Science Question - Dog VS Air Conditioner

[Traditional_Ale]

I have a friend with a massive, massive dog (145 pounds, seriously) with thick fur. Now this dog will kick the air conditioner until its pointed at him on the couch and veg, while everyone else in the house is huddled freezing to death.

I had the idea of the kids wading pool, and periodically cooling the water down by adding ice. The dog is 145 pounds, so it would be a reasonably full pool as far as water goes, of which I have no idea how much there would actually be.

So...

How much ice am I talking about to lower the water temperature to be cool enough to be refreshing like the AC, but not too cool so its uncomfortable to be in?

How often would I need to add ice?

How much energy/dollars would I save making said ice instead of running the air conditioner?

This is entirely hypothetical, but I saw a picture on my FB feed and I was curious to know. Honestly, I feel bad for the dog.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

It's a dog, why does it need an air conditioner? Isn't that why they shed fur for that exact purpose?

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

It's a dog, why does it need an air conditioner? Isn't that why they shed fur for that exact purpose?

How is that relevant in this scenario?

[Traditional_Ale]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I think the dog is suffering from being too warm in general. This thing is the kind of beast that could eat you, easily. Apparently he falls asleep in the snow.

[Daradon]

We used to put a few ice cubes in our dogs water bowl on hot summer days. She loved it.

The dog will obviously show you if there is too much ice in there by simply not going in. I would think the correct amount is where it's melting away and not accumulating.

Also shaggy/hairy dogs benefit from a summer haircut often. Keep it shorter when it's hot.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Yup, a hair trim would have done him wonders in May. If it has long fur you want to shave off 3/4 of it. You want to leave some there.

*Also, you don't let the dog control the house. That puts it in Alpha status and that is where you get into trouble with dog issues. When it moves the air conditoner you need to tell it "NO!" then send it to it's dog house. A dog that size should not be on the furniture. I feel sorry for the guests.

[Zevo]

It would probably be easier just to shave the dog in the summer. We had a border collie/lab cross that had super thick fur(lab undercoat with long border collie hair) and that's what we did. Her looking funny for a few months was better than constant wet dog smell in the house. With that thick of fur, they take hours(and hours) to completely dry. If it stays only outside all summer, then the water thing would probably work...not sure you would really need to add ice.

Also what Daradon said about ice cubes in the water bowl. We do that on hot days as well.

[jammies]

Have you tried offering the dog a refreshing, cold, Traditional Ale?

[CalgaryFan1988]

I know people-wise a pool at about 72 is nice. Rivers and such in the summer are in the 60's here and animals love it. Wouldn't want to be much cooler than that, I wouldn't think.

I don't think ice water would be very good for it.

[calumniate]

That's awesome! Maybe buy him his own air conditioner, chair, desk and pen. Sounds like a boss

[Baxter Renegade]

I think just pool In a shaded area would work just fine... Maybe add some cold hose water every once in a while?

[octothorp]

Regardless of the thickness of the fur, keep in mind that dogs don't sweat. While dogs obviously enjoy wind (thus sticking heads out window), wind on its own will not cool the dog down at all. When we're in hot weather, a cool breeze is great for two reasons: firstly, the cool air, but also the breeze and sweat combining to rapidly remove heat from your skin. Dogs don't get that benefit at all.
So, where I'm going with this is that an air-conditioner is a very in-efficient way to cool down a dog. It would probably be more efficient to combine a pool and a fan; the water would draw the dog's temperature off it's skin and through its fur, and then the fan would help that moisture evaporate faster.

(This is total, 100% speculation by me, but it sounded smart when I was typing it.)

[Northendzone]

He must be a hotdog, get it, hotdog!!!!

[NBC]

I have nothing to add to the debate but I would like to know what type of dog this is.

[GaiJin]

You already have the answer in the size of the air conditioner. Air conditioners are rated in tons. A ton of refrigeration is the amount of heat needed to melt a ton of ice in a 24 hour period, which is 12000 btu/hr or 288,000 btu/day. So measure the time the air conditioner runs, find the size of the air conditioner, and work it out.
Or find the heat constant for dogs, establish the before temperature of the dog, and wanted temp of dog, and use Q=MxCxDeltaT, then multiply the time coefficient into it.

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by GaiJin

You already have the answer in the size of the air conditioner. Air conditioners are rated in tons. A ton of refrigeration is the amount of heat needed to melt a ton of ice in a 24 hour period, which is 12000 btu/hr or 288,000 btu/day. So measure the time the air conditioner runs, find the size of the air conditioner, and work it out.
Or find the heat constant for dogs, establish the before temperature of the dog, and wanted temp of dog, and use Q=MxCxDeltaT, then multiply the time coefficient into it.

NSFW!

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

I have a friend with a massive, massive dog (145 pounds, seriously) with thick fur. Now this dog will kick the air conditioner until its pointed at him on the couch and veg, while everyone else in the house is huddled freezing to death.

You know, we've seen a lot of weird requests and questions on this here message board over the years, but this has to be the single weirdest one yet.

Your friend's dog "kicks" the air conditioner to a position it deems appropriate, then relaxes on the couch, while the human beings in the home suffer because it's so cold? Is this what you are telling us? That the dog controls the temperature of the house?

There are a few interesting "science-y" questions I'd like to ask about this scenario, but my cat gets the computer at 1:30, and I can never get it back from her until about midnight.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

You know, we've seen a lot of weird requests and questions on this here message board over the years, but this has to be the single weirdest one yet.

Your friend's dog "kicks" the air conditioner to a position it deems appropriate, then relaxes on the couch, while the human beings in the home suffer because it's so cold? Is this what you are telling us? That the dog controls the temperature of the house?

There are a few interesting "science-y" questions I'd like to ask about this scenario, but my cat gets the computer at 1:30, and I can never get it back from her until about midnight.

I know it was bizarre. I hadn't started a thread in a while. Came for hilarity, left satisfied.

[TSXCman]

Air's thermal conductivity is significantly lower than water (30X maybe). So if you were actually using a water pool for the dog, whatever temperature you place it at, that is lower than the room's temp, will be a higher temperature compared to the low air temp from the goofy AC scenario that exists.

So the scientific solution is to kick the dog's ass outside, spray it with the hose, then let it in once enough has evaporated to not ruin the furniture

[normtwofinger]

That dog is a dbag.