Wellness trends come and go all of the time. But thanks to the amazing health benefits of low carb food for dogs - we know keto dog food isn't going anywhere. 

And while I'd love to write yet another article outlining the incredible benefits of feeding your dog a low carb diet, there's another growing dog health trend that's also worth writing about: bone broth for dogs! 

Just like low carb dog food, bone broth comes with a variety of proven benefits for your dog’s health - making it an excellent addition to your dog's diet!

What is Bone Broth?

You’ve likely cooked up chicken or beef stock before for soups or stews. It’s pretty common for people to cook up leftover bones to make stock for such purposes. Bone broth is a very similar thing, but usually cooked for less time or made up of a combination of bones from different meats. The result is a superfood stock liquid packed full of nutrients that makes an ideal addition to any dog’s daily diet. 

While bone broth alone does not constitute a suitable meal for dogs, it does contain beneficial nutrients that are a welcome addition to any dog's diet. These include micronutrients like iron, vitamin k, and selenium; as well as macronutrients like healthy fats and collage protein. 

These nutrients are more present in bones, bone marrow, and other parts of the meat carcass that are often excluded from commercial dog foods. But these are the exact parts of the animal that dogs have evolved to eat while hunting in the wild - which might explain why they're so beneficial when added to your dog's diet.

Adding a quality bone broth to your dog’s diet is an easy way to add key nutrients without too much hassle or cost. And while all Visionary Pet products already provide your dog with every nutrient they need - adding bone broth can be a fun way to mix up the texture and flavor :)

To make your own bone broth, you can use leftover bones from your own meals or get bones especially for the purpose such as from a butcher.

Let’s take a look at some more of the benefits it can provide:

Benefits of Bone Broth for Dogs

Great Source of Glycine

Bone broth contains collagen protein: a structural protein that is integral to dog health and high in the amino acid "glycine". Many commercial dog foods don't include protein sources high in glycine, which makes glycine supplementation via bone broth a critical addition for dogs eating these inferior foods.

Glycine has a wide range of proven health benefits for humans AND dogs - and is present in large amounts in collagen protein. In fact, every 3-4 amino acids in a collagen protein structure is a glycine amino acid! 

Joint Support

As well as the many benefits mentioned above, glycine also beneficial for joint support. As stated, bone broth is rich in collagen, a natural compound that also has strong benefits for joint support because the amino acids that collagen breaks down to are used to create connective tissue. Since collagen is a natural part of a dog’s diet in the wild but uncommon in most dog food products, bone broth is a great way to supplement collagen intake.

Joint health is important for all dogs but is even more important for more active or senior dogs, - as well as dogs recovering from injuries, or breeds prone to joint issues. 

Excellent Source of Micronutrients

If you feed Visionary Pet, then your dog is receiving all the micronutrients they need to thrive. But if you're feeding an inferior food or looking to bolster your dog's micronutrient intake even further - then adding bone broth is a fantastic idea - and that's because bone broth is great source of several key micronutrients! 

Aside from being a great source of glycine (as mentioned extensively above), bone broth is a quality source of:

• Iron
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin K
• Selenium
• Zinc
• Manganese

Clearly, adding bone broth is a fantastic addition to any diet! And now that the benefits of feeding your dog bone broth are clear, let’s take a look at some easy recipes.

Bone Broth Recipes for Dogs

Purchasing bone broth may be convenient, but making it for yourself can actually be a quick and easy way to go. It also lets you avoid unnecessary additions common in commercial products such as unnecessary carbs and sugars.

Let’s take a look at some recipes:

Homemade Bone Broth for Dogs

Ingredients

• 2lbs of bones from used meat (beef, chicken or turkey are best)

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• Water

You can also optionally add useful herbal ingredients such as turmeric (tastes great and has antiinflammatory properties).

Directions

1. Place the bones into a large pot and cover with water. Add the apple cider vinegar.

2. Fill the rest of the pot with water and bring to a boil. Once bubbling away, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for a minimum of 6 hours

3. After 6 hours, you may find that some small bits have floated to the top of the broth and formed a film. Scoop these out to keep the broth smooth and avoid choking hazards

4. Cook on a very low heat or in a slow cooker on the lowest heat for 24 hours (chicken or turkey) or 48 hours (beef).

5. Again scoop out the hard layer formed at the top of the broth, ensuring no hard material is left to pose a choking hazard (but leave any meat or fat).

Your broth is now ready to serve (once cooled) and can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.

It can also be placed in ice cube trays to help keep your pet cool on hot days!