Puppy Play or Dog Training? Yes, there IS a difference!

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what constitutes "puppy play" as opposed to "dog play", "dog training", "wolf play", or one of the million other variations.  What I am going to give here is nothing more than personal opinion, sprinkled with my own experience and the opinion/experience of a few others.  What you do with this information is up to you, as I believe that everybody must find their own path, be it religion, sexuality, kink, or even things less important.

Puppy play is commonly overlooked in kink situations, as it sometimes has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with sex.  Yes, that's right.  You might be taken aback by this statement, but there is so much more to life than just sex.  Now, for the 25 percent of people who will continue reading past that line, let us continue.

I am going to take this time to explain that this post is meant to help give definition to some of the varying levels of this specific kink.  By this, I mean the most commonly accepted definitions, and you may have varying ideas based on personal experience.  It will not cover every eventuality, and there will be some who fit into these categories and many others.  This is only meant to be an outline of what the "puppy play" scene is becoming in current times, not a reflection of what it may have been.  Things grow and change.  Nothing is as cut and dry as most people would like.

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Puppy Play


Many people call themselves a puppy because they don't understand where they fit in.  Puppy play is an attractive form of power exchange because, for most, it still includes a tenderness reserved for a beloved family pet.

The most common definition of a "puppy" is a person who has some of the mentality of a puppy, and can enter a headspace of total puppy awareness.  These people might perk up if they hear a squeaky toy, stand at full attention if they hear certain words (walkies, play, ball, squirrel, among others), find themselves growling at annoyances in their every day lives, or even wagging their bodies when they get excited.  These are all fairly common, and may confuse the pup until he realizes the truth about himself.

While many pups are just as much a pup on 2 legs as they are on four legs, they relish the time they get to spend in puppy headspace.  It's a full release from the cares and worries of the day-to-day human world.  A time where the pup can truly be himself.  Many pups can't achieve this state of awareness without a trigger..  It might be their handler's praise, the jingle of their dog tags on their collar, a certain touch (scratches behind the ears; WOOF!), or a number of things.  The thing to take from this is that it is common for a pup to not be in puppy mode 24/7.  As a matter of fact, it is fairly rare to find a situation in which a puppy gets to (or even wants to) live as a full time pup.  The necessary evils of the human world make this nigh impossible.

Puppies are loyal, playful, energetic, and loving.  It is fairly common to find a puppy edging closer and closer to his human (or even another pup that he may have a relationship with), trying to get physical attention.  Personally, I am nearly constantly chewing on something (straws, plushies, rope toys, pens, pencils, sunglasses...).  The behaviors that puppies exhibit are fairly easy to identify, if you know where to look.

Dog Play


Dogs and puppies are different animals.  To say otherwise is to try and call children "little adults".  It may have common practice in the past, but growing and evolving needs have made the distinction a necessary one.

Puppies often exhibit the physical characteristics of dogs, but "puppy play" is more about the mental state of those involved.  Dog play is most commonly referred to as the act of acting like a dog, while maintaining the mind and thoughts of a human.  Am I saying that there isn't some crossover between the two?  No.  It is nearly impossible to have things this closely related without crossover.  It's just a matter of which one you feel yourself more drawn towards.

Dog play and puppy play are both entered into willingly.  There isn't usually humiliation connected with these acts.  There may be humiliation in other aspects of your kink and laid on top of puppy or dog play.  It's more about the mutual enjoyment of these activities which brings fetishists together to enjoy them.  Commonly, dogs and puppies will gather together for events or play times.  It is only small differences which separate them.  These differences wouldn't be worth mentioning, except for the new and expanding interests in the puppy community.  It is important that those new to the "scene" know where they fit in, what is commonly accepted practice, and that they are not alone in their feelings.

As I have said, dog play focuses more on the physical, and puppy play focuses more on the mental aspects of the kink.  This is not true for everyone, and this doesn't mean that dogs can't get into a puppy headspace and puppies can't spend a few days on all fours.  Individual interests and desires shape and mold kink.  If they didn't, we'd all still be vanilla, wouldn't we?  That being said, these two practices (once again) are entered into willingly and because the pup/dog thoroughly desires the time.  There is a practice which is more forced and more about humiliation, however.

Dog Training


Dog training is the act of taking a submissive and forcing him to take on the mannerisms and role of a dog, usually as a form of humiliation play.  The Dominant will force the submissive to eat from a bowl, bark, stay on all fours, and other things commonly associated with training an unruly dog.  This is accomplished after the submissive lets known his desire (or at least acquiescence) to either a session or longer term of humiliation play.  I DO NOT CONDONE NON-CONSENSUAL POWER EXCHANGE.

The forced act of becoming a dog can be a very trying thing on the human psyche, and aftercare should be observed if you are engaging in this kink.

This fills the Dominant's needs to humiliate the submissive (or maybe even a hidden desire to have his own pup or dog), and it also fulfills the submissive's desires to be humiliated and dominated.  This can be fun, and there are some pups or dogs who also participate in this aspect of the kink.  Once again, it is not a "one or the other" scenario, nor is it an "all or nothing" situation.  Desires cross over and you may find yourself in one or more of these groups, or even more.

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I hope that my readers have found this to be informative.  I will once again remind everyone that this is mostly my personal experiences/opinions and the experiences/opinions of others that I have met who are involved in the pup community in one form or another.  Also, I used the male pronouns to fill out my definitions because gay male puppy play is what I am familiar with (being a gay male puppy).  This is not to say that straight or lesbian members of the kink community might not also benefit from this information.  I was not trying to dis-include anyone.

That was tiring, and now I think I will chew on my Tigger and chat a bit on fetishmen.

TTFN, ta ta for now.