Why Your Pet Needs Bone Broth

Bone broth is all the rage in the health and fitness communities because it’s packed full of nutrients and can be consumed as a beverage, used to make soups, or used in any recipe calling for stock or broth. 

But bone broth isn’t just for weight lifters and personal trainers. Bone broth is great for everyone and even makes an excellent addition to the diet of your dog or cat. Want to know more about the benefits of bone broth? We’ve got you, and we’ve even put together some recipes for you to try!

What Is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is a really comprehensive broth.This means that it’s not just made from bones and bone marrow. Bone broth can also contain skin, tendons, ligaments, and feet. All of these parts are simmered together for several hours to create a super nutritious broth. After simmering, all of the solids are strained out, leaving behind a liquid broth high in collagen, amino acids, and protein. 

Loaded up with all of that nutritional goodness, it’s no surprise that bone broth makes for a great mealtime addition for your pet. In fact, we believe that adding bone broth to your pet’s diet is one of the least expensive ways to add more nutrients into their diet.

Bone broth is often used to supplement the diets of sick animals that need an extra nutritional boost. The broth tends to be easy on the stomach and has been known to help animals that are suffering from GI upset. Additionally, the nutrients found in bone broth are believed to help support liver function. 

Many pet owners love that bone broth serves as a high source of collagen. Collagen is believed to promote healthy skin and coat. And in addition to a shiny coat, collagen may help maintain optimal joint health.

Plus, added on top of dry food, bone broth can help make a meal more appealing to a picky eater and provide an extra source of hydration. 

How To Make Bone Broth

You don’t have to buy pre-made bone broth at the store. You can make your own! In fact, it’s super easy to boil up some bone broth at home. 

Pet-Safe Bone Broth Recipe

With a quick Google search, you can find many recipes for bone broth for pets; this one is from Animal Behavior College. This recipe, like many others, is nor exact and can be tweaked depending on what you have or want to use.

Ingredients:

• Bones

• Raw apple cider vinegar

In the bottom of a slow cooker or pot, add the bones.

Fill with water until the water level is just a couple of inches above the bones.

Add ½ tsp of raw apple cider vinegar to help release the bones’ valuable nutrients.

Simmer the bones for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

After 12-24 hours, allow the broth to fully cool. Then, strain out the bones.

A few special notes:

You can store your bone broth in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for a year. Defrost it as you would any other broth or sauce before giving it to your pet.

If you’d like to add more depth of nutrients to the bone broth, you can add different types of bones (i.e. lamb, beef, bison, etc.) and/or feet.

You can always jazz up your pet’s bone broth by adding ingredients like turmeric, pumpkin, carrots, and ginger. These are all superfood ingredients that will complement the bone broth well and give it an extra kick of health.

Be sure to keep the cooked bones away from your pet. They can splinter and cut their intestinal tract or cause them to choke. Dispose of them where your pet cannot get to them.

How To Give Bone Broth To Your Pet

You can give bone broth to your pet as easily as pouring it over their food. This is quick and easy, but why not serve it up in some new and exciting ways?

Mussel Mobility Bites

Try one of our Mussel Mobility Bites (or paste) for your senior dog or cat. These may help support the fighting off of inflammation.

Ingredients:

• Ice cube tray or cute silicone mold
• ½ cup Mussel Mobility powder
• Bone broth (you can substitute with water, use only bone broth for pets)
• ⅓ cup unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil
• 3 droppers of Companion's Best Day CBD oil
• 2 teaspoons black pepper (dogs only, pepper is irritating to cats)

Use a small pot to mix the Mussel Mobility and water/broth over low heat until it makes a thick paste (5-7 minutes).

Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes. 

Mix in coconut oil, CBD oil, and pepper (optional). 

Freeze some in the molds and save some in the fridge.

Start by giving your pet just a little bit of the paste to acclimate them to the taste. Then, over the next few days, begin adding one of the frozen bites to their food.

 

Bone Broth Frozen Treats 

On a particularly warm day, treat your pet to a frozen treat. Give them a quick pick-me-up with one of these refreshing pet-sicles.

Ingredients:

• Bone broth (you can also use water)
• Mussel Mobility Complete w/ CBDA
• Raspberries (mashed up leftovers)

Mix a tablespoon of Mussel Mobility Complete into the broth or water.

Pour the mixture into molds.

Add a little raspberry puree.

Freeze for 2 hours.

Serve these treats outside or in a dish as they may stain.

You can also put a twist on these treats by adding other animal-safe fruit purees. Blueberries, bananas, and pumpkin all make a tasty pet friendly additions to these frozen treats.

Bone Broth Gummies

We’re all for simple over here! Want another fun and super simple way to give your pet some bone broth?

All you need is:

• Bone broth
• Gelatin

Heat some bone broth to a boil in a small saucepan.

Remove the broth from heat and allow it to cool for a few moments.

Add in some gelatin by whisking lightly until it dissolves.

Pour the mixture into mold and pop into the fridge for at least 5 hours.

Serve these simple but delicious treats up!

What do you think? Are you ready to add bone broth to your pet’s regimen? Let us know in the comments what you think of these simple recipes!