Pup Events at Frolicon 2018

I hope to see everyone at Frolicon!  My pack is hosting the puppy events:

5/18:
11:30 Pup Play 101
4pm Pup Handling class
7pm Human-pets and Littles Petting zoo

5/19:
11:30 Pup Play 201
2:30pm Pup Mosh
5:30 Ma'am is teaching a class on Scarification

Human-Puppy Taxonomy: Updated

I know it's been a long time since I've done any serious thinking out loud on ye olde puppy blog, but I recently had a lovely conversation with a guy about puppy play, and it got me in the mood to ruminate again...

I've been teaching or helping to teach human-puppy play classes for 5 or 6 years now at various clubs and events around the South. Over that time I've developed a taxonomy of human puppies, based on one originally began by Sir Loki, but which I've continued to adjust and expand. I wrote about this many years ago (here http://pupemrys.blogspot.com/2012/05/puppy-typology.html ), but I think I haven't published an updated version in a while.  So here, updated, are my four types of pups (which roughly also yield four types of pup scenes):


The Slave-Pup

Chad Helder (HelderHorror.com) summarized Stephen King’s The Shining thus:  “In the book, the man in the tuxedo is revealed to be Derwent, the corrupt playboy, jet-set owner of the hotel.  According to one of the ghost-guests, Derwent is bisexual, and he has a fling with Roger in Cuba. Now, Roger is desperate to continue the love affair while Derwent is finished with Roger. As a way to torment and humiliate his former lover, Derwent asks Roger to dress as a dog for the masquerade ball, and the entire evening Derwent forces him to perform degrading tricks while everyone laughs at him, including pouring a very phallic bottle of foaming champagne all over Roger's dog mask.”

A slave-pup is someone who doesn't really go into puppy headspace, but is forced to act like and be treated as an animal while retaining their human awareness of that degradation in status. Slave-pups are submissives who enjoy being humiliated by being “forced” by a Dominant to behave like a “less than human” animal.  “Get down on all fours and crawl, bitch!”  Along with humiliation, discipline and obedience training are a focus in play with slave-pups.   This is where pup plays started – as a punishment for misbehaving boys in leather bars – but then it turned out that some of the boys liked it…  And so the gay scene (in the US) has shifted away from the slave-pup, and today this form of pup play is more common among het Fem-Domme BDSM.  (In Europe, there are still many more gay pups who are into the humiliation and obedience aspect of pup play.)

One way to spot a traditional slave-pup: if you ask them how they got their pup name, and they reply, "My Master/Mistress named me."

The Play-Pup

A “play pup” is one who enjoys pupping-out as a form of play: like with bondage, gear fetish, boot-worship, or flogging.  They will “do a pup scene.”  It’s essentially a role-playing game.  These pups tend not to go into a deep pup-headspace, and will often talk, laugh and joke around during a mosh.  I think for the play pup it’s primarily an opportunity to let-lose, be goofy and uninhibited, and… well, playful.  As my pack-mate Hunter once said:  “It eliminates the pressure to talk. I hate talking. I hate vocalizing anything. Hell, I even dislike barking. In pup mode, I can meet new people and go [past] awkward conversations of, "Oh, I've been in the lifestyle this long, and my hanky is on this side, and I'm un-collared at the moment, not due to lack of trying." I just sniff them, and if the don't freak out, I get scritches.”

Play pups tend to be the very opposite of slave-pups in terms of discipline.  Play pups may be in D/s relationships, but they are likely to be ultra-low protocol, and tend to be relatively disinterested in Leather traditions/history.  They may also be uninterested in, or even incapable of, deep puppy headspace.

Many play-pups, I also refer to as "Rave Pups," because they tend to mostly turn-out at rave/disco clubs more than traditional leather bars: young, twink boys who like to go out in sexy pup gear to dance, flirt, and act silly (and sometimes "party and play").  There are a growing number of pup-themed nights at various gay clubs around the country, e.g. Puppy Pound in San Francisco, Arf! in Seattle, and The Kennel in LA.

