Pet Play Kink

Humans have always been captivated by animals, from ancient cave drawings to modern-day costumes and toys. Throughout history, we’ve drawn them, dressed as them, and even incorporated them into our fantasies. Now, that fascination has evolved into something more primal — leading to the exciting world of pet play kink and animal roleplay fetish.

The truth is, this fascination with animals didn’t start last night. For centuries, humans have been curious about animals and their behavior. For some, this curiosity goes beyond simple admiration. It becomes a way to explore deeper desires, often through pet play and animal roleplay.

While both pet play and animal roleplay involve exploring our animal instincts, they aren’t exactly the same but share some similarities.

The Difference Between Pet Play and Animal Play/Roleplay 

While pet play and animal play (or animal roleplay) are often mentioned together, they focus on different aspects of animal imitation.

Animal play/Animal roleplay fetish typically involves taking on an animal persona for fun, escape, or costume play, such as pretending to be a cat, dog, or other familiar animals. It’s usually done for enjoyment or events like cosplay or Halloween.

Pet play, on the other hand, adds a more structured emotional thing where one person becomes the “pet” and another takes on the role of the “owner”. This interaction often centers around trust, care, and sometimes elements of control, creating a deeper bond between participants. Clear communication, safe words, and setting boundaries are essential to make pet play enjoyable and safe for everyone involved.

How Pet Play Fits Into BDSM?

While animal role play is the blanket term for humans generally playing as animals, pet play takes this one step further by integrating elements of BDSM into animal role play. Pet play explores a power balance between master and pet to create a sense of submission and control.

The first thing that comes to mind at the thought of a pet is a cute animal that is owned and inherently dependent on the owner for sustenance and everything else. It is needless to say that, as humans, we have the inclination to always look after our pets and have them trust us totally.

It is a similar relationship, as pet play seeks to create the same deep emotional connection between the owner/master and submissive/pet. The dom may demand unconditional love and obedience, but they may also train their pet to be more emotionally perceptive and empathic.

This relationship structure is synonymous with the essence of a dominant and a submissive; only in this case, the submissive acts out the role of a pet animal.

Some pet players enjoy role-playing in the comfort and privacy of their homes, with all safety precautions intact, of course, while others who are more exhibitionistic in their tendencies prefer public showcasing in BDSM scenes and social events.

Why do People find this Kink Attractive?

There are tons of valid reasons why animal roleplay is a thing, here’s 3 main ones:

• A Fantasy World from Puppy Play to Pony Play

Human beings are uniquely different and have individual things that make up their psychology, so while some people have it relatively easy, others have it harder.  Being a human all the time can be exhausting, so role-playing as animals may offer the escape that pet players need to sink into the headspace that makes them feel like themselves. Animals are super easy and simple-minded. Meaning don’t possess ego in the ways that humans do, so when people play as animals, they are reduced to their most basic and primal desires.  All they think about is food, survival, and sex. This may give them a release and ease a lot of pressure off their shoulders until they are ready to face the world as humans again. If they want to. 

• Control is Very Attractive

Another reason is the play of power play. When people engage in pet play, there’s usually a dominant person who acts as an owner or caregiver and another who is a pet and receives all the care and affection that comes with being a pet. There’s usually a rush of affection, adoration, and love on the part of the owner who assumes the position of power and has a duty of care to the pet. And there is the adorable pet, who releases themself in total submission and obedience to their owner in typical animal character. The owner is responsible for setting rules, giving commands, and providing discipline to the pet. While all the pet has to do is just be and exist. Now, isn’t that a dream?

• The Simple Sexiness

Some other people just think there’s an eroticism to animal-like behaviors. No, they do not want to fuck animals. They just find the appearance of animals sexually appealing, and the idea of their sexual partners looking up (or down, as the case may be) at them in this regard can be very sexy. 

Getting Started in Pet Play Roles

If you think pet play kink might be for you, good news is you’re not alone. However, as a newbie, here are some things you need to know to help you ease into it. 

1. Choose The Kind of Pet You and Your Partner(s) will like to role-play with

First off, every pet is different, and what might work for the goose may not work for the gander. Literally. There are a variety of animals you might choose to embody depending on what appeals to you, so it’s important to know these pets’ peculiar needs and treat them accordingly.  It might be a catastrophe if you treat a dog like you would a pony, for example.

2. Pet Play Might be Deeper to your Partner than you Think

For some pets, role playing as an animal goes beyond just playing dress-up. It might be a spiritual exercise. You do not want to undermine that. So, have a talk with your pet and gather a lot of information as to how they want to be treated and what it means for them. 

3. Make it Feel Real With Costumes and Accessories

Now, moving on. To really get into pet play, there’s a lot of visuality to it. Get into the gear and the costumes. If your pet is tentative about diving headfirst into it, that’s okay. You could start with a leash, or make them wear a collar, animal headbands, and/or tail butt plugs. Not only are these visually stimulating, but they sometimes also double as sex toys to enhance the sensuality of the moment. How do they say it? That’s just… purr-fect.

