What is Bone Broth?
Bone broth is an aromatic broth simmered with beef or poultry bones and vegetables.
Before you start wondering… No, Stock and Bone Broth are not the same thing.
Bone Broth and stock are similar but do have some fundamental differences, mainly to do with cooking times and temperature.
The purpose of stock is to add flavour to food whereas the main use of bone broth is to aid gut health, which in turn helps with other health issues.
A good Bone Broth will simmer gently, on a low heat, for a period of days. It is the slow and long cooking time that extracts gelatine from the collagen-rich joints but also releases the minerals from the bones.
Bone Broth is a superfood, which has been around for centuries – it is inexpensive, nutrient packed and easy to make.
6 Reasons You Should Feed Bone Broth to Your Dog
#1 Heals and Promotes Healthy Gut
The lining of the intestines contains millions of tiny holes that allow the passage of digested nutrients to enter the body. Stress, poor diet and bacterial overgrowth can cause more holes to open or to become bigger, this is called leaky gut. (You can read more about this condition here).
The problem with those big holes is that things can pass through that are not meant to, including undigested food matter, toxins and yeast. This is how allergies and food sensitivities develop.
Bone Broth can help with leaky gut syndrome, but it is also good for protecting non-leaky guts. The gelatine in the bones helps seal up holes in the intestines. This repair can help ease chronic diarrhoea, constipation, and even some food intolerances.
#2 Protects Joints
The health of your dog’s joints is linked to the health of collagen in the ligaments, tendons, and on the ends of the bones. Collagens are a large family of biomolecules, which include the glycosaminoglycans, special molecules that help keep joints healthy. Bone broth is loaded with a familiar kind of glycosaminoglycans too: glucosamine.
Unlike pills, the Broth offers other nutritional and health benefits that can help reduce pain; Chondroitin Sulphate and Hyaluronic Acid, which are found in the cartilage that protects joints, for example, has been shown to help prevent osteoarthritis.
Moreover, the glycosaminoglycans found in Bone Broth are resistant to digestion and are absorbed in their intact form.
#3 Supports a Healthy Immune System
Bone Broth has a high concentration of minerals, that will support and help strengthening your dog’s immune system.
#4 Increases Bone Strength
The phosphorus, magnesium and calcium in the bones strain into the Broth, leaving your dog to enjoy all those essential nutrients for healthy bones.
#5 Great Nutrition for Sick Dogs
Has your dog ever had a bad terrible diarrhoea and trouble getting him back on solid food?
Or a dog who is convalescing and doesn’t have a great appetite but you know he needs more nutrition?
Bone broth to the rescue!
Researches show that when there is plenty of gelatine in the diet, the body’s need for protein from meat sources can be reduced by as much as fifty percent. Bone broth is also an excellent source of important minerals and can boost the immune system!
Bone broth is also loaded with glycine, which aids digestion by helping to regulate the synthesis of bile salts and secretion of gastric acid.
#6 Dogs Simply Love Bone Broth
Bone Broth can be given by itself, as healthy snack throughout the day or you can pour it on your dog’s bowl, as juicy gravy to give extra flavour to their meal.
How to Make Bone Broth & Our Favourite Ready-Made
Step 1: Add Bones
Fill your crockpot with bones.
(You can use a regular old pot on your stove, but you have to leave it cooking overnight)
Organic, grass fed bones would be the best, feel free to use discarded bones from your own meals, they’re fine for broth.
Step 2: Add Water And Vinegar
Next, fill the pot so the bones are completely covered, plus an extra two or three inches of water on top.
The important part is to add raw organic apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the pot, this is the magic ingredient that makes sure your broth has all of that great and healthy gelatine in it, it also pulls the nutritious minerals out of the bones.
Add about three or four tablespoons of vinegar to a pot.
Put then your crockpot on high for an hour, then turn it down to low and leave it cooking for 24 hours. You can leave it cooking for two or three days if you want.
Step 3: Get Creative
Optional part.
You can add nutritious extras to your broth while it cooks. Try:
- Kelp
- Nettles
- Garlic (fed in the right amounts, garlic has a myriad of benefits, if you are unsure how much to use read here – if still not sure, just set this one out)
- Dandelion root *
- “Italian” herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, fennel seed)
- Astragalus Root *
- Burdock Root *
- Shiitake mushrooms *
*Strain these ingredients before using the broth
Add in any healthy vegetables your dog loves (and if he doesn’t love them, then bone broth is a great place to hide them).
Add these ingredients while the broth is hot, right after you turned it off or a little before. Then the broth will cool with the veggies in it, making them just soft enough for your dog to eat them or alternatively you can strain them.
Step 4: Strain the Bones
When the broth is finished, strain the bones and meat out. These bones should not be fed to dogs!
Step 5: Let It Cool
Once the Broth is cooled, put it in the fridge for a few hours.
Once your Broth comes out of the fridge, it will have a hard layer of fat on top. You should chip this off and throw it away.
Underneath the fat, your Bone Broth should now look like jelly, the jelly means you’ve got lots of gelatine in there, and that’s what will help with your dog’s joints and gut.
That gelatine seals the holes in the leaky gut, so the more jelly-like, the better!
If your Broth does not look like jelly, do not worry, it just means you didn’t add enough vinegar.
Next time just add a little more vinegar and your next batch.
But first use the Broth you just made; it will still be packed with healthy goodness!
Step 6: Store Your Broth
You can divide the batch into portions and freeze them (you can also pour your Broth into an ice cube tray and just pull a cube out at a time).
Once defrosted do not freeze again.
Keep the Bone Broth in the fridge no longer than 5-6 days.
Having a reserve of Bone Broth in the freezer is a good idea, bone broth is incredibly nutritious and healing for sick dogs (think chicken soup); make sure you have some on hand for emergencies.
Ready-Made
If cooking is not your thing, or you are put off by the required cooking time, I have a great ready-made Bone Broth to recommend.
The company makes Bone Broths for human consumption, which is great, as the same benefits Bone Broth has for dogs it has them for people too, so you can share this delicious treat with your dog!
Just make sure you purchase the correct version (other versions they sell contain onions, which are toxic to dogs.)
Organic Beef Bone Broth with Turmeric
Ingredients: Beef bones (100% grass fed)* (50%), filtered water, carrot*, apple cider vinegar (with Mother)*, thyme*, turmeric*, black pepper*.
*Organic
Pouch is BPA free
Direct Link: Osius – The Bone Broth Co.
How Much Bone Broth to Feed
Bone Broth can be fed daily.
It is best to start serving smaller doses than the recommended ones if your dog never had Bone Broth before.
10kg to 20kg = 60ml
20kg to 40kg = 120ml
Over 40kg = 180ml
Bone Broth is a healthy way to moist dry food and hydrate your dog when he is sick.
You can even share it and enjoy the above benefits yourself…Make Bone Broth a regular part of both yours and your dog’s diet!
Let’s build a Complete, Balanced & Personalised Diet for your Dog!
Naturalistic hound
Click here: Nutrition & Recipes
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