Benefits of Bone Broth for Dogs

Bone broth is a superfood that is jam-packed with minerals, vitamins, and amino acids that have a variety of benefits to our bodies: from helping with creaking joints to improving brain function and reducing inflammation.

While many are well aware of the benefits of this slow-cooked soup for humans, we are only beginning to realize the many benefits of bone broth for dogs.

Find out how your dog can become healthier and happier with the addition of nutritious and delicious bone broth to their diet.

What is bone broth?

Bone broth is a nutrient-dense soup made from the bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage of animals. These parts of the body that are tough to eat and are often discarded. However, by simmering these in water for hours, pet parents can unlock the health benefits within.

If the process sounds familiar to you, it’s because it is similar to how stock is made. The difference between the two lies in the length of cooking and subsequently, the amount of nutrients in the soup. Bones and connective tissue are made strong and durable because they are made of collagen, amino acids, calcium, and other important minerals, which is why it takes a long time to break them down.

A bone broth is only as healthy as the animal it comes from. An animal suffering from poor nutrition all its life will not yield a very nourishing bone broth. Animals who have been pumped by antibiotics and hormones without observing the correct withdrawal period will likely have residues that can be transferred through bone broth.

Open Farm’s bone broth comes from humanely-raised animals, so you never have to worry about the quality of nutrition you’re giving your dog.

Is Bone Broth Good For My Dog?

The simple answer is yes! Bone broth is good for dogs because of its high collagen content.

Up to 90% of tendons and ligaments are made up of collagen. This is what gives connective tissues their flexibility and tensile strength. Oral ingestion of this protein has been known to improve joint health, even in dogs suffering from elbow dysplasia and other connective tissue disorders.

Collagen is also an essential structural protein found in the skin and fur of animals. Ingesting it helps strengthen skin integrity and make the coat shiny and soft.

This protein is also important for the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal system, as it can strengthen immune response. By reducing inflammation and fast-tracking repair to the mucosa, collagen helps animals process food more smoothly. It is also a major structural component of the liver, a very important accessory organ to the digestive system.

How do I get my dog to eat bone broth?

Bone broth is most often used as a topper on dry food to help moisten it and make it more palatable. It also works well when mixed with wet food. If you feed your dog freeze-dried raw meals, you can add in bone broth as a tasty addition over top.

Most bone broths last up to seven days when placed in the refrigerator. You can use it cold during the summer to make food refreshing, and serve it warm during the winter as a hearty addition to food.

Bone broth is also low in carbohydrates and high in protein, making it less likely to cause obesity if used as a topper. Feel free to use bone broth as a supplement to every complete canine meal!

Where do I buy bone broth for dogs?

While it costs less to buy bone, cartilage, ligament and tendons from the butcher, it will take a lot of time and energy to simmer this long enough to end up with bone broth. It takes approximately 10-12 hours to cook on a stovetop. All things considered, homemade bone broth is not a very economical choice for your dog.

Luckily, there are great options on the market for fur parents who can’t spend half a day simmering bones. Among store-bought bone broths, Open Farm’s bone broth is the one consumers trust as it is Global Animal Partnership Certified. This means the company has passed stringent regulatory processes that make sure food animals are ethically-raised with no trace of antibiotics or hormones. An additional benefit of Open Farm’s bone broth for dogs is that it’s produced in small batches to get the most flavor and the highest level of nutrition for your dog. This makes Open Farm bone broth a truly healthy addition to your pet’s daily meals.

Play mix-and-match

With three delicious flavors and three ways to use this as a topper, you can mix-and-match flavors and types of food to find the perfect combination for your dog.

Open Farm’s bone broth pairs best with Open Farm dog food to ensure that everything your dog eats is sustainably-raised, and high-quality food. With different flavors for dry, wet, and freeze-dried meals, a whole lot of combinations are possible. You can pair like with like by using Homestead Turkey Bone Broth to top off Homestead Turkey and Ancient Grains Dry Dog Food. Or you can mix-and-match with different flavors!

To make the most out of the benefits of bone broth for dogs, make sure to mix in at least two tablespoons per 10lbs of body weight per day, as stipulated in the Open Farm feeding guide.

Make your dog’s meals even more nutritious and delicious by adding bone broth. Open Farm’s commitment to using only sustainably-raised, residue-free ingredients allows its customers to help break the cycle of unhealthy farming practices.

Dogs may not be able to say it, but they appreciate it when their humans give them the best of the best.

Give your dog the nutrition they need by checking out Open Farm’s bone broth selection today!