Simple stock and gelatin gummy dog treats are one of our recipe favourites. Although we experiment with all sorts of crazy and fun gummy dog treat recipes, basic stock gummies are still our go-to for whipping up a quick batch. There are always gummies of some sort in our fridge. Here’s our recipe for stocky gummy dog treats, plus tips on different broths and stock, colours and shapes, and more.
Gelatin and Gummy Treats for Dogs
Gelatin and Health
We started giving our senior Oli high-quality gelatin to help with his ageing joints and mobility issues, along with a variety of other natural and medical supports. Humphrey gets a sprinkle or a treat, too. Fair is fair after all, and prevention is better than senior treatment. The purported health benefits of gelatin for dogs are similar to humans: supporting healthy cartilage and connective tissue, countering “leaky gut” and maintaining a healthy balanced digestive system, reducing inflammation and joint pain, supporting cardiovascular health, aiding detox and liver health, aiding weight control by increasing satiety, and improved skin, hair, and nails. Sounds pretty good, right? Plus, it’s a low purine protein source which is a bonus for purine sensitive Dalmatians.
Including Gelatin in Our Dogs’ Diets
Wild carnivores get plenty of collagen from the skin, ligaments, tendons, and bones of their prey. Since my boys do most of their hunting around our freezer, refrigerator, and bickie boxes, adding bone broth and gelatin supplements their domestic diet. Sprinkling works well, but turning their gelatin into guilt-free gummy dog treats is pretty awesome, too! I also find that Oli seems to get greater mobility benefits from having a few treats over the course of the day than the sprinkle. I’m not sure if it’s the distribution or perhaps better absorption disparate to meals. Or maybe it’s just our perception because he’s happy with the extra treats. Haha! Either way, win win treaties in!
We’ll be sharing easy gummy treat ideas regularly here on the blog. Plus for the gummy haters (my boys are wild for them, but some dogs dislike the texture) we’re sneaking gelatin into some of our non-gummy baked, no-bake, and frozen treats too, so stay tuned for more ideas!
Simple Stock and Gelatin Gummy Dog Treat Recipe
Homemade Stock Gummy Dog Treats
Treat Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain homemade or ready-made unsalted unseasoned stock
- 3 tbsp quality powdered gelatin
If you’d prefer a lighter less-rich gummy treat, you can dilute the stock instead of using it straight. I often make my simple stock gummies with a combination of broth and water.
Making the Treats:
- Measure cold broth into a small pan.
- Sprinkle the surface with gelatin powder.
- Wait and let sit for approximately five minutes or longer for the gelatin powder to bloom.
- Gently stir the mixture over low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Take care not to shortcut with high temperatures or overheat. Heat can reduce the setting strength of gelatin.
- Remove from heat. Pour into a glass pan (cut and slice) or silicone moulds (shapes).
- Chill to set.
Gummy Dog Treat Making Tips and Tricks
- See our comprehensive post on making and storing homemade gelatin gummy dog treats for additional information. It’s a pet chef help post full with helpful gummy making tips, tricks, troubleshooting information, and more.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- My preferred stock for making homemade dog treats is simple unseasoned broth saved from preparing homemade food. It can be difficult to source ready-made unsalted unseasoned stock.
- In my experience, 3 tbsp of gelatin powder per cup of liquid makes firm gummies. If you prefer, you can use more gelatin for added supplementation or less for a jigglier jelly treat with lower gelatin content. Individual gelatin powders may be a little stronger / weaker. Find a ratio that works for your preferences and, of course, your dog.
Different Stocks for Making Gummy Dog Treats
Buying or Making a Stock for Dog Treats
You can read all about broth and stock for dog treats in our FAQ post. As noted in that post, I tend to use both the words broth and stock interchangeably, even though they’re technically a little different.
Making Gummy Dog Treats with Stock
You can use any dog-safe broth or stock to make homemade dog treats, including gummies using the stock gummy dog treat recipe above. There will be differences in the look and texture of the treats depending on the type of stock you choose, how it’s prepared, and how you handle the gummy mixture prior to setting.
If you’re using a thick stock, like partially gelled bone broth, you may need to adjust your methods and/or gelatin quantities. See the example of using gelatin to set runny bone broth at the end of our post on how to make gummy dog treats from scratch for an example.
Colour and Opacity
The colour and opacity of the stock will carry through into the gummy treats. The treats pictured above were made with homemade beef stock. They’re a dark rick brown and have some small flecks of meat in them. By contrast, the treats pictured below were made with strained chicken stock. Much lighter. The dogs don’t care (of course) but if you’re trying to make a moulded treat look a certain way, making a blend, or tinting dog treats with coloured add-ins, then the colour may matter.
Chunky Bits in the Stock
In some stocks, especially homemade stocks, there may be pieces of the simmered ingredients. When making stock, I strain out most of big bits (they’re usually used with our dogs’ homemade breakfasts), but I don’t usually use a fine strainer or a filter. Little pieces of dog-safe ingredients in the gummy mixture may sink or float, depending on their weight in the gelatin mixture. See the example photo of gummies made with unstrained chicken stock below.
Again, the dogs don’t care about the looks. And they’re probably happy about the extra meat too. Hehehe… It’s generally not an issue for gummy making unless your broth is very chunky, in which case it may make it difficult to get your gummies to out of the moulds cleanly and intact, especially if you’re using fine shapes or detailed moulds. You can puree the stock before you make the gummies to make it more homogeneous. You can also use partial cooling before moulding to help solids stay suspended and dispersed through the gummies. See our introduction to making gummy dog treats for more details and gummy treat making tips.
No Moulds? No Problem!
Making Set and Slice Gelatin Gummies
Although most of the gummy dog treats you’ll see here on the blog are made with cute shaped food moulds (affiliate link), moulding the treats is optional. Gummies don’t need to be made using moulds. They can be made in any suitable pan or container. You’ll need to either be able to slice them in the pan once set, or pop the set mixture out of the container onto a cutting board for slicing. Chop into serving sized pieces to dry (optional) and then store, just like moulded gummies. Easy peasy!
Serving Sized Snacks
The example batch of gummies above were made using chicken stock, set in a small container instead of moulds. Set-and-slice gummy treats take a little more time to slice into serving sizes suitable for your dogs, but you don’t need to pour moulds at the begging which evens things out. The dogs won’t mind either way. Zero complaints, plenty of appreciative drool from the taste testers of Dalmatian DIY.
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use our internal search tools to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
