of a truck is the only option, a dog would be safer and more comfortable traveling in an airline crate that has been secured to the bed.

(Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com.)