Bone Broth for Dogs and Cats: Liquid vs Dehydrated?
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Time to read 4 min
Bone broth has been passed down through generations for a reason. When made properly, it's not just a warm liquid with flavour — it's an extraction. A careful process of low-simmering bones and connective tissue over time, to draw out the nutrients the body can absorb and use. For pets, it can be a powerful addition to their diet. But as with anything: not all bone broths are made equally.
Bone Broth For Dogs and Cats - Real Bone Broth vs Flavoured Water
True bone broth takes time. It’s simmered slowly, often over 12 to 24 hours, to allow for a deep release of amino acids, collagen, and minerals from the bones. The difference between this and a quick-cooked stock is more than just taste. Shorter cooking times extract some flavour, but not the nutrients your pet’s body needs. These fast versions are closer to flavoured water than real bone broth. If it’s done too fast, with the wrong bones, or without proper preparation — it may smell nice, but it won't carry the benefits.
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The Role of Bone Type and Cuts
Many people associate a good bone broth with how gelatinous it becomes after cooling. While gelatin is a sign of natural collagen being extracted, it’s not the only marker of a well-made bone broth. The amount of gelatin depends on the type and part of the bone:
- Chicken feet and beef knuckles are especially rich in collagen, which gives the bone broth that "jelly" texture when cooled.
- Chicken carcasses or meaty rib bones might yield a thinner bone broth, but still full of amino acids and minerals.
- Long bones (like elk femurs or reindeer legs) offer a complex mineral profile, even if they result in a lighter gelatin structure.
Some bones are rich in collagen, others in amino acids or key minerals. That’s why we use a blend of different bones — it creates a more balanced and nutritionally complete bone broth for dogs and cats. What matters most is how the bones are treated — not just in the pot, but how the animals lived.
Why Animal Lifestyle Matters
We choose wild and free-range animals because you can taste and see the difference in the bones.
- Wild reindeer roam the Norwegian mountains, eating lichen, moss, and forest plants. Their bones are denser, and their tissues are richer in micronutrients.
- Elk, also wild, forage a natural diet and move freely across vast areas. This strengthens their skeleton and connective tissue — ideal for bone broth.
- Free-range chickens and turkeys move naturally and eat: insects, herbs, and roots. This gives better marrow and richer nutrients.
- Grass-fed beef bones come from animals raised the way they should be — grazing on pasture, not confined. That difference is reflected in the mineral content of their bones.
- Irish lamb graze freely on open pastures, just as nature intended. Their bones are clean, mineral-rich, and ideal for creating a gentle, mild-flavoured bone broth.
A bone broth is only as good as what it comes from. And we only use bones from animals that lived the life they were meant to.
Why Human-Grade Matters
We don’t use off-cuts, by-products, or category 3 materials. Only bones and ingredients that are fully human-grade — from sourcing and transport to processing. This gives us full control over quality and transparency, and gives your pet a product you can feel confident about.
Dehydrated Bone Broth vs Liquid Bone Broth
With more dehydrated bone broths for dogs and cats appearing on the market, it’s easy to wonder: which is better? Dehydrated bone broth is typically made by heat-drying already-cooked bone broth or by extracting nutrients using high temperatures and spray-drying. These methods make it convenient and shelf-stable — but not without trade-offs.
- Heat-sensitive compounds like collagen, amino acids, and minerals can degrade during the drying process.
- These include nutrients that play an important role in gut health and digestion — one of the core reasons we give bone broth in the first place.
- The flavour and scent are often milder or altered due to processing.
- Mixing with water doesn’t fully recreate the texture and depth of a true liquid bone broth.
In contrast, liquid bone broth is slow-simmered from the start.
To keep it safe without preservatives, we use a short steam-based method called autoclaving. It gently steam pressure to remove bacteria — making the bone broth shelf-stable, without compromising its natural flavour or nutrients.
For pets, that means:
- Better digestibility
- Stronger scent and flavour (which picky eaters love)
- More preserved nutrients like glycine, glucosamine, proline, and key minerals
Nutritional Benefits: A Deeper Dive
Want to understand what bone broth actually does for your pet? Read our in-depth guide written in collaboration with a certified pet nutritionist here . From gut support and joint health to immune function and hydration, real bone broth supports it all.
The Convenience
Dehydrated bone broth is often praised for convenience — but it’s not the only option. Our bone broths are available in both 400ml and 100ml pouches. The 100ml size is perfect for travel, enrichment, or freezing — so you can bring real bone broth with you anywhere.
Real bone broth is made with care, not shortcuts.
At Hokuō®, we honour the process — and your pet. Every batch is made with traceable, human-grade ingredients, sourced within Europe, and slow-simmered in small batches. Because better bone broth starts with better bones.
