Just like our grandmothers knew the healing power of a simmering pot of chicken soup, bone broth offers tried-and-true nourishment for your canine companion. This nutrient-dense food can be a game-changer for your dog’s health, providing comfort and essential nutrients when they need it most. Our comprehensive Chicken Bone Broth Recipe For Dogs will guide you through creating this beneficial elixir.
The beauty of bone broth lies in its simplicity and profound impact. While there isn’t a vast difference between making chicken broth and stock, for your dog’s nutritional needs, the goal is to extract maximum goodness from the bones. Chicken, beef, or any other animal bones offer excellent dog nutrition, particularly beneficial if your dog is recovering from illness, experiencing an irritable bowel, is elderly, or is a picky eater. Even for dogs nearing the end of their lives, the enticing aroma and easily digestible liquid can provide much-needed comfort and sustenance. The tempting smell alone is often enough to pique the interest of a sick dog who has lost interest in solid food. It’s easily licked from a bowl, making hand-feeding a simple gesture of care.
The secret to an exceptional bone broth recipe is extended simmering, typically 24 to 48 hours. This slow cooking allows the bones to release their vital minerals, healthy fats, and other crucial nutrients into the water. Always use filtered water for the purest broth, and if possible, source bones from pasture-fed animals and free-range chickens for the highest quality. We’ll start with chicken bones because their mild flavor and aroma are often the most palatable for dogs. For more on wholesome meals, explore our collection of raw dog food recipes vet approved.
The Two-Step Chicken Bone Broth Recipe: A Detailed Guide
This easy-to-follow recipe ensures your dog receives all the goodness bone broth has to offer. Patience is key, but the rewarding benefits are well worth the effort.
Step One: Initial Simmer and Preparation
To begin this enriching bone broth recipe, select a whole, free-range chicken if available, or use cut-up chicken pieces. Place the chicken in a large pot and cover it completely with pure, filtered water. Bring the water and chicken to a boil, and as it heats, you’ll notice grey, foamy scum forming on the surface. This is important to remove, so be sure to skim it off as the broth begins to boil, as this scum contains impurities you don’t want in your final product.
At this stage, if you wish, you can add a small amount of easily digested vegetables such as spinach, carrots, celery, or parsley. However, it’s not strictly necessary, as our primary focus is on extracting the rich nutrients from the bones, not creating a vegetable soup. After skimming, reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer for approximately four hours, or until all the meat and skin have effortlessly fallen off the bones. Carefully dump the entire contents—meat, skin, optional vegetables, and bones—into a large colander or strainer. Make sure to collect the liquid in one bowl and the solids in another. Allow everything to cool thoroughly. Once cooled, separate the meat, skin, and any vegetables from the bones. This soft, easily digestible food can be saved and offered to your dog when they are starting to recover from illness, or even to older dogs who may have dental issues.
Freshly prepared chicken bone broth stored in glass jars
Step Two: The Long Extraction for Maximum Nutrients
Now, return the separated bones to the large pot with the saved liquid from Step One, and add more filtered water to ensure the bones are fully covered. Bring this mixture to a boil once again, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. This is the longest phase, where the true magic happens; you’ll want to simmer for a full 24 hours. A crock pot is an excellent alternative for this prolonged cooking stage, making the process even more hands-off. Remember to add small amounts of water as needed to keep the bones submerged throughout the simmering.
During this extended simmering, I highly recommend adding a tablespoon of raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (though any vinegar will suffice). The acidic nature of the vinegar plays a crucial role in helping to extract the healthy, rich minerals from the bones and into the broth. This step is vital for maximizing the nutritional value of your bone broth, so don’t be impatient—the long simmering is essential for getting those precious minerals out of the bones. Once your bone broth recipe has finished cooking, strain the bones from the liquid and safely discard them; never feed cooked bones to your pet. You’ll be left with a beautiful, nutritious broth liquid. After it cools, you can begin feeding small, incremental amounts to your sick or older pet. Given the generous yield, freezing the extra broth is a smart move. I often pour it into ice cube trays for convenient, single-serving portions. For more tasty options, consider our chicken and pumpkin dog food recipe, which offers another wholesome meal idea.
