Pet play and animal roleplay are, pardon the pun, wildly popular across the kink spectrum, and across genders and orientations as well.
Like many sexual tastes, pet play encompasses a wide spectrum, from mild and playful to living as a full-time dog with a master.
What Is Pet Play?
Pet play, or more accurately, animal roleplay, is exactly as it sounds: humans taking on the characteristics and appearance of one or more animals. This might include scurrying around on all fours, making noises that an animal would make, such as barking or growling, collecting paraphernalia or gear or props and setting them up, or caring for and training the animal.
Is Sex Part of Animal Roleplay?
Pet play as a kink implies there is a sexual element to this role play. This is true, although it isn’t true for everyone. In other words, some people derive pleasure from pet play, but it has nothing to do with a fetish or sexual desire.
Read: Kink without Sex: 6 Ways to Explore
Imaginative roleplay games are a common outlet for drama and self-expression, or someone may be so cat obsessed that they like to dress up in whiskers and a tail or say “meow,” but they are not sexually aroused.
So don’t assume you’ve met Miss Right if you see a woman wearing bunny slippers!
Read: Sexual Roleplay: A Guide for Roleplay Beginners
Do Both Partners Play Animals?
That depends on the individuals involved. Often both (or all) partners are interested in the same animal and enjoy the same kinds of play. But also often, a person playing a pet wants to be pampered and cared for by a human, trained, or bossed around. For example, in pony play, fulfillment may be dependent on a pony rider or pony groomer.
Are Furries and Plushies Part of Pet Play?
Depends on who you ask! Furry fetish technically a related but different thing. Furries love to dress up as anthropomorphic animals, wearing elaborate costumes and going to conferences that are kind of like comic book or video game cons. Many of them happen to consider their cosplay a kink, so in a way, they are involved in sexualized animal roleplay. But most furries—and animal role players—would say no, it’s different.
Read: Furry Kink Fandom and Terminology
Plushies are sexually attracted to plush toys, which again, can have some overlap with furry sex, but mostly it’s the toy itself, not someone in it, that does it for the plushie lover.
Are Pet Play Fetishists into Bestiality?
No. Animal roleplay is about role play—taking on the characteristics of an animal and playfully experiencing that. Sexual attraction to actual animals is different altogether.
Types of Pet Play and Animal Roleplay
Pony Play
Pony play is so common and widespread that it is almost its own thing, but it definitely falls under the umbrella of animal roleplay, because, after all, it’s about pretending to be a pony.
There is a world of imagination and a world of industry conjoining here, and pony play kink lovers can buy a wide range of pony play accessories: costumes, riding gear, masks, butt plugs that are also pony tails, and a whole lot more.
Read: Confessions of a Kinky Pony Play Girl
The pony rider is usually but not always dominant, and dressing the part in riding couture is a kink of its own. There are equine competitions at fetish clubs, online societies with conferences, contests for costume, form, beauty, and sexual discipline.
Puppy Play
Who hasn’t danced it out to “I Wanna Be Your Dog?” Am I right?
Puppy play is another world where dog lovers bark, scratch, and bite, chase sticks, and more often than not, wear collars and leashes. Some dog play costumes are cute, but there is a whole subset where it’s all about the latex and leather, in a a pup mask form.
Most puppy play practitioners are interested in the roles of owner and master or companion, but not all.
Learn about puppy play in Tia’s article: Puppy Play and the Human Pup Kink
Kitten Play
The cat lovers’ roles range from leopard skin to cutesy Hello Kitty sweetness, to sleek and nasty all black body suits à la Catwoman.
Bunny Play
The bunny tail and ears have been essential to the Playboy brand from the get go. Taking on the warm and fuzzy characteristics of the bunny as a