Ingredient file // Animal protein
Dried Chicken Bone Broth
A savory protein powder, not joint medicine
Dried chicken bone broth is liquid cooked from chicken bones and attached tissue, with most of the water removed. It adds chicken flavor and protein to food. Mixed with water, it makes a flavored drink. Joint and gut health claims outrun the evidence.
- What it is
- Broth cooked from chicken bones and attached tissue, then dried into a powder.
- Made from
- Chicken bones and attached tissue
- Main job
- Chicken flavor and protein
- Typical amount
- Not published for finished recipes
- Watch for
- Chicken allergy and added seasonings
- Not the same as
- Chicken bone meal
Straight answer
Is Dried Chicken Bone Broth safe for dogs?
Read it as flavor with some protein
On a bag, check what sits above the dried broth and whether the food is complete and balanced. The ingredient gives chicken flavor and protein, but its name tells you neither its dose nor its collagen content. Use a broth topper for taste or to flavor added water, not to treat joints or gut disease.
- Why it is in the food
- Chicken flavor and protein
- How common
- Listed by 1 of the 3,204 foods we track
Our read // In our catalog
In 1 of every 3,204 foods we track
Share of foods that list it
<1%
1 of the 3,204 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All dog food topper.
Each square is 1% of the catalog
Where it sits on the label
Median position 5. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a main ingredient.
Who leans on it
100%
of the foods that list it are from Nulo. 1 brand use it in total.
What it is
How it is made
Poultry processing leaves bones with attached tissue after meat is removed. Cooking them in water draws material into a broth. Removing the water gives manufacturers a powder that takes less space to ship and store.8,13
- 01 // Source Chicken bones Bones with attached connective tissue supply the raw material for the broth.
- 02 // Process Cooked in water Cooking moves soluble material from the chicken bones and tissue into the liquid.
- 03 // Process Liquid dried Water is removed from the broth, leaving solids that may be formed into powder.
- 04 // Output Broth powder The dried ingredient reaches the food maker as powder rather than liquid broth.
What is in it
Composition, dry matter
97.1
% protein
Protein reported for one supplier batch. Its crude protein figure does not show whether the amino acids meet a dog's needs.
Why it is in the bag
What the manufacturer gets
-
01
Adds chicken flavor
A broth powder sold for toppers is marketed as an aromatic garnish that boosts palatability, meant to be sprinkled over finished food to add chicken taste and smell.10
-
02
Adds concentrated protein
Removing water concentrates the broth solids. A rooster assay found that its tested dried chicken broth had lower amino acid quality than the tested dried chicken meat.1,9
-
03
Uses poultry leftovers
Bones left after poultry processing can supply broth solids. Drying removes shipping weight, although removing water is an energy cost for manufacturers.8,13
How much A powder seller suggests 0.5 to 4 teaspoons daily as a topper; it gives no tested recipe percentage.10
Our read // The claims
What the evidence supports
Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.
-
Brands say
Dried broth adds concentrated chicken protein
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
AAFCO sets a 90% dry matter protein minimum for stock or broth, and one marketed powder reports 97.1%. That is crude protein, not proof of protein quality: the tested broth ranked below dried chicken meat in a rooster assay.1,6,9
-
Brands say
Bone broth keeps dogs hydrated
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
In a crossover study of 7 working dogs, total fluid intake was lower with plain water than with the other hydration strategies, including chicken flavored water, but blood and urine hydration measures barely moved. The study did not test broth powder, which supplies water only when mixed with it.3,10
-
Brands say
Bone broth repairs sore joints
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
A 31 dog trial found improved gait after 12 weeks of a specified collagen peptide supplement. That industry funded trial tested neither bone broth nor joint repair. The supplier certificate for one broth powder does not report a collagen dose.2,9
-
Brands say
Bone broth restores gut health
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
A brand reports microbiome changes after 4 weeks in 33 dogs given bone broth, with no untreated comparison group and no measured clinical outcome. That unpublished, brand run report does not show a health benefit, and it does not test dried broth as a food ingredient.11
Straight answers
What owners ask
-
Q01
Is it just filler?
NoIt supplies chicken flavor and protein. Its place on an ingredient list does not reveal the amount used, and a high crude protein result does not make broth a replacement for a balanced protein source.1,7,8,9
-
Q02
Can it replace chicken meat?
NoIn a 16 rooster assay, the tested spray dried broth ranked below spray dried chicken meat for amino acid quality. Judge the complete food's nutrition, not the broth powder's protein percentage alone.1
-
Q03
Does the powder add water?
Only when mixedThe powder itself is dry. Mixing it with water makes a flavored drink; sprinkling it over food does not add moisture. Keep plain drinking water available either way.3,8,10
Who uses it
Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps
Top brands, by foods that list it
Foods that list it / all the brand's recipes we track.
Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it
- Chicken 100%
- Chicken Heart 100%
- Chicken Liver 100%
- Pumpkin 100%
- Mixed Tocopherols 100%
On the shelf
Foods that list Dried Chicken Bone Broth
1 food in our catalog lists it, highest on the label first.
Sources
What we read
Checked October 1, 2026.
- 1 Protein quality of chicken-based protein sources evaluated by precision-fed cecectomized rooster assay
- 2 The oral intake of specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides (BCP) improves gait and quality of life in canine osteoarthritis patients: A translational large animal model for a nutritional therapy option
- 3 A Randomized Cross-Over Field Study of Pre-Hydration Strategies in Dogs Tracking in Hot Environments
- 4 Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats
- 5 Think Food Safety and Be Salmonella Safe
- 6 Official Feed Terms, Common or Usual Ingredient Names and Ingredient Definitions
- 7 Reading Labels
- 8 IDF POWDERED CHICKEN BROTH 3515
- 9 Chicken Bone Broth Protein Powder for Functional Nutrition
- 10 Pet Sprinkles - Chicken Collagen Bone Broth Powder
- 11 The Biome Broth Study
- 12 People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets
- 13 Exploitation of bones-rich poultry by-products to produce protein hydrolysates: optimization of hydrolysis parameters and chemical characterization