Ingredient education
Bone Broth for Dogs
boiled from real beef bones
Bone broth for dogs shows up on a lot of packaging. Sometimes it means a powder that tastes savoury. In our chews it means we boiled beef bones and put the liquid in the formula.
Flavour name or ingredient
A bag of bone broth dog treats can say bone broth flavour and contain no broth. The savoury note can come from a yeast extract, a smoke compound or a spray applied after the chew is already made. All of that is legal, all of it produces a natural flavour dog chew by the wording on the label, and none of it is what we do.
We boil real beef bones to make the broth that goes into the batch.
The original reason was simple. Dogs chase rich meat smells, and a warm beef aroma makes a chew worth starting. What we got alongside that was a whole-food ingredient carrying naturally occurring protein, amino acids and minerals, which turned the broth into a formulation decision instead of a flavour decision.
How real broth is made
Bones and connective tissue go into water and cook slowly. Water-soluble compounds migrate out of the bone and into the liquid. What ends up in the finished broth depends on which bones went in and how the cook was run.
One published analysis of broth prepared from bovine femur identified protein, amino acids and a set of minerals in the finished liquid. Sodium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium were the main minerals detected. On the amino acid side the researchers found glutamic acid, glycine, lysine, histidine, arginine and aspartic acid.
Why dogs go for it
A dog reads food with its nose before its mouth gets involved. The meat-associated aroma of beef broth raises the value of a chew before the first bite.
Because the broth is worked into the formula, that flavour is present at every depth of the piece. As the dog wears down one surface it exposes another one carrying the same thing.
On a chew designed to last, that difference does real work. A surface coating gets consumed early and what remains is texture with nothing behind it.
Broth and gelatin do different jobs
Gelatin builds the structure. Broth brings the flavour and the naturally occurring components that came out of the bones. Neither one substitutes for the other.
| Ingredient | What it does | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Premium beef and porcine gelatin | Builds the protein network that holds shape and density | Not a complete protein |
| Real beef bone broth | Savoury flavour through the piece, naturally occurring amino acids and minerals | Not a standardised nutrient source |
| Controlled drying | Sets the final density and how long the chew holds up | Not a guarantee of chew time |
That is why the product is a collagen chew made with real bone broth. It is not a bone-broth-flavoured treat, and the two are built differently.
Which bone broth benefits hold up
Bone broth has collected a long list of claims, and they are not all the same quality.
Research supports the plain version: broth can contain protein, amino acids and minerals drawn out of the bones. What research does not establish is that any given broth carries a meaningful dose of every nutrient on a marketing list, or that broth resolves joint disease, rebuilds an intestinal lining or clears up allergies. Consumer health reviews make the same point, noting that composition varies widely and that most headline bone broth benefits are extrapolated from studies of isolated components instead of studies of broth itself.
Our version of the story is shorter and it survives scrutiny. We use real beef bone broth for its savoury flavour and for the naturally occurring proteins, amino acids and minerals that come with it.
What we can prove about the broth
What we say
Why we can say it
Made with real beef bone broth.
Beef bones are boiled and the broth goes into the formula. No powder, no spray.
Contains naturally occurring amino acids and minerals.
Established for bone broth generally. Amounts vary by batch and we publish no figure.
Flavour through the chew, not on it.
Formulation design. The broth is incorporated before moulding.
Supports normal chewing behaviour and enrichment.
Behavioural, not medical. No disease claim attached.
Why not artificial flavour
Artificial flavour is cheaper, more consistent and easier to dose. It would have worked.
We wanted the flavour story to start with something a customer recognises, because that is the same standard we apply to everything else in the formula. Every ingredient should have a stated job. None of which makes natural automatically better or artificial automatically unsafe. Real beef broth was the right fit for the chew we were building.
For the structural half of the formula, see what collagen dog chews are made of. If you are new to our range, what is a novel protein covers the sourcing side.
Real bones. Real broth.
Boiled from real beef bones and worked through the formula, with premium gelatin doing the structural work.
Shop collagen chewsCommon questions
Is the broth made from real bones?
Yes. Real beef bones are boiled to make the broth that goes into the formula.
Is bone broth only there for flavour?
Flavour is the main reason, and real broth also brings naturally occurring proteins, amino acids and minerals with it.
Is bone broth for dogs a complete source of nutrition?
No. It sits alongside a complete and balanced diet and never replaces one.
Does bone broth fix joint or digestive problems?
We make no such claim. This is a chew, not a veterinary treatment. Take a persistent joint or gut problem to your vet.
How much sodium is in it?
Broth naturally contains sodium and the amount varies by batch. We do not publish a figure without lab results on the finished product. If your dog is on a sodium-restricted diet, check with your vet first.
Why pair bone broth with gelatin?
Gelatin builds the collagen-derived structure. Broth supplies the savoury flavour and the components that come out of real bones. Each covers what the other does not.
