Turmeric for Dogs – DIY Dog Turmeric Chews
This dog turmeric chews recipe is perfect for your favourite canine. The compounds in turmeric make these anti-inflammatory and are all-natural. This recipe is simple and easy to make, so it’s perfect for your own pets, or to give as a gift.
Turmeric Health Benefits
You might take turmeric already for your own health.ย If you donโt yet, consider these health benefits of turmeric.
Turmeric is:
- Antifungal
- Anti-Inflammatory
- Antimicrobial
- Antioxidant
- antirheumatic
- Anti-Tumour
- Antiviral
- Cholagogue
- Choleretic
- Hepatic
- Hepatoprotective
- Hypoglycemic
- Nephroprotective
- Neuroprotective
- Stimulant
- Vulnerary
Scientific Studies
Scientific studies have confirmed what Ayurvedic practitioners have known for centuries.ย Turmeric is more effective than many prescription medications.ย So much so, that Turmeric has been fractionated in the laboratory to isolate its supposedly โactiveโ ingredient, curcumin.ย Turmeric contains about 5% curcumin in its natural form.ย By isolating curcumin from natural turmeric scientists assume that they can make turmeric supplements more effective.ย However, by isolating the curcumin, they remove from turmeric many of the synergistic components that are naturally found in the turmeric root, which actually increase the bioavailability of turmeric.
This is the problem.ย When taken in isolation, the curcumin is poorly absorbed and quickly metabolized.[i]
How to increase the bioavailability of curcumin?
Use the whole turmeric
Studies done on the bioavailability of curcumin in turmeric are using the fractionated compound rather than the whole spice.ย The whole turmeric contains elements that allow the curcumin to be more readily absorbed by the body.
Add black pepper
The addition of black pepper to curcumin increases the bioavailability of curcumin by 2,000%.
Take turmeric with a fat source
The bioavailability of curcumin increases with the addition of fat.ย Those who like their curcumin with buttered chicken understand this.ย Improvements in absorption rates were found even with taking curcumin mixed with warm milk or coconut milk.
Turmeric for dogs
So while you could gain this benefit for yourself by drinking a daily glass of Golden Milk, consider adding turmeric to your petโs diet for the same benefits. Turmeric can help with joint pain in older animals. It can prevent oxidative stress and protect the normal function of organs and joints. Turmeric is anti-tumour.
Now I donโt know about you, but I donโt have time to fiddle with pet treats every day.ย Letโs make it easy so you actually will do this for your dog or cat. These are a make once and serve up daily turmeric chews. They take less than 15 minutes to make, plus an overnight chill period. They offer turmeric for dogs in an easily absorbable way. They are convenient and are therapeutic for both dogs and cats. And they are super inexpensive to make, with only 4 ingredients.
Youโll need silicone chocolate or candy molds for this recipe. 4 trays of molds are enough for 1 recipe. Each mold holds about 10ml or 2 teaspoons of the recipe.ย This is the mold I used for the paw prints.
The gelatin in the recipe improves and protects connective tissue, and helps with coat maintenance and lustre.
Turmeric Chews for Dogs
Makes 60 chews
Each of these turmeric for dogs chews contains:
Approx. 500 mg of turmeric with 25 mg. of curcumin each
Ingredients:
1 ยฝ cup Org. Virgin Coconut Oil
ยผ cup Org. Turmeric powder
ยฝ tsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. Org. gelatin (Pork or Beef)
Method:
In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil.ย Stir in the gelatin, black pepper, and turmeric until well blended.ย Youโll need to stir it for a few minutes so that the gelatin does not coagulate on the bottom of the pan.ย When it is thoroughly blended, spoon into chocolate molds, like this one.
Leave in a cool place overnight.ย Remove from molds.ย Keep refrigerated.ย These will melt in a warm room.
See the chart below for serving size.
| Size of Pet | Serving of Turmeric per Day | Daily Turmeric Chews |
| Small dog or cats under 10 lbs. | 1/8th of a tsp. | ยฝ chew |
| Medium dogs 10lbs to 20 lbs. | ยผ of a tsp. | 1 chew |
| Large dogs 20lbs to 50lb | ยฝ to 1 tsp. | 2 to 5 chews |
| XLarge dogs 50 to 100 lbs | 1 to 2 tsp. | 5 to 10 chews |
| Over 100 lbs. | 2ย to 3 tsp. | 10 to 15 chews |
My dogs take these as a dog treat, from my hand.ย You can also mix them in with your petโs moist food.
If your dogs have never taken turmeric before, start them slowly with a half serving over a few weeks, so you donโt have stomach upset issues.ย Give water free-choice.ย Turmeric can be binding.
Other fats can be used in place of coconut oil.ย Try beef tallow or lard, if your pet doesnโt do well on coconut oil.ย Avoid soy milk and soy oil.
The turmeric should be high-quality organic turmeric, like this one, not the kind of turmeric that you get in the spice section of your grocery store.ย Turmeric should be protected from light and stored in the fridge.
Disclaimer:
If your pets have health concerns or are on veterinary medicine consult with your personal veterinarian before adding these dog turmeric chews to your pet’s diet.ย This article is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as veterinary advice.
More about turmeric:
DIY Turmeric tincture from the raw root
How to grow Turmeric from Kris at Attainable Sustainable
Back to you:
Have you tried these dog turmeric chews for your pet?ย What is your experience with turmeric for dogs or cats?
