Seasonal variations in caloric intake of dogs living in an arctic environment

¹ Physiology Department, Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska

The seasonal variations in the average daily caloric intake and body weight of five Husky dogs and five beagle dogs were measured over 12- and 8-month periods, respectively, during which the average monthly temperature ranged from +17 C to –22 C. The caloric intake of the Huskies rose from a midsummer low of 49 kcal/kg/day to a November high of 87 kcal/kg/day. Mid- and late winter values averaged about 79 kcal/kg/day. During late winter there was no relationship between the day-to-day temperature and caloric intake. In the beagles, acute and later chronic exposure to cold in March caused a marked increase (80–131 kcal/kg/day) in caloric intake. They, like the Huskies, tended toward minimum values (85 kcal/kg/day) during the summer. With the onset of winter the beagles increased their intake to a high of 144 kcal/kg/day in November. Overall, these data showed that the relative magnitude of the seasonal changes were quite similar in both groups of dogs and suggested that seasonal changes in insulation are supplementary to seasonal changes in caloric intake.

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