Ingredient file // Flavor
Tuna Bone Broth
A flavored liquid, not a joint supplement
Tuna bone broth is water that tuna bones have simmered in, used as the liquid in wet foods and toppers. It adds moisture and fish flavor, and very little protein or mineral.
Role in the food Does a job- What it is
- Water that tuna bones were simmered in, strained and used as the liquid in a wet recipe.
- Made from
- Tuna bones simmered in water
- Main job
- Liquid and fish flavor
- Typical amount
- Not published
- Watch for
- Fish allergy, and histamine from poorly chilled tuna
- Not the same as
- Tuna or tuna meal
Straight answer
Is Tuna Bone Broth safe for dogs?
Count it as water with flavor
On a topper, broth listed first is normal, because it is mostly water and labels rank by weight. Judge the product by the named fish beside it and the protein on the analysis. Skip it for a fish-allergic dog, and ignore any joint or calcium claim on the pouch.
- Why it is in the food
- Liquid and fish flavor
- 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 1. 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 Stella & Chewy's. 1 brand use it in total.
What it is
How it is made
Bone broth is made like a kitchen stock: bones simmer in water and the liquid is strained off. Tuna canning leaves bones as a by-product, but labels do not say where a broth's bones come from.1,2
- 01 // Source Tuna bones Bones make up 10 to 15% of a tuna. Canning precooked fish leaves them behind as a by-product.
- 02 // Process Simmered in water Slow cooking pulls gelatin and flavor into the water. The calcium stays locked in the bone.
- 03 // Process Strained Bones and solids are removed, leaving a thin liquid that is about 97% water.
- 04 // Output Tuna bone broth Used as the recipe liquid in wet foods and toppers, in place of plain water.
What is in it
Composition, as fed
96.6
% water
Fish stock is nearly all water. What a dog gets from it is moisture and flavor, with only about 2% protein.
Why it is in the bag
There for liquid and fish flavor, not nutrition
- Main nutrition
- Supporting nutrient
- Does a job
- Mostly filler
Broth is the liquid a topper is built on, used in place of plain water to wet the food and add fish taste. At about 97% water and about 2% protein, it adds moisture rather than real nutrition. It often sits first on the label because ingredients rank by weight and water is heavy. No study has tested tuna broth on dogs; a fish hydrolysate scored well in one palatability test.1,5,10
-
01
Liquid the recipe needs
Wet foods and toppers need liquid to fill the pouch and carry the solids. Broth does that job like water, since it is about 97% water, but adds fish flavor.1
-
02
Adds fish flavor
No test has fed tuna broth to dogs. In the closest one, a dry diet with 10% salmon protein hydrolysate was eaten more than a chicken control, and the authors called it especially palatable.5
How much No source publishes a typical amount. Because broth is about 97% water and labels rank ingredients by weight, a modest pour can outrank the tuna.1,10
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
Broth adds water to your dog's meal
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
USDA data put fish stock at 96.6% water. In a 10-dog crossover, dogs on a 71% moisture fresh food took in 88 g more total water daily than kibble-fed dogs, who still met 102% of their need.1,6
-
Brands say
Tuna broth gets picky dogs to eat
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
No trial has tested tuna broth. The nearest dog test used a different ingredient, a dry diet with 10% salmon protein hydrolysate, which beat a chicken control at an intake ratio of 0.73. It did not study picky eaters.5
-
Brands say
Bone broth gives dogs collagen for their joints
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
A lab analysis found bone broths made to a standard recipe carried significantly less glycine, proline and hydroxyproline than a 20 g collagen dose, and broths made to nonstandardized recipes varied widely. No study has fed broth to dogs for joints.4
-
Owners say
Bone broth supplies calcium from the bones
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
Tuna bone is 41 to 49% calcium, but the mineral stays in the bone. USDA lists home fish stock at 3 mg calcium per 100 g, so broth is not a calcium source.1,2
Straight answers
What owners ask
-
Q01
Is it just filler?
No, it's liquidIt is about 97% water with about 2% protein, so it adds little nutrition. Its job is to wet and flavor a topper, which plain water would do without the fish flavor.1
-
Q02
Why is broth listed before the tuna?
Water is heavyLabels list ingredients from most to least by weight. Broth is nearly all water, so it outweighs the fish even when the fish supplies most of the protein.1,10
-
Q03
Can I pour in my own bone broth?
Check seasoningsPlain, unsalted broth is fine as a topper. Before using a broth made for people, read its label and skip it if onion is listed, because onion is toxic to dogs and breaks down red blood cells.9
-
Q04
Is it safe for a fish-allergic dog?
NoThe broth carries dissolved fish protein, about 2%. Fish allergy is uncommon, the trigger in 5 of 297 dogs with proven food reactions, but a diagnosed dog should skip it.1,8
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
- Salmon 100%
- Pumpkin 100%
- Sweet Potatoes 100%
- Tapioca Starch 100%
- Carrots 100%
- Potato Starch 100%
- Cinnamon 100%
- Ginger 100%
- Turmeric 100%
On the shelf
Foods that list Tuna Bone Broth
1 food in our catalog lists it, highest on the label first.
Sources
What we read
Checked October 1, 2026.
- 1 Soup, stock, fish, home-prepared (USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy, FDC 172885)
- 2 Chemical Compositions and Characteristics of Biocalcium from Pre-Cooked Tuna Bone as Influenced by Sodium Chloride Pretreatment and Defatting by Asian Seabass Lipase
- 3 Optimization and production of protein hydrolysate containing antioxidant activity from tuna cooking juice concentrate by response surface methodology
- 4 Bone Broth Unlikely to Provide Reliable Concentrations of Collagen Precursors Compared With Supplemental Sources of Collagen Used in Collagen Research
- 5 Fish meals, fish components, and fish protein hydrolysates as potential ingredients in pet foods
- 6 Feeding fresh food and providing water ad libitum is clinically proven to exceed calculated daily water requirements and impact urine relative supersaturation in dogs
- 7 FDA Issues Final Compliance Policy Guide for Scombrotoxin (Histamine)-forming Fish and Fishery Products
- 8 Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats
- 9 Onion
- 10 What's in the Ingredients List?