Even with the bones discarded, as an added precaution, I like to pour the cooled liquid into a blender and give it a quick whiz for a few seconds. This ensures that absolutely no cooked bone shards, no matter how small, remain in the broth. It’s a small step that provides peace of mind, reinforcing the rule: always feed only raw bones if offering bones directly. After the broth cools completely, you’ll likely notice it has become quite gelatinous. This is an excellent sign! It indicates that you’ve successfully extracted the nourishing minerals and collagen from the connective tissues of the chicken. This rich gelatin is a natural source of glucosamine, a key component for joint health.
Expanding Your Horizons: Bone Broths from Other Types of Bones
While chicken bone broth is an excellent starting point due to its mild flavor, remember that you can apply this bone broth recipe principle to other types of bones as well. Consider using beef bones, pork bones, lamb bones, whole fish bones (including the head), or even bones from game animals like venison. Starting with chicken is often recommended for its universal appeal to dogs, but don’t hesitate to experiment once you’re comfortable with the process.
This delicious, soup-like food is remarkably nutrient-dense and highly healing for both humans and dogs. If your dog is struggling with conditions such as allergies, leaky gut syndrome, irritable bowel, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or any other immune-related health problem stemming from gut issues, incorporating small amounts of bone broth into their diet can be incredibly beneficial. Feeding bone broth one day a week, even in place of regular food, can significantly contribute to your dog’s recovery and overall well-being. You might initially think that making bone broths is too much trouble or takes too much time, but believe me, the effort is well worth it for the health benefits it provides. However, if time truly is a constraint, there are natural, nutritious, and affordable commercial bone broth options available. For those interested in diverse homemade meals, our homemade dog food recipes vet approved turkey offers another fantastic protein option.
Time-Saving Tip: Pressure Cooking for Expedited Broth
For those looking to save time without compromising on quality, a loyal reader, Cathy C. from Ohio, USA, shared an amazing tip: use a pressure cooker! Simply place as many whole chickens as your cooker can hold (Cathy’s holds 2 or 3) into the pot. Add about a gallon of water, secure the lid and pressure regulator, and cook for 3-4 hours—Cathy typically goes for 3.5 hours. After cooling and releasing the pressure, you’ll be amazed. While you might want to pull out the breast meat for yourself, the rest of the chicken, including all the meat, the rich broth, and even the bones, can be fed to your dog. Yes, the bones! The pressure cooking process makes them potato-chip soft and easily digestible, allowing your dog to access all the lovely bone marrow inside. Once cooled, you’ll again observe that wonderfully gelatinous broth. Trust me, try this time-saving bone broth recipe method, and prepare to be astonished by the results! This method is also great for preparing healthy food options, perhaps even incorporating into homemade dog food recipes vet approved for weight loss.
Integrating Bone Broth into Your Dog’s Diet
Bone broth is incredibly versatile and can be easily incorporated into any dog’s diet, elevating their meals and providing a nutritional boost.
- Homemade Dog Food: Simply add a frozen cube or two of bone broth to your dog’s homemade meal once a day, or a few times a week. It will tremendously enhance the nutrient value and digestibility of their food, making it even more wholesome.
- Raw Dog Food: Since a raw food diet is already quite nutritionally complete, bone broth serves as a fantastic treat. Most dogs absolutely adore a bone broth ice cube! Alternatively, you can add a small amount directly to your dog’s raw food meal. There will be no digestive conflict, only added goodness.
- Dry Dog Food (Kibble): This is perhaps one of the most impactful ways to use bone broth. If your dog eats kibble, adding just a few tablespoons of warm bone broth transforms their ordinary food bowl into a gourmet delight. It significantly enhances both nutrition and flavor, and your dog will undoubtedly show their appreciation for this taste of “real food.”
- During Fasting: As a strong advocate for fasting for health, I find bone broth invaluable. If my older dogs are scheduled for a fasting day, I simply give them a couple of thawed bone broth cubes at night. This tides them over until morning, making them feel like they’re getting a meal. The broth smells fantastic, is delicious, and highly nutritious without overloading a digestive system that’s meant to be resting during a fast.
Yeah! Real food at last! Bon appétit to your cherished companion! To ensure all your dog’s food, including homemade broth, stays fresh, consider investing in the best container to keep dog food fresh.
In conclusion, preparing a nourishing chicken bone broth recipe for your dog is a small investment of time that yields immense health benefits. From supporting recovery in sick animals to providing comforting, nutrient-dense meals for elderly pets and enhancing the diets of picky eaters, bone broth is a powerful addition to any canine care regimen. Your dedication to their well-being will shine through with every delicious, gelatinous spoonful.