[i] Anand, P., Kunnumakkara, A. B., Newman, R. A., & Aggarwal, B. B. (2007). Bioavailability of Curcumin: Problems and Promises. Mol. Pharmaceutics Molecular Pharmaceutics, 4(6), 807-818. doi:10.1021/mp700113r
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hHi, I cannot use coconut oil, my pup is allergic to it. I’d like to use flax oil instead please. would I change the gelatin amount to compensate? and exactly how big are your molds please? would you provide an Amazon link?
I would substitute beef tallow then. Beef is part of a dogs natural diet.
The post regarding DIY Dog Turmeric Chews contains a reference to the paw print mold used. However, when clicking on that reference it no longer goes to the site of the paw print mold used to make the DIY Dog Turmeric Chews. I want to make sure I am giving my dog the correct dosage so I would like to use the exact same paw print molds you used. I found the following molds on Amazon but was not sure if they would be the correct size and number of molds you used to make the DIY Dog Turmeric Chews. – “Cozihom Dog Paw Shaped Silicone Molds, 10 Cavity, Food Grade, for Chocolate, Candy, Cake, Pudding, Jelly. 4 Pcs”.
What was the actual name/brand, size, description , number per mold, and type of paw print molds used and where did you find them?
Thanks,
Charlene
Gelatin is such a clever way to make turmeric bites! My only concern would be the amount of coconut oil in this recipe as itโs my understanding that high fat intake causes pancreatitis in dogs. Does coconut oil have some special mechanism that sidesteps this issue?
Thank you! For doing a recipe that has the actual amounts of turmeric you’d want to give your dog. My initial Google search only gave me recipes that called for a teaspoon of turmeric! For the entire recipe! I don’t think people should be calling them turmeric treats. Drives me nuts. But anyway, I’ll give you a recipe a try for sure!
Great post! My pooch is getting older and I find turmeric really helps out with his movement and joint pain! Natural remedies are the best!! I will have to give this recipe a try.
HI – I tried this tonight with olive oil as I have a dog with coconut allergies – not sure if it worked – the gelatin was challenging….. would the measurement be the same for olive oil and coconut?
Thank you – Belynda
No this recipe won’t work with olive oil. You could substitute beef or lamb tallow for the coconut oil and it will work. But don’t throw out the first batch you’ve already made. You can mix it in with your pups food or serve it as a liquid supplement. The benefits are there, it just won’t hold together at room temperature in the same way that coconut oil will.
Have you made these treats with fresh turmeric ? I have a place close by thatโs sells the root. I have made the paste for my pup with the powder. Wonder if the raw root would be better. Any thoughts ?
Heather
Why couldn’t humans eat these?
idk how to buy that gelatin. I never have before. Where would i find it?
I got mine on Amazon ๐
These cookies were easy to make however, the smell of the combined ingredients was unbearable. Anything you can do to give it a different smell? The smell was so bad, it would deter me from making these again.
I love this idea, thank you. However I’m wondering if I can add in another flavor without throwing off for holding together. My dog won’t eat just the tumeric/golden paste flavor. I have to hide it.
The gelatin will add some beefy flavour. Peanut butter?
I have a 6 month old puppy who is trying to scratch herself to death.We have been to several vets.She is not responding well to any of the meds.Do you have any suggestions?
It sure sounds like a food allergy. Can you try taking her off all grains and feeding her a diet of raw meat for a week or two and see if you find a change? Often if you’ve been feeding commercial dog food the grain, or food dye, or other additives can cause allergies. Vaccinated dogs are more prone to food allergies than unvaccinated dogs, too. If she improves on an all meat and raw food diet, you can add back in one thing at a time and see if you can narrow down what she is reacting to.
I’m not a vet and this isn’t veterinary advice, but we went through this with our Pyranees and she suffers anytime we feed her commercial dog food, even the ones that are “just meat”. She does great on raw meat or even cooked meaty stews that are just meat, gelatine, and vegetables.
Instead of making turmeric dog chews myself I am wondering if dogs can have the healthy delights naturals chewable turmeric?
I don’t know, Maureen. I’ve never seen those for sale.
Can this be used for rabbits also?
Is this also good for cats?
Yes this is safe for cats.
My boxer loves coconut oil but when mixed with turmeric, wont touch it. Could I add peanut butter to this recipe to make it more appealing? Would it interfere with the absorption benefits?
Not at all. That sounds like a good idea.
My dog has erlichia, the tick disease l noticed it when blood was running out of her nose. l put her right away on doxiciclina and vitamine K shots. Four days later she started bleeding out of her mouth as well and l got desperate. l’ve lost her mom to this disease only 3 months ago.
Though it’s said turmeric thins the blood, l made the Turmeric Golden Paste recipe and started giving the full dose every 6 hours to my dog. Two days later the bleeding stopped and 2 days after that l quit the antibiotics and only continued with the turmeric.
This was 10 days ago and my baby is doing great. l’m still giving it to her four times a day and to my other dogs once a day to see if it’s also a preventive medicine.
l’d rcommend any one dealing with Borrelia to use the turmeric golden paste and stop with other antibiotics.
Wow, that’s such a fast recovery. You’re a good dog mom!
will you give us the recipe for making Golden Paste?
Hello, please help me. I would like to ask you how much is the right dose. for my dog who has cancer . and her weight is 90 pounds. She is a husky.
What are your thoughts of using a couple of drops of black pepper essential oil with turmeric instead of ground black pepper?
I never use essential oils with pets. You don’t need concentrated black pepper for this remedy, just a teeny amount as a synergist for the turmeric to work more effectively. Using essential oils in this manner could cause serious harm to your pet’s liver and stomach. Their digestive system can’t handle it and their liver can’t detox it.