Give your Westie the best life possible with delicious and nutritious bone broth.
Bone broth is an immune-boosting super food and is ideal for helping sick pets get back on their feet. It’s ideal for maintaining the health of an active dog and even sick dogs that are not eating are likely to enjoy a bowl of broth – add it to their food to help them eat.
Bone broth for dogs is great as it’s packed with minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium in forms that are easily absorbed by your dog. Rich in amino acids like glycine and proline they help maintain a healthy digestion and keep your dog calm. The collagen in the bones protects and heals the mucosal lining of the digestive tract that aides in the digestion of nutrients while the gelatine supports fur, skin, and nail growth while helping joint pain and inflammation. Marrow helps provide the body with materials needed for healthy blood cells and immune development. It’s perfect for flu season for dogs AND people. It’s also very cheap to make since is needed are some good marrow bones.
Apple cider vinegar will help break down the bones and will leach all the goodness out. Apple cider vinegar is also great for deterring parasites, it’s antibacterial and antifungal, improves and conditions the coat, relieves arthritis and improves digestion.
Organic bones
Use chicken, pork or beef bones and if possible buy organic bones and try to get grass fed. Grass fed is higher in Omega 3’s. It’s also higher in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which is anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic. Grass fed is also higher in vitamin E, vitamin A, glutathione and antioxidants. Pigs raised outdoors have a better Omega 3/Omega 6 ratio and more mono-unsaturated fat which is more resistant to high heat.
Method
It really is possible to improve the health of your dog by learning how to make dog food that’s delicious, simple and healthy and bone broth is as easy as it gets. You’ll know when the broth is ready when the bones start to soften, and they become crumbly. In a pressure cooker it takes about 4 hours but you can also do it in a pot or slow cooker which will require between 8-24 hours of simmering. Once cooked discard the bones, it’s just the broth you want.
Dogs should never be fed cooked bones.
Shelf life
Broth lasts just a few days even in the fridge regardless of whether it’s for humans or dogs… the general rule is freeze it until it’s needed.
Ingredients
1kg of bones, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1-2 cloves of garlic (optional)
Method
I have a kilo bag of frozen organic grass-fed beef bones
I don’t need to thaw; I’m just going to chuck them in the pot.
Add the bones to your pot or pressure cooker
Add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to the pot
Fill the pot to cover the bones – about 3 litres
I’m using my pressure cooker. It doesn’t set to 4 hours so I will do it for 2 hours twice over. If using the stove or a slow cooker, then it will need to simmer between 8-24 hours – topping up with water when needed. Four hours later and it’s done. Smells amazing! My dogs know something smells good! Add the fresh broth to a bowl and leave to cool. You can refrigerate it for a few days or freeze it to be used another time.
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