How many pints of blood does a fifty pound dog have and how many would it have to lose to lose consciousness or die?

Answer 1

quote from wikipedia: Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology states that "the total amount of water in a man of average weight (70 kilograms) is approximately 40 liters, averaging 57 percent of his total body weight

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Assuming that humans and dogs have about the same water by weight percentage, a 50 lb dog would have 28.5 lbs of water in his body. Also I think it safe to assume that the water to blood correlation is pretty close to 1:1 as well.

Converting 70kg to pounds gives: 70kg*2.2lbs/kg=154lbs

Converting 40 liters to pints gives: 40L*1.76pints/L=70.4pints UK

So if there are 70.4pints UK per 154lbs how many pints UK per 50lbs?

70.4/154=x/50

solve for x gives 22.86 pints UK of blood in a 50lbs dog.

Fatal blood is between 30-40% fainting would be anything less than this and dependent on a whole lot of another factors.

I am Wolfgang Schwartzschild.

Hopefully this will give you some insight so I don't just get a "take your dog to the vet" comment.

I am writing a book in which one of the characters can shapeshift into a 50 lb dog. She has had her foreleg gored by a boar and the radial artery and cephalic vein have been severed. She has lost consciousness due to blood loss. Another character has found her and had given her a tourniquet. I know that the limb will eventually be lost because of this, but right now I am concerned about the amount of blood a dog has and how much it can lose before losing consciousness or dying.

Please don't just give me a "why arr you asking this about your dog?" comment. She is not my dog. She is a character in a sci-fi novel that is being worked on.

If your answer is sufficient it is very likely that I will try to incorporate your name into the book as a way of thanks.

Thank you for your time.

Answer 2

A fifty-pound dog has approximately 4-6 pints of blood. To lose consciousness or die, a dog would need to lose around 15-30% of its blood volume, which would be roughly 2-3 pints of blood for a 50-pound dog. Immediate veterinary attention is required if significant blood loss is suspected.