Possible for a dog to live in a 85-90 degree apt?

MarleyandMe

I live in New England, and it's not ninety, but it does have some heavy duty humidaty. I found putting a large bowl of Ice at night in front of a fan works nice- it melts and I give it to marley to drink, it's still cool and he loves steraling ice cubes from it.

We have a floor air conditionar in a room, my grandma said that this one is alot cheaper and easier then a window one.

RBark

The HVAC tech in me has to correct this. No, keeping your AC on makes it work harder than normal. In order to increase duration and efficiency of heaters and Air Conditioners, many modern high tech thermostats will have a intelligent thermostat option which basically is, it calculates how long it takes to reach a desired temperature.

So you tell the thermostat to turn at 4pm when you get home, and you want the AC to be around 75. What happens is, depending on the house temperature, it will start running however long it takes to get the temperature to 75 by the time it's 4pm. A very nice option.

The reason it's better to run the furnace in limited times is because the majority of the power use is upon startup and shutoff. When you leave the AC on all day all night, it's constantly turning on and off for short periods of times all day, instead of the more preferrable running for a single, longer duration.

Yes, this means it's more energy effecient to, say, depending on the insulation of your house... turn the AC down to 70 then shut it off for the rest of the night, by the time it's warmed up to 75+ it's starting to cool down outside and it's almost time for bed.

SO long story short, the less your AC has to start up and shut off, the better. Not only will your AC bill be lower, your AC will last many many years longer. As many as 5 to 10 years.

alphadoginthehouse

I live in Houston TX, land of the heat and humidity. I have a 1250 sq ft house and this last months electric bill was $150. I turn it to 79 when I'm gone to work and turn it down no lower than 77 when I'm home (unless I actually do house work and then it might go to 75 for a few min). Why you would have a $300 electric bill in an apt is beyond me. Have the complex check your system.

Having a dog IN THE APT when its 90 is not fair...period. And as others have said, if you can't afford the AC how in the heck are you going to take care of a dog?

Lonewolfblue

Not sure if you have thought about this, but have you ever checked into a swamp cooler? You can get the ones where you have to keep adding water as it evaporates, or one where it's automatically filled. They may not keep it as cool as an A/C unit would, but it will stay considerably cooler.

poodleholic

Swamp coolers wouldn't be very helpful in the FL humidity. I've been in homes in AZ (dry heat) cooled by swamp coolers - UGH! They're awful.

Well, I stand corrected, since I'm no expert, BUT, an alleged expert did tell me that turning the AC off all day, and then on at night, or vice versa, it would work harder than normal. It also was reflected in my electric bill! When I turned it off at night before leaving for work, and set it to turn on again at 7:00 am, my bill was running around $334 to $359, and sometimes higher. I'll settle for leaving the AC on all the time! My new electric bill was $163. Not bad at all, considering how hot it's been!

Puppy & Dog Forums

 

jbray01

i agree that you need to make sure you can afford all the expenses a dog can bring before you consider air conditioning. its extremely expensive to own a dog, but worth it. its hard for me and i still live with my parents and dont have to worry about paying ym own insurance and bills yet...

i live in pennsylvania and it gets pretty hot here suring the summer, and VERY humid, and thats what really gets to my dog. so if she is left alone in her crate without the A/C on, I make sure she has a couple fans in the room just to keep the airflow going. She does fine in that.

like someone said some dogs prefer the heat, and i think mine does. she whines when its too cold. so i think it really depends. you would just need to make sure that the dog has access to water all day when its hot.

txcollies

Most of my gang stays outside (in TX). Lots of shade, a clean water pail and a tub to sit in and they are taking the summer just fine & dandy. Eating fine and the younger dogs are even playing, still!!! They are in just as good as shape as dogs that live in the AC every day.

Honestly, they are just dogs and a lot of breeds can withstand the heat pretty well.

alphadoginthehouse

Being outside in the heat with water, shade, etc. is much different than being in a stuffy apt IMO. My dogs used to be outside when I was gone and did just fine (they were inside with me when I was home). The OP was talking about having the dog in a very hot apartment. Big difference.

loratliff

I live in Texas with a brachycephalic breed at that. It was 104 degrees here yesterday, with a high of 107 degrees expected for today.

I run my A/C almost constantly in my apartment and my electric bill is typically between $70-150. I think you're being a little bit dramatic about the $300 bill for A/C, unless you like it to be completely frigid.

alphadoginthehouse

I agree Lora, the $300 sounded a bit high. I've noticed the OP hasn't responded recently...

French Ring

I agree. I don't think that is a good idea. I keep my house around 75 to 80 degree.

Puppy & Dog Forums