chicken broth

Question
Jennifer - I have a question regarding wether or not I can give my dogs chicken broth. Im not talking about the store bought kind. If I boil some chicken in a pot, can I give my dogs what is left after i use the chicken. I pour it over their dry food right now. Also, any advice on  bulking them up. I have 2 boxers. Male 2 yrs 7 months, female 1 yr 2 months. They eat 4 cups a day. 2  in am and 2 pm but they are still skinny. I can see their ribs. I feed them a quality food not the grocery store brand. It doesnt have corn gluten , or by products.  

Answer
Hi Andrew,

In moderation (as you describe) some chicken broth would be fine.  The biggest concern would be sodium, but with homemade broth you can be sure there's not a lot of salt.  

For bulking them up, you could just feed more, or you could add some healthy extras like hamburger, cottage cheese, or scrambled eggs - again, in moderation.  (Too much will upset the nutritional balance of the food and could cause other problems.)  That said, seeing their ribs is not necessarily a bad thing; you want to see the last two or three ribs in an adult.  If you can see all the ribs, but the hips and spine are not prominent, then they're only a little skinny and that might be related to their age.  Some Boxers mature slowly, and don't really finish filling out until 3 years old (or later!).  I've had some that were hard to keep weight on until they were about 4, and one who at 8 still wavers between a little too skinny and just right (she has a super-high metabolism!).

Enjoy your two!