Bone Broth for Dogs in 5 Simple Steps

Bone broth for dogs is a super healthy addition to your pup’s regular diet. It’s packed full of vitamins and nutrients, plus it’s great for your dog’s joints thanks to the gelatin in the bones. And of course those other add-in ingredients just up the healthy factor. It’s also really easy to make and your dog will love it!

Benefits of Bone Broth for Dogs

Not really sure what bone broth is? It’s really just the broth that comes from simmering bones for an extended period of time.

And it’s really good for your dog. Here are just a few of the benefits for your dog’s health:

• Supports joint health
• Packed full of nutrition
• Supports digestion and can help with an upset stomach
• Helps detox the liver
• Great immune system booster
• Hydrating
• Boosts skin and coat health 

It’s also great for cats! Just like for dogs, bone broth is a great addition to your cat’s diet!

How to Make Bone Broth for Dogs

Bone broth for dogs is easy to make. Just a few simple ingredients, a crock pot, and some time…

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef marrow bones (or similar)
• 4 raw chicken or pig feet, joints, or beef knuckles 
• 2 cups green beans, broccoli, or really any healthy veggie your dog likes
• 1 cup roughly chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• Water

Use whatever bones you like – but the feet, joints and knuckles add a ton of flavor and contain lots of gelatin to make your bone broth nice and slimy (and that’s a good thing!!). 

Step #1

Toss all of the bones in your crockpot. A pot on the stove works fine too, but the crockpot is the easiest method since you won’t have to worry about leaving it unattended. Add enough water to cover the bones by about an inch, then add two to four tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar helps pull all of the minerals and nutrients out of the bones and into your broth.

Set your crockpot to low and let everything cook for 24 hours or more. Some people prefer cooking it for up to 72 hours. Keep an eye on it as it cooks, and add more water as needed to keep the bones covered.

Step #2

Strain the bones from the broth. These cooked bones should never be fed to your dog – they can break and splinter. Take them all out and toss them in the green bin.

Now add your veggies. There really is no limit here on what you can add. I love a handful of green beans, or some broccoli. Want some other ideas? Check out this post.

Step #3

Let the broth cool, then put it in the fridge. After a few hours, you’ll notice a layer of fat has solidified on the top. Scrape that off and toss it. Your broth should be a jelly-like consistency. The jelly means you’ve got lots of gelatin in there. Now, if it isn’t, that just means there wasn’t enough vinegar in there – but don’t worry. It’s still really good for your dog!! 

Step #4

You can keep the bone broth in the fridge, but you’ll want to use it in 3-4 days. Another option is to portion it out in freeze-friendly containers. Try using ice cube trays for easy portioning. Frozen, bone broth is good for up to a year. 

Step #5 – The Best Step!

To feed bone broth to you dog, take a few good tablespoons and spoon them over your dog’s regular food. This is food, not medicine, so don’t worry too much about the portion size.