To test the hypothesis that the initial distribution volume of glucose (IDVG) reflects plasma volume, the relationship between the IDVG and indocyanine green (ICG) assessments of plasma volume (Vd-ICG) were evaluated simultaneously both before and after induced haemorrhage (30 ml.kg-1) in eight mongrel dogs. The IDVG and the Vd-ICG were calculated with a one-compartment model from repeated measurements of plasma glucose three to seven minutes, and of plasma ICG three to nine minutes after simultaneous infusions of both glucose 100 mg.kg-1 and ICG 0.5 mg.kg-1. The IDVG calculated with a one-compartment model (IDVG-OCM) was also compared with a two-compartment model within 15 min (IDVG-TCM) on nine occasions among a total of 12 determinations. Using Bland and Altman analysis to compare the two analytical models, the IDVG-OCM tends to overestimate the IDVG-TCM by an average of 0.04 L. Although the IDVG-OCM was two to three times larger than the Vd-ICG at each corresponding point, a correlation was obtained between the IDVG-OCM and the Vd-ICG before and after induced haemorrhage (r = 0.85, n = 16, P < 0.001). We conclude that the IDVG reflects plasma volume in normal and hypovolaemic dogs, although the IDVG cannot be used directly to estimate plasma volume.