Bone broth is a highly effective, health-promoting supplement to any dog’s diet. The best part is that this healthy combination is also a nutritious dish that you can share. Bone broth is just as good for us as it is for our pets.
During hospice care, bone broth for dogs might be beneficial. It has also been shown to assist with GI discomfort, picky eating, liver detoxification, and enhance joint, skin, and coat health. Bone broth also offers good hydration for dogs that eat just dry food.
When included in a healthy feeding regimen, serving bone broth to dogs has demonstrated advantages. While healthy additions like broth are seldom dangerous, we recommend consulting with your veterinarian before including it into your dog’s diet regularly.
What is Bone Broth?
Humans frequently prepare soup or simmer using leftover poultry and cattle bones, but few realize that homemade broth also serves as a nutritious food supplement for dogs.
Bone broth is a nutrition stock that is produced by boiling bones and connective tissue. Bone broth can be made from any animal’s bones, including pig, cattle, buffalo, lamb, bison, turkey, veal, deer, fish, or chicken.
The end product is a liquid that may be poured over your loyal friend’s food or offered separately as a snack. It tastes delicious to your dog, so it’s a genuine treat.
Our forefathers have sat around the fire to make bone broths since the advent of the pot. Hippocrates, the godfather of medicine, who was born around 460BC, advised people to use it to treat stomach problems. Maimonides, a philosopher, and physician born in Spain in 1138, advised chicken bone broth as medicinal, and it has been used for centuries as a basic component in Asian cuisine.
So we can fairly conclude that bone broth isn’t a passing trend. Due to the recognition of its healthy characteristics, it has recently been resurrected as a health drink for humans. Our beloved canines may now reap the benefits as well.
Furthermore, Beef bone broth for dogs, Chicken Bone broth for dogs, and vegetable bone broth for dogs are more common and beneficial, and we can also say it’s the best natural dog food.
Benefits of Bone Broth for Dogs:
Bone broth is a very potent elixir. It is a highly powerful superfood high in minerals and proteins and will nurture your dog from the inside out.
Here are some of the most important advantages of adding bone broth to your diet, as well as a few excellent bone broth recipes for dogs.
1. Protein:
When the bones are boiled, collagen is released, which, when cooked, creates gelatin. Collagen is an essential protein found in many tissues, including ligaments, tendons, cartilage, skin, and bone.
Collagen was also found to produce a protective barrier in the stomach and decrease inflammation in one mouse research.
2. It is Good For Joint Health:
Glycosaminoglycans, found in all connective tissue and help maintain our joints healthily, are found in bone broth. The most well-known are hyaluronic acid, glucosamine, and chondroitin.
This nutritious brew also includes calcium, magnesium, and various amino acids that promote joint mobility and healthy inflammatory response. Professional athletes are increasingly turning to it for injury rehabilitation and joint preventive maintenance.
Our canine companions are no exception. Bone broth protects and stimulates joints, and it can even help decrease arthritic symptoms.
3. It is Good For Liver Health:
The liver is the body’s main organ, is responsible for removing poisons from the system. It is referred to as detoxification. To function properly, the liver relies on the availability of an amino acid called glycine. And, you got it, bone broth is high in glycine.
Every day, your dog’s liver works extremely hard to process the poisons ingested through normal life. Chemicals are taken into the body through the atmosphere, cleaning agents, carpet and upholstery treatments, processed foods, flea and burrowing treatments, pharmaceutical drugs, and various other sources.
Simply going about one’s daily business might cause the liver to become overburdened. Bone broth provides an additional boost to the liver’s function, allowing it to perform at its best.
4. Its Good For Gut Health:
It’s not a secret that gut health is crucial to overall health these days. A dysfunctional gut causes poor nutrient absorption and an unbalanced immune response, which leads to systemic inflammation in the body and a variety of health problems.
You’ve probably heard of the term “leaky gut.” This is a condition in which the gut lining is destroyed due to stress, poor nutrition, and a bacterial imbalance.
The small pores in the gut lining (intended to allow nutrients to be taken into the body) become larger, and particles that aren’t supposed to pass through the gut lining do.
Being the unique mechanism that it is, the body identifies these particles and recognizes them as a danger, activating the immunological response.
The consistent immunological response over time causes systemic inflammation in the body and food allergies or intolerances, which can appear in a range of health problems.
The good news is that by following a gut health routine, recovery can occur. Bone broth has a significant part in this. It is a digestive tonic because it contains collagen, which, when boiled down, creates gelatin. Gelatin includes amino acids like glutamine, which help to build and repair the intestinal lining.
5. Bone Broth is an Excellent Food for Dogs with Allergies:
Have you ever had a dog with severe diarrhea and struggled to get him back on solid food? Or a dog currently recovering and doesn’t have a big appetite or suffers from allergies, but you know he needs extra nutrition?
Bone broth saves the day!
According to studies done in the 1800s, when it is good gelatin in the diet, the body’s demand for protein from animal sources can be decreased by up to 50%! Bone broth is also high in nutrients and can help boost the immune system (think chicken soup)!