The Innate-Pup

Leather-dog Brue once said: “[Some] may experience a spiritual awakening, enlightenment or discover an animal spirit guide/totem when they go into pupmode. But for many, being a pup/Dog is who they are, it is their core being or soul… I would make barking/growling noises during sex. This had a tendency to unsettle some people and arouse other people even more. I definitely fantasized about being a dog when I was young. Where others wanted to be the soldier or Indian or whatever when playing, I wanted to be a dog: to romp, protect and be near someone. I remember I used to have vivid dog dreams (running in fields, chasing things, etc).”

An “innate pup” is one for whom being a pup is a constant state… like being a slave, or being a Christian, or being gay, or being a African-American.  It’s a part of who we are and how we interact w/ the world.  When I do pup play (get down on all fours and romp), it’s a matter of letting the hound that’s always under my skin come forward and take over for a while.  For me, pup play is a very shamanic kind of thing.  It’s a spiritual transformation that is aided by the physical transformation (i.e. the body-suit and hood).  Getting suited-up and pulling the hood on is also a gradual, ritualistic shift in head-space.  Mythologists like Joseph Campbell have addressed the importance of our animal within, and the way civilization and Judeo-Christian culture has divorced us from it. 

Innate-pups are primarily interested in the puppy headspace: a form of self-hypnosis in which one can, for a brief time, really come to think one's self to be a dog, and lose language skills almost entirely.  They may avoid moshes because it can be very hard for them to get deep into a puppy headspace in such a public setting.

How might you spot an innate-pup?  The tend to be very specific about their breeds and strongly identify with these dogs as a kind of totem/spirit animal.  (e.g. I have an Irish wolfhound tattoo, wolfhound knot-patterns on my wedding ring, and a dozen wolfhound-themed tee shirts in my closet.)

The Gear-Pup (or Rubber-Pup)

As a comic book geek and budding pervert, I discovered (and fell in love w/) the work of Michael Manning, who I eventually got to meet at Fantasm in 2003.  But years before that, I discovered his comics: which are super-super-HOT!  And one of the hottest things he drew were these amazing images of (often androgynous or gender-queer) rubber/PVC pups.  Woof!

Gear puppies come more from the rubber fetishist tradition.  Here, the aims are primarily erotic.  The puppy gear itself (the hoods, the leashes and collars, the body-suits and harnesses) is a turn-on, and the purpose of pup play is to get one's dick hard and act as a stimulant for sex.  Gear-pups often combine their pup play with bondage, edging, breath play, and poppers.  The rubber-pup scene is much bigger in the UK and Northern Europe, but it is growing over here.  However, as of 2018, I still tend not to run into a whole lot of fellow rubber-pups in the States.

Note:  These are not exclusive categories, but are like an overlapping vinn diagram.  Many pups will fit into two or even three categories.  My Hunter, e.g., is part slave-pup, part play-pup, and part innate pup... but he has no gear fetish side at all.  However, Hunter calls me 400% pup because I fit very well into all four of these types, and can engage in all these types of pup play, depending on the context.  (I think that might be one reason why I often get called on to teach puppy play classes: I understand all these different approaches to puppy play.)

Of course this taxonomy isn't anything definitive, and there are any number of other ways you could divide up the human-pup community.  However, I've found it to be useful, especially for a Handler negotiating a scene with a new puppy.  It can be quite disappointing if, e.g., a Handler is expecting a heavy degradation and obedience slave-pup scene and his puppy just wants to cut loose and be silly.  This is not a bad framework for thinking about one's style of being a puppy and what one wants to get out of a puppy scene.

I've noticed that (especially) some slave-pups and innate-pups look down on play-pups and gear-pups as "not real," "fake," "superficial," "not serious," etc.  I'm not supportive of this attitude.  I always teach that everyone can find his own level to play at.  Not every pup has to be an innate pup and sleep in a dog kennel every night.  People can get out of pup play whatever it is that they get out of it... and leave the rest.  I think this also cuts through the (frankly) bullshit debate over: Is puppy play sexual... or is it all about the headspace, or whatever.  Yeah, for some it's entirely sexual.  For others, it isn't sexual at all.  Bottom line: There isn't one way to be a puppy.

