Red light therapy has many benefits: It can help clear acne, reduce wrinkles and even serve as a recovery tool post-workout by reducing muscle fatigue, joint pain and soreness.
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But what if you wanted to extend some of those benefits to your pet?
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After all, most pet owners will try anything to help their furry friends live longer and more comfortably.
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friends → try → anything
When it comes to dogs, especially senior dogs, experts say red light therapy can be useful for relieving arthritis pain and inflammation.
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But how exactly does it work, and is it safe for all dogs?
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I spoke with veterinarians about the benefits of red light therapy for dogs and how to use a device on your pet.
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I also rounded up the best products to consider based on my experts’ guidance, as well as options NBC Selected editors tested on their own dogs.
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Red light therapy is generally safe for dogs, but using it incorrectly can lead to side effects.
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“The biggest practical risks with higher-powered devices are eye injury and thermal burns,” says Dr. Kate Elden, veterinarian and chief medical officer at Dutch, a pet telehealth company.
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“Across all the recent trials for arthritis, ear infections and skin issues, we almost never see adverse events reported.
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While red light therapy is usually low-risk when used correctly, that doesn’t mean it’s right for every dog.
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You should always talk to your veterinarian first, especially if your dog has active tumors (red light can stimulate cell growth and may speed up the growth of cancer cells, says Elden), active bleeding (can prevent clotting, which increases blood loss), reduced skin sensation (may cause nerve damage or injuries if they can’t feel the device getting too warm) or is pregnant (due to lack of safety data), says Dr. Lindsay Kendrick, the medical director at VEG ER for Pets in Boston.
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If you got the green light to try red light therapy on your fur baby, consider one of the devices below.
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(Note: consult with your vet about whether it’s a good fit before you purchase.)
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Each product below has a minimum four-star average rating from 100 or more customers and/or was directly recommended by NBC Selected staffers.
Best wearable device
Capillus, which has provided red light therapy devices for a decade, recently expanded into pet wellness earlier this month.
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has two rechargeable pads that cover your dog’s back, chest and stomach.
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It’s also fully adjustable (it has a harness-style design with adjustable buckle straps) and cordless, so you won’t have to worry about your pet getting overly uncomfortable.
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It has both red light and near-infrared light, which helps reach your pet’s skin and joints and deeper into the tissue.
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You can change the intensity of the light using a button on each pad, and the vest has a 20-minute timer that automatically turns it off when the time is up.
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It comes in a medium and large size.
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I tried this vest on my 8-year-old, 16-pound Havanese and bichon frise mix Bella, and I was surprised at how easy it was to set up and put on her.
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Bella hates having anything on her, whether that’s her harness, a sweater or boots.
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Since the vest is adjustable, it was so easy to find the right fit for Bella (who is mostly fluff), and she actually left it on for the full 20 minutes without much hassle.
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However, the medium size is slightly big on her, so I wouldn’t recommend it for smaller dogs.
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The Celluma Pro is a large panel that can cover your pet’s pain points and provide relief and reduced inflammation, specifically for larger areas (and bigger dogs), according to the brand.
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can turn it into whatever shape works for your pet.
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For example, if your dog has hip pain, you can fold it into an arch-like shape to cover both hips and legs.
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“I’ve never used a red light panel like this one before, so I was a bit intimidated by it and didn’t know what to expect,” says NBC Selected reporter Zoe Malin, who tested the device with her 1-year-old mutt, Mabel.
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When she unpacked it, Malin was pleasantly surprised at how clear and straightforward the directions were.
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“Because the panel is flexible, I was able to gently bend it to accommodate where my dog was sleeping or sitting.
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It also comes with a little stand that I attached to prop it up by her bed,” says Malin.
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Since Mabel only weighs eight pounds, the panel was big enough to cover most of her body.
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“The panel is a very easy thing to incorporate into my dog’s day, and I love knowing I’m doing something good for her health that doesn’t require much fuss,” she says.
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Its rechargeable battery will last between three to 15 cycles, and it weighs less than two pounds, so you can easily take it anywhere.
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Plus, you can use any of the three modes (aging skin, pain management and acne) on your own skin, too.
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The brand recommends using it for 30 minutes a day (my experts recommend five to 15 minutes for dogs), but keep in mind it does not have an automatic shut-off feature, so you may want to set a timer.
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Unlike the vest, which covers multiple areas at once, Capillus’s Joint Wrap delivers red light and near-infrared light to specific areas on your dog’s body.
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It comes in one size that’s meant to fit larger breeds, like German shepherds and labrador retrievers, that commonly suffer from joint-related issues, according to the brand.
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You can wrap it around your pet’s leg and secure it with a Velcro closure to relieve joint pains and inflammation, plus it’s cordless, rechargeable and easily adjustable.
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It also has a 15-minute auto-off timer, so you don’t have to worry about overdoing it.
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…and 55 more, not listed.
The Aporia
