Seasonal variations in blood volume and circulating metabolite levels of the Husky dog

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

The total blood volumes of Alaskan Husky dogs, continuously exposed out-of-doors in the subarctic, were approximately 25% greater in the winter than in the summer. This increase was the summated result of a 38% increase in total erythrocyte volume and a 14% increase in total plasma volume. Chemical analyses of the blood plasma showed large summer to winter increases in total lipids (44%) and phospholipids (40%) and more moderate increases in plasma proteins (28%), cholesterol (24%), and nonprotein nitrogen (14%).