Bone Broth Recipe

Bone Broth is rich in naturally occurring collagen, gelatin, glucosamine, hyaluronic acid and chondroitin so you can see why it is beneficial to joint health and particularly useful for senior dogs.  

It is very easy to digest and great as a nourishing pick me up for poorly dogs that are off their food. It is also full of flavor and will tempt even the fussiest eater.

Good bones to use are chicken & duck feet, ribs, chicken backs, beef or lamb ribs, chicken or duck necks, beef knuckles, pig trotter and ox tail. It must be noted that you are NOT going to feed the cooked bones to your dog, only the lovely broth and jelly that remains after the long cooking process.

If you add a marrow bone, remove any central marrow first or it will turn the broth very greasy. Cut off any excess skin or fat from the bones before adding to the pot, this is particularly important if you have a dog that is prone to pancreatitis.   

You will need:

A slow cooker or heavy stock pot with a lid, which can be left on a low setting for many hours. 

A collection of bones, a mixed variety will produce a better broth.                      

Enough water to cover the bones and a little set aside should levels drop too low                                                                          

Apple cider vinegar (2-3 tablespoons) this helps leach the minerals out of the bones and into the broth

Optional small selection of vegetables, but not too much as we don’t want to dilute all the nutritious bone broth !

How to make:

Pre-heat your slow cooker on high for 15 minutes then turn down to its lowest setting. Add your selection of bones plus the water containing the cider vinegar. Place the lid on and leave on low for at least 24 hours although many people leave it for up to 36 hours.

After this time turn off the pot and when the broth has started to cool, thoroughly remove any cooked bones with a slotted spoon and make sure they are safely disposed of and out of the dog’s reach.

The resulting broth can be ladled or poured into suitable ice cube trays or pots and kept in the fridge for 3-4 days or frozen for later use.

**The cooked bones must be disposed of safely and never fed to your dog **.

Healthy Christmas Dog Treats

At this time of year, there are very poor quality treats for sale and often it is difficult to find out the actual contents used to make them and the country of origin. The solution is to make your own!

What you will need:

250g Organic Spelt flour or flour of choice. If you need a gluten-free recipe then a mixture of buckwheat, coconut, chickpea is a good choice.
A generous pinch of any of the following seeds eg Flax, hemp, sunflower, chia
25g Jumbo oats or ground almonds
2 Tsp Hedgerow Hound Herbs
2 medium free-range eggs
1Tablespoon melted coconut oil or Olive oil
Approx. quarter pint of water
Add one of these extras for added taste: A single pilchard from a tin (drained & flaked with a fork) will make them extra tasty and nutritious Or a level tablespoon of dog-friendly peanut butter ( I use Pip & Nut which is Xylitol & palm oil free) but always check the label of your chosen brand.

Mix ingredients into a dough, adding a little more water if necessary. Roll out onto a floured surface, keeping a fairly consistent thickness so every treat cooks at the same time
Cut out the shapes with your chosen cutters and place them onto a baking tray, preferably lined with baking parchment or lightly oiled.
Place in a preheated oven at 180c for around 30 minutes, thicker treats will take a little longer. If you are using a fan oven decrease the oven temperature.
Once cooked leave the baking trays on the side to cool slightly then place the treats onto a wire rack until completely cool. Make sure the biscuits are cold before bagging or putting them into a container. Any warmth from the treats will cause condensation in the bag and the treats will soon go mouldy.

For decoration: I used Carob powder as a chocolate substitute which you can dilute with a little water & use to decorate. While still wet sprinkle on rosehip granules, chia seeds or flax seeds.
If you want to hang your treats from a ribbon then make the whole with a cocktail stick before baking.
Present them in pretty packaging, coloured ribbon or in a mason jar with a colourful label.

Be aware that these treats do not contain any preservatives, unlike the shop-bought variety, so will last a fraction of the time. They can either be frozen and a few taken out each day to defrost or keep cool in an airtight storage container and use within 3 weeks.