Bone broth also contains glycine, which helps digestion by regulating the production of bile salts and the release of stomach acid.
How to Make Bone Broth?
While purchasing bone broth is easy, many pet owners choose to learn how to prepare the bone broth for their dogs to have complete control. This is especially useful for pet parents who are concerned about undesirable additives such as sugar.
Organic bone broth for dogs can be made by pet parents who want to avoid specific allergies. Bone broth is a safe addition to most diets since it does not include items that dogs are often allergic to (wheat, gluten, and milk products).
Here are a few of our preferred ways to making bone broth for dogs:
Homemade Bone Broth for Dogs:
Making bone broth is a straightforward process with few components. Though bone and meat both take a long time to cook, once prepared, you may set it and forget it until it’s done.
Here’s a basic bone broth recipe for your dog that you can modify to fit your dog’s diet.
Components:
- 2 lbs. bone (Chicken or beef).
- Vinegar made from apple cider.
- Water.
- Mandatory: Add carrots and a flavorful spice (we like turmeric for its anti-inflammatory qualities!).
- In a large stockpot, place the bones. Fill the saucepan halfway with water to cover the bones.
- To the water, add two teaspoons of vinegar. This will aid in the extraction of nutrients from the bones.
- Bring the remaining water in the saucepan to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and leave it to simmer for at least 6 hours.
- After 6 hours, remove any material that has risen to the surface of the soup, forming a film.
- Cook for 24 hours on low heat for chicken bones and 48 hours for beef bones.
- Cooking times may differ between a pressure cooker and a slow cooker.
Getting more broth for your buck: Pour some into an ice cube tray and freeze for healthy summer pops!
Bone Broth Dog Treats:
Making bone broth for dog treats may appear to be time-consuming, but it is rather simple! You will also have peace of mind knowing that your dog is consuming healthy and nutritious treats.
When preparing bone broth, save the filmy layer of fat rather than discarding it since you’ll need it for this recipe.
Components:
- ½ cup of bone broth.
- ⅓ cup of bone broth fat (or vegetable shortening).
- ½ cup of pumpkin puree (or butternut squash, peel, and seeds removed).
- 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
- To spread, use peanut butter.
- Preheat the oven to 370 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat bone broth and fat, for 45 seconds or until liquefied in a dish.
- Stir in the pumpkin (or butternut squash), then the flour until combined. Using your hands, knead the dough.
- Roll out the dough to a 14-inch thickness on the counter and cut out goodies. Preheat the oven to 375° F and bake for 40 minutes.
- Spread peanut butter on top of the goodies while they are still warm. Allow the treats to cool fully before feeding them to your dog.
Tip: When your puppy has been a very good boy, sprinkle bacon bits on top of the peanut butter spread.
Commercial Bone Broth:
Other industrial brands produce bone broth.
1. Bone Broth from Primalvore:
Primalvore sells free-range chicken and grass-fed beef bone broth enhanced with collagen and turmeric. The collagen promotes joint health, while the turmeric serves as a natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Turmeric may also give some cancer prevention.
2. Bone Broth for Primal Pets:
Primal Pets sells bone broth made from four different proteins: beef, hog, chicken, and turkey. These are promoted as a meal topper that adds moisture, minerals, and collagen to the diet while also supporting the joint, liver, and intestinal health.
3. Fermented Bone Broths for Pet Food:
Answers Pet Food is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest brands (many will argue that it is the best – ask about). They have two bone broths to choose from fermented fish stock and turkey stock with beets.
Both of these are fermented goods, which provide an additional nutritional boost. Fermentation produces anti-inflammatory reactions in the body while also supporting digestive health and the immune system.
While homemade bone broth is affordable and simple to prepare, it’s useful to have commercial bone broth on hand if you run out of your formula. There are also commercial products that can accomplish more than what I can do at home. This is why I buy fermented fish stock in bulk.
Important Tip:
When making changes to your dog’s food, keep an eye out for any negative reactions during the first stages of introduction.
Before adding bone broth to your dog’s diet, consult with a holistic vet or a dog nutritionist if he is on any medicines.
So there you have it. Everything you need to know about bone broth. Good luck with your brewing!
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much bone broth should I give my dog?
Serve 1 oz of bone broth per day to pets weighing less than 20 pounds. Serve 2 oz of bone broth each day to dogs weighing 20-40 pounds. Feed 4 oz of bone broth each day to pets weighing 50-80 pounds. Feed 6 oz of bone broth each day to pets weighing 80 pounds or more.
Is beef broth good for dogs?
Yes. Bone broths include collagen, which is beneficial to joint health, as well as glycine, an amino acid that aids in the detoxification of your dog’s kidneys and liver. Make your bone broth, bone marrow soup broth for dogs but exclude the onions and garlic.
Is chicken broth good for dogs?
Yes. Bone broths include collagen, which is beneficial to joint health; make your chicken broth by omitting the onions and garlic.
