My dogs love bone broth. It’s great for puppies of all ages. Healthy, hearty and packed full of goodness!
We have a lot of cooked bones in our home, from roast turkey carcasses to rib bones, to chicken wings and all sorts of other things. But not using them? Really is such a waste when you have dogs who are going to love some Bone Broth.
Now, I know what you’re thinking “But that’s cooked bones, you can’t feed dogs raw bones.” You’re entirely right, you can’t. Unless you slow boil them for at least a day and then test it when you’re done.
Bone Broth is great as an immune booster, as a meal supplement, for puppies who aren’t feeling well, or if you have a picky puppy.
You can make it at home (though warning, it’s a great plan to make this ahead of time and freeze it!), it’s packed with good things and your dog will love it! It’s basically gravy – and which puppy isn’t going to (literally) lap that up?
There are lots and lots of recipes, but here’s the one I’m using:
The Best Bone Broth Recipe For Your Puppy
PREP TIME: 15 mins
COOK TIME: 24 hrs
INGREDIENTS:
– 3 turkey wings (these can be cooked too!)
– 4 medium carrots
– 4 stalks of celery
– 45ml of apple cider vinegar
– 4 black peppercorns
– 1.25l of water
TOOLS:
– Knife
– Slow cooker (or heavy crock pot, so long as you’re able to watch it)
– Freezer bags
– A hungry puppy!
PROCESS:
1 – Add the turkey wings to the slow cooker,
2 – Roughly chop the celery and carrots, add to the slow cooker,
3 – Add the apple cider vinegar and the peppercorns,
4 – Add water (This may not work quite so well for your slow cooker – the ingredients should be just covered by water)
5 – Turn on the slow cooker and leave for at least 24 hrs (but monitor the water level if leaving it for longer)
6 – Extract the bones and feed or freeze (when cool)!
You can feed the bones so long as they squish or crumble under your fingers, bigger bones will take longer to boil down. Feel free to switch this for any bones you get, from my experience? Venison bones take the longest to become soft and edible? Followed by beef. Chicken and turkey soften up pretty quickly.
And Presto! I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t look half bad to me… and you can store it for up to about 3 months if you freeze it. I use Icecube trays, and then empty them when solid into a freezer bag. Then when you need them? (For example your pup is not feeling great, and has had mild sickness or diarrhea) then you can pull out one or two and water them down to be a nutritious liquid to start helping them get nutrition back into their little tummies.
NOTE!
If your puppy is showing signs of lethargy, foreign objects in their vomit, or is showing more serious signs of discomfort? It’s time to go to the Vet! If you’re ever unsure, a vet check isn’t the worst thing in the world!
Tips To Give Your Bone Broth A Boost;
1 – Boil It Down
I like to boil it down and make a very concentrated broth, which I freeze in it’s condensed form in ice cube trays and water down when I want to use it.
2 – Use Leftovers
You can do this with bones from your roast dinner, be they beef, lamb, chicken or anything else. Like in the video above! Cooked bones are totally safe if you’ve let them simmer through. Bones only splinter if they’re dry.
3 – Oh, Mother….
Try and make sure that the apple cider vinegar you buy include ‘mother’. Mother is a rich, health-boosting natural protein. It has lots of healthy bacteria and acetic acid in it too, which will give your dog a great boost.
Puppy Confusion?
It’s hard to know what the right thing to do is, all the time, so why not take the unknown out of puppyhood?
4 – Vegger-ific!
You can also include all sorts of other vegetables! Nettle, alfalfa, spinach, kale or any veg going spare in the fridge – even my green-food-averse boy, Indie, will eat it when it’s been stewed for that long.
5 – Freeze it
In the summer, you can put it in ice cube trays and freeze them for gravy-pops! These are so tasty for your woof that they’re going to love this as a quick, cooling treat.
6 – Garlic… ?
You can include Garlic. Now, I’ve read the original study in which garlic was tested for it’s ill effects on dogs? but the only time that any sign of toxicity is when a golden retriever at 17 cloves a day for a month. A month!! Gosh, I’d be feeling sick after that too! Whilst there is no scientific proof that garlic is beneficial for dogs, it’s long since been used as a natural bug deterrent for all sorts of animals including dogs and horses. If you want to read more? This is the more person friendly version of the research!
Now…
I’m not suggesting this will fix all ails and that you shouldn’t go to the vets – but think of this as super food for your dog! To give them all the goodness that they need to get their tummy back on track.
Or you can serve as an awesome replacement meal as a special treat.
Author, Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a professional, qualified, and multi-award winning trainer is the founder of rebarkable. She has always believed animals deserve kindness and champions force free methods. Believing that dog guardians will all choose the kindest options if proper information is provided, she aims to help all dog guardians who need it and make dog training as accessible as possible
Ali lives win Maryland, US with her husband and her three dogs.
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