Want a Healthier Pup? 5 Reasons to Give Bone Broth to Your Dog

Adding supplements to your dog’s diet can help to reduce specific ailments. One supplement that is the latest craze is bone broth. While bone broth has been around for thousands of years, it’s surge in popularity is due to its health benefits.

Wee Wee Frenchie

20 May 2024 — 3 min read

Cooking bones helps to break down the collagen, which extracts gelatin. Gelatin contains many essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein.

Bone marrow is rich in other nutrients such as:

Iron
Vitamin A
Zinc
Selenium
Manganese
Fatty Acids
Vitamin K

How can bone broth help improve your dog’s health?

Protecting joints

Joints can become inflamed and collagen can break down with repeat use. Active dogs and certain breeds (German shepherds, retrievers, dachshunds, mastiffs) are more susceptible to joint issues.

Supplementing with gelatin increases the amount of collagen in the tissues. This can protect joints from more damage. Bone broth is easily digestible and a natural source of gelatin.

It is also rich in glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid. These substances help to protect the joint. Supplementation through bone broth can help to reduce inflammation, arthritis, and joint pain.

Gut healing

Bone broth is high in glutamine, an amino acid which can help to heal the intestinal barrier in the gut.

Diet, stress, and bacterial overgrowth can irritate the gut mucosa by causing a leaky gut. Leaky gut syndrome is an irritation of the gut mucosal lining. This leads to a decrease absorption of vital nutrients.

Bone broth contains gelatin, which can help to repair the irritation in the gut. It can decrease inflammation and increase the absorption of vital nutrients.

Liver detoxification

Your dog’s body is constantly under attack. Exposure to pesticides and chemicals causes the liver to work overtime. The liver handles removal of unwanted toxins from the body.

Liver function is supported by the essential amino acid, glycine. Since bone broth contains glycine, it helps to promote healthy liver activity.

Longer satiety

If you have a pup that likes to snack between meals, he may need to change his diet. Adding bone broth, which is high in protein, helps your dog stay fuller longer. For those dogs who may need to shed a few pounds, bone broth can curb unnecessary snacking and lead to weight loss.

Improved sleep

For those dogs who have trouble sleeping through the night, adding bone broth may help. Bone broth is high in glycine, which helps to increase serotonin and melatonin. This leads to a deeper and more restful sleep.

Bone broth is not only healthy but is easy to make. All you need are the following:

Instapot
3-4 lbs marrow bone and/or knee caps (beef, chicken, or pork)
2-4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (helps to extract the amino acids from bones)
Filtered water
Any extras like celery, carrots, or ginger

Steps

Put bones in Instapot
Add filtered water until bones are covered
Add apple cider vinegar
Add any extras (I add celery, which helps to detox the liver, and ginger, an anti-inflammatory)
Put lid on Instapot, making sure the vent is sealed
Set timer to 240 minutes on the manual setting
When done, let the broth cool for 1-2 hours in frig
Skim fat layer off and discard
Make broth ice cubes by putting broth into silicone molds and freezing
Add a defrosted cube to your dog’s daily meals