Ali Brinkley
Science Fair Project
01/07/2013
100: Very impressive work. I cannot wait to see your results. Take pictures along the way and make sure you document.
Does active play take your dog’s breath away?
Ali Brinkley
Research Topic and Procedure
01/07/2013
Question being asked:
Does active play take your dog’s breath away?
Hypothesis:
I think it will take the dog’s breath away because they are engaging in a physical activity.
Description of Process:
Before I do anything, I need to have a dog. The first thing I have to do is measure the respiration rate. To do that I have my helper to start the stopwatch and say “go.” As soon as my helper says “go,” I will count each time my dog inhales. After 15 seconds have passed on the stopwatch, my helper will say “stop.” As soon as she says “stop,” I’ll stop counting the inhalations and record them in my lab notebook. After that I’ll take the total number of inhalations I counted in the 15 seconds and multiply it by4. This will give me the number of inhalations per minute, which is my dog’s respiration rate. Using the respiration method I will measure my dog’s respiration rate when she is relaxed and record my measurements in a data table located inside of my lab notebook. Then I will play an active game with my dog for 15 minutes so that she gets a lot of exercise. Immediately after the 15 minutes of playing are over, I will measure my dog’s respiration rate again. I will put all of my measurements in a data table. The data table will record the number of inhalations per 15 seconds and respiration rate (number of inhalations x4) for my resting respiration rate and number of inhalations per 15 seconds and respiration rate (number of inhalations x4) for my active respiration rate. I will do this for 3 days total for a total of 3 trials. To analyze my data I will use a chart.
Ali Brinkley
Background Information
01/07/2013
Hypothesis:
I think it will take the dog’s breath away because they are engaging in a physical activity.
Background Information:
Respiratory rate is the rate at which a person inhales and exhales, usually measured to obtain quick evaluation of a person’s health. The respiratory system includes the mouth and nose, trachea, lungs and smaller airways. The main job of the respiratory system is to take in oxygen and eliminate waste gases like carbon dioxide. Dogs and cats don’t sweat through their skin; therefore the respiratory system plays an important role in regulation of temperature.
Every time your dog draws in a breath of air, their lungs fill up with oxygen; similar to a balloon expanding. Once the oxygen is circulated throughout the body, carbon dioxide, created by the dog, is carried into the lungs. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. Oxygen is a colorless and odorless gas that is the life-supporting component of the air. The dog is now ready to exhale when the oxygen is replaced by carbon dioxide.
Veterinarians use vital signs as a baseline to assess how well your dog’s overall physical system is functioning. It is also measured to see how healthy your dog is. Veterinarians measure three basic vital signs. That is heart rate, breathing rate, and temperature. A dog’s normal heart rate depends on their size and age. For an adult dog that weighs thirty pounds and below, a normal heart rate is about 100-120 heart beats per minute. Adult dogs thirty pounds and over have a normal heart rate of about 80-100 beats per minute.
You can measure your dogs pulse by placing your middle finger and your index finger on the dog’s chest, the inside of the dog’s hind legs, on the underside of either front paw, or on the back of either of the dog’s hind legs and measure how many heart beats you feel for a sixty second period. Measure your dogs resting breathing rate by having your dog either stand or lie down calmly.
Ali Brinkley
Bibliography
01/07/2013
Works Cited
"Ewww, Dog Breath! Does Active Play Take Your Dog's Breath Away?." Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/MamBio_p019.shtml#background>.
"Respiratory System of the Dog." College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/anatomy/dog_resp.aspx>.
"Respiratory Rate - definition of Respiratory Rate by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/respiratory+rate>.
"www.doggedhealth.com | First Aid | First Aid Basics." Dog Health Problems | Dog Training Tips | Dog Health Questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.doggedhealth.com/first-aid/first-aid-basics/your-dogs-vital-signs.html>.
"Greenhouse Gas Emmisions ." EPA United States Enviromental Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <"Carbon Dioxide Emissions." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. .>.
Ali Brinkley
Observation Data
01/07/13
Below are charts that demonstrate my results. On the left hand side, there are three days listed for the number of days I did my experiment for. At the top I listed the original results before I multiplied them by 4 to find the respiration rate for a minute. The ones that I multiplied are the main numbers needed.
Dog Number 1Resting Rate / Resting Rate (x4) / Active Rate / Active Rate (x4)
Day 1 / 8 / 32 / 14 / 56
Day 2 / 7 / 28 / 16 / 64
Day 3 / 9 / 36 / 17 / 68
Dog Number 2
Resting Rate / Resting Rate (x4) / Active Rate / Active Rate (x4)
Day 1 / 9 / 36 / 19 / 76
Day 2 / 8 / 32 / 21 / 84
Day 3 / 10 / 40 / 18 / 72
Ali Brinkley
Conclusion Statement
01/07/13
When I did my experiment I had to use two dogs. Using the two dogs, I had to measure their respiration rate when they were relaxed and when they were active. By relaxed I mean they were sleeping on the couch, just generally chilled. By active I mean I played with the dogs for at least 15 minutes to make sure my results were at the same value. I used two different sized dogs to demonstrate that different dogs, depending on their size, have different respiration rates. As you can tell above in the results, since Dog Number Two’s results were higher, you can make an observation that Dog Number Two is smaller.
My hypothesis at the beginning on the experiment before I did anything was: I think it will take the dog’s breath away because they are engaging in a physical activity. By the looks of my results, my hypothesis was correct. When the dog was relaxed the number of inhalations they had was a lower number. However, when they engaged in physical activity their breath became heavier and the number of inhalations was higher. Just as any human being or animal, yes, active play does take a dogs breathe away.