DIY Dog Turmeric Chews

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.  If you don’t 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.  Turmeric is more effective than many prescription medications.  So much so, that Turmeric has been fractionated in the laboratory to isolate its supposedly “active” ingredient, curcumin.  Turmeric contains about 5% curcumin in its natural form.  By isolating curcumin from natural turmeric scientists assume that they can make turmeric supplements more effective.  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.  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.  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.  Those who like their curcumin with buttered chicken understand this.  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 pet’s 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 don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to fiddle with pet treats every day.  Let’s 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.

You’ll 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.  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 ½ cup Org. Virgin Coconut Oil

¼ cup Org. Turmeric powder

½ tsp. black pepper

3 tbsp. Org. gelatin (Pork or Beef)

 

Method:

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil.  Stir in the gelatin, black pepper, and turmeric until well blended.  You’ll need to stir it for a few minutes so that the gelatin does not coagulate on the bottom of the pan.  When it is thoroughly blended, spoon into chocolate molds, like this one.

Leave in a cool place overnight.  Remove from molds.  Keep refrigerated.  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.	½ chew
Medium dogs 10lbs to 20 lbs.	¼ of a tsp.	1 chew
Large dogs 20lbs to 50lb	½ to 1 tsp.	2 to 5 chews
XLarge dogs 50 to 100 lbs	1 to 2 tsp.	5 to 10 chews
Over 100 lbs.	2  to 3 tsp.	10 to 15 chews

 

My dogs take these as a dog treat, from my hand.  You can also mix them in with your pet’s moist food.

If your dogs have never taken turmeric before, start them slowly with a half serving over a few weeks, so you don’t have stomach upset issues.  Give water free-choice.  Turmeric can be binding.

Other fats can be used in place of coconut oil.  Try beef tallow or lard, if your pet doesn’t do well on coconut oil.  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.  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.  This article is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as veterinary advice.

 

More about turmeric:

DIY Turmeric capsules

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?  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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