4. Don’t Forget to Care for Your Pet

As an owner, you can feed, care for, train, play with, and chastise your pet as much as you want, but always with an undertone of affection. Just like you would a mischievous family dog or kitten. You could also incorporate other BDSM practices like rope bondage play to heat things up. 

5. Make Your Pet Happy with Reward and Praise

Please employ the use of rewards and praise, unless your pet has a degradation kink and has stated otherwise. This is because using rewards, treats, and praise can make your pet develop a sense of dependence and a feeling of being taken care of when they act right. It doesn’t have to be much, it could be as simple as petting, stroking, and giving them compliments when they have done a good thing. Like fetching a toy like you told them to, or remaining in a position for a while because you ordered them to. It just really adds to the eroticism of the moment.

Do You Happen to Have a Pet?

Do you have a pet who doesn’t listen to instructions, or who just enjoys frustrating the bejesus out of you?  Human pets, just like animal pets, sometimes get spoiled and starts challenging your authority, especially pets with an inherently rebellious nature like the cat, or fox. In this case, you might need to be stern and put your foot down. We know you love your pet, but sometimes, especially when a pet slips into the pet space, they become too exuberant and may be reluctant to listen to instructions.

Don’t give up on your pet just yet — here are some gentle tips to help you re-establish authority::

• Time Out. A common control tactic is making the pet go on time out. This may or may not be accompanied by restraints. You could ice them out and ignore them when they start acting up until they become docile and start craving your attention.
• Remind Them of their Place. You could also lock a pet in its cage and deny them their treat as a means of telling them you do not like their behavior. The pet belongs to you, and you have all the power, which means you have complete authority over when and what they get to eat. Sexually, you can also edge them (see how in our edging article) until they are at their breaking point and beg you for a release. That tends to work like magic. But please, remember to do all these with the consent of your pet-partner.
• You Decide What is Good for Them. You could use verbal warnings, physical penalties, or issue commands to put them in their place. You can also make them perform degrading acts like tail wagging, boot sniffing and licking, peeing in the garden, eating from the floor, etc. It’s your pet, you decide what’s good for them. 

However, it is important that the sub and the dom agree on what discipline measures to employ before they slip into space, including a safe word. Some measures can be extremely triggering and cross boundaries. So, whatever discipline measures you choose to employ, always check in with your partner to make sure it’s okay with them. Always keep consent in mind.

Important Safety Tips While Practising Pet Play

As an owner, there are precautions you should take to make the whole experience worthwhile for all participants involved. 

• First off, make sure you’re prioritizing the comfort of your pet. In this sense, unless the pet is a human-like pet who can walk on two legs, they would likely be spending a lot of play session on their knees. For this purpose, you may consider investing in padded flooring, large cushions, or knee pads. 
• Be well informed about your pet’s medical history and body check results, to avoid any unfortunate surprises.
• Collars and leashes should fit well. Especially when the pet is on their knees, as putting too much pressure on the throat can affect the trachea.
• Talk a lot about what you guys are comfortable with. If you want sexual experience or not, if you’re comfortable with public or private play, if you’re open to group play or not, as well as conversations about physical or mental health issues and allergies. No conversation should be off the table.
• Pet play is a very sensitive fetish, and if you are uncomfortable having these vulnerable conversations with your partner, maybe you should reconsider playing with them.
• Be vigilant. Double-check toys and treats and ensure they are safe. Check your surroundings and play area for sharp objects or anything else that would be harmful to your pet at any point.
• Practice aftercare! This cannot be overemphasized. Again, because of the delicate nature of this fetish, it is pertinent that you check in with your partner (dom and pet alike) and evaluate their physical and mental state after the play to ensure that you are all on the same page.

Most importantly, don’t forget to use safe words should things get too intense or probably go faster than you can handle. Again, if you don’t trust your partner to stop when you want them to stop, you shouldn’t be playing with them in the first place. 

Have Fun Pet Players

In conclusion, animal roleplay or pet play kink is an exciting kink once you understand what it’s about and how relaxing it can be. It is important to always be well informed before indulging in it to avoid making mistakes.

Pet play enthusiasts should engage in it without any form of reservation as long as all necessary precautions are taken, as it is a sure way to ease off fatigue and any other forms of responsibility, work, or life-related stress. Some people also enjoy combining harness fetish or incorporating elements of domination and submission to deepen the power play, making the experience even more immersive.

To be honest, easing into animal roleplay fetish and pet play kink can be challenging at first because of the prejudice and societal stigma that come with it. But if you focus on living your best life on your own terms, it can be easy. Exploring related interests like cnc kink or leather fetish can also add layers of excitement for those who enjoy a bit more intensity in their play. It’s easier said than done, we know, but if you’ve gotten this far, you may as well go even further.

You can check out articles, videos, and online forums like FetLife, Kinkly, The Cage where you could meet other pet play enthusiasts, discuss different practices and read their experiences first-hand.

There’s nothing weird about you. So, go all out and explore your purr-fect side with the Pet Play.