2017 Year in Review, Part Two

Twenty more questions about my year...

21. How did you spend Christmas?

Saturday we had friends and family over to the Treehouse.  Unfortunately, Hunter, Daniel, and Cuddles were all unable to make it, and that did make it a little odd.  Christmas day we spent with Poet’s family, but bailed early to hang w/ Blaze and rock out to loud punk music: the Stooges, the Ramones…  It was: How the Misfits saved Christmas.

22. Did you fall in love?

I still love my beautiful Owner and my wonderful pack-mates.

23. Have any one-night stands?

Had some sexy-fun time w/ a coupe of one-off guys at the direction of my Alpha, including his Sir.  (Also spent 48 hours in latex having sexy-fun time w/ my Alpha.)

24. What was your favorite TV program?

We watched Hannibal S1, The Punisher, Back Sails S1 & 2, Stranger Things S2… but my favorite was American Gods.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

So many new jerks on the public scene, I’ll just name-drop Roy Moore and Harvey Weinstein as being particularly grotesque.

26. What was the best book you read?

March, the graphic novel by John Lewis was probably the best new book.  Also liked Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant.  But mostly I re-read a lot of favorites from Dune to ZMM to Doctor Faustus (T. Mann) to The Sandman.

27. What was your favorite new music of 2017?

Discovered The Go-Betweens and Alice Merton’s “Roots.”  Listened to a lot of REM this year. 

28. Best new podcast?

Three:  The Art History Babes, Unspoiled (Sandman and Dark Tower), and Conversations w/ People who Hate Me

29.  What did you want and get?

An Irish wolfhound and a Spider-man zentai

30. What did you want and not get?

Tickets to Europe (we decided to delay our trip one year).  Also, a new latex suit.

31. What was your favorite film of this year?

I missed: Logan, It, Get Out, The Foreigner, Professor Marsten and the Wonder Women… as well as The Big Sick, Three Billboards, and Ghost Story…  I missed a lot!

And yet, I did see, and really like:  Shape of Water, Bladerunner 2049, Loving Vincent, Spider-man Homecoming, Star Wars: the Last Jedi, Atomic Blond, and Baby Driver… but I think my favorites were Hidden Figures and Coco.  (Plus, Poet and I went to see Close Encounters on the big screen.  Woo-hoo!)

32. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Forty-two.  It was Code Night at the Woodshed and I got to pup out!  *wags*

33. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Some of my closest people had some rough times this year.  I wish they had it a little better.

34. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?

I got a fuck-ton of neckties from my uncle and a cool new cap from my Owner.

35. What kept you sane?

“If I were a robot, I would short-circuit and explode… but I’m human, so I drink.” – Cody Johnston

36. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Either Ana Kasparian from TYT News or Grant Gustin from TV’s Flash (because his ass looks very nice in that Flash costume)

37. What political issue stirred you the most?                           

It’s something every fucking week:  the Russian investigation, the Muslim ban, Charlottesville, Roy Moore, pardoning “Sheriff Joe,” openly violating the emoluments clause, taunting North Korea like a child, more/bigger mass-shootings, stories of sexual harassment & assault, the most insane tax bill ever, the Puerto Rico disaster, and the mountain of open racism and bigotry!

38. Who did you miss?

Hunter.  Not like I didn’t see him at all, but we had to cancel 3 or 4 of our scheduled get-togethers.

39. Who was the best new person you got to know?

I don’t know. I met a few new people (Neil, Blaze, Chad…), but don’t feel like I’ve “got to now” them yet.

40. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:

This one is really hard b/c while 2016 was largely just shit for most people I know… this year has been, in some ways, tougher… or at least it feels like the year everybody is picking up the pieces and trying to keep everything from just completely blowing up.  On the macro/political level things have never been worse in my lifetime.  And while last year sucked, at the end of it I knew where things stood, but this year feels really shifty, shaky and uncertain.  I don’t know… I worry more than I used to – about my job, my house, my friends, health, the environment...  L

I guess the lesson is:  Hold on to your butts.