Ever since I started ToyTorture.com I have been asked why I don’t write about pup gear. There were two reasons for that: First I usually don’t write about fetish gear because there is no way to say that a is better than b when b makes you drool and a leave you cold. Second I am not into pup play and since I always try out the toys I write about myself and I don’t get the head space effect of pup toys I found no way to write about pup toys. But the mails and questions especially from kinkster just getting into the pup scene did not stopp. I have been woofed and growled at, my legs have been humped at events while asking for advice and I have been told that it would be totally pawesome if I wrote about pup gear. So as a Christmas treat (ok, enough now of the bad puppy jokes) I spent the last couple of weeks looking at pup gear, talking to pup players and I finally wrote this (Beginners) Buyer’s Guide to Pup Gear.
As always: If I have gotten something wrong or forgot something please let me know and help me improve this article.
Head Gear
What comes to mind first when you talk about puppy gear are the different puppy hoods. They come in two major styles: Full and open hood. Full hood encase the entire head. Since the pup play community has grown there are hoods out there for almost every breed of dog and they are made out of the major fetish materials rubber and leather. While the rubber ones come mostly only in classic black, there is a wide selection of different leather ones out there; just recently Mr S introduced custom leather puppy hoods catering to the most discriminating demands. Open hoods loosely resemble the style of head harnesses. They usually have a snout, ears and sometimes even a collar and come in rubber, neoprene and leather.
Not really specific puppy gear but purposes wise related are muzzles. Designed to keep the mouth of talkative subs or biting K9s shut they are more of a functional toy than designed to enhance the pup looks. You can get them made out of neoprene, leather or rubber, depending on your fetish and play style. The rubber muzzle from Regulation is quite sturdy but if you attach a leash onto it and the pup pulls to hard there is a chance that the rubber will tear. If the puppy is very active, stay with leather. I have talked to some guys who own puppy hoods and muzzles and they said that there are combinations where you can wear a hood and a muzzle. Sadly there is no general rule of thumb so if you want to wear both pieces of gear you have to try it out.
Tails
Another distinctive pup play toy is the tail. The most commonly used are tails that are attached to a butt plug. I would recommend the ones from Square Pegs because they are seamless and thus comfortable to wear even for a longer mosh or walk. They come in different tail shapes, colors and butt plug sizes. Choosing the right plug size is a bit difficult. I was told that it is useful to choose a plug one size larger than you can easily take because the tail stays in place even when you wag and romp without having to constantly pinch your sphincter. However the tail is of no use if you can’t insert it at all due to being too big. Another way of keeping the tail in place is wearing a special kind of harness.
This kind of tail has gained quite some popularity in the non-puppy ass play community: When you are wearing a tail while fucking someone the moving momentum of the tail gets transferred to the plug section which than stimulates the prostate.
If you don’t want to wear a plug-style tail Oxballs and Square Peg have recently introduced tails without the plug. The Square Peg one comes with a base and is designed to be put through a hole, or can be attached to a neoprene or leather harness, the Oxballs is designed to be attached to a special harness.
Collars
The origin of collars in the BDSM scene as a sign of submission and belonging come from the dog collars. So it is only natural that they fulfill the same purpose in the pup play community. Besides being an indicator they are also practical for attaching a leash or a dog tag.
Collars are probably the piece of pup gear with the widest selection of options. They come in nearly every material and color used in kink. Either coordinate it with your hood or harness or use the collar color as a hanky. If you want an inescapable feeling you can get locking ones or if you want some added play value I recommend getting a collar with more than one D-ring.
If the pup still needs training a shock collar might be the item to get. Especially for novice pups I would recommend shock collars made for BDSM purposes. If you choose one for dogs be real careful with the intensity. The electrodes and outputs are designed to even have a distinct effect when going through thick fur. Since with humans the electrodes touch bare skin on high intensity levels they can leave burn marks or cause nerve damage!
Mitts and Knee Pads
Since puppys tend to be on all fours while playing and the human being isn’t really made for this posture, protection is needed. Mitts are a little bit more fetish than security item. Usually a pup can see where he places his palms, so when choosing mitts the appearance is more important. The most commonly used types of mitts are either lockable bondage ones made out of rubber or leather which leave the pup at the mercy of their handler or mitts that have paw-like prints or cut-outs glued to the bottom. On the other hand knee pads are essential for long term pup play. When being on the knees for an extended period of time they provide comfort and protection, especially when walking around outdoor. They might not look sexy and I haven’t found ones yet tailored to the aesthetic demands of the pup community but every pup player I talked to highly recommended softly padded ones for every pup who enjoys kneeing and being on all fours for extended periods of time.
Harnesses
Finding the right harness for a puppy is a two step process: First you need to consider how active the puppy is. If you attach a leash to an active puppy via the harness its material should withstand greater forces so I would recommend buying a leather harness. Otherwise you can either choose rubber, leather or neoprene. The second question is the style: For a more “natural” puppy look I was told to rather take chest harnesses instead of full body harnesses. This doesn’t limit your options that much since in the last couple of years a lot of different chest harness styles – Bulldog, Pitbull, English, Top or Hunter – came out. Like with collars you can most of the times add a second color for piping to match the rest of your gear or express a certain preference hankylike.
Accessories and Play Toys
Once the puppy is full dressed in gear the is an endless amount of accessories out there. A good one to start with are dog tags so other pups and handlers can read the pup name. Besides the dog tags traditionally being made out of metal Oxballs designed cockrings with an attached dog tag so you can show your fetish even when being out in a club without and puppy gear.
When it comes to toys for the actual play, the possibilities are endless. The most common are dog bowls, bite and squeaky toys, either made for bio dogs or from special fetish manufacturers. Naming them all is impossible so I recommend going out to your local pet or fetish store.
Items designed for bio dogs
Some players want the real deal and buy stuff designed for bio dogs. In most cases they are a bit cheaper than BDSM toys and naturally of cause more authentic. But always keep in mind that they weren’t design for humans. Especially when it comes to collars they are designed to be worn over a thick fur so irritations are possible. If you want real dog gear I recommend trying it out even more thoroughly than you would do with normal BDSM gear even though that might get you some weird looks at the pet store.
What you should never do is eat real dog food! Most dog food has crushed bones mixed into in order to keep the teeth of dogs from getting too long. The human set of teeth and digestion organs are not design to deal with such food! If you want an almost dog-like appeal by dog treats, give the content to a bio dog and put beef jerky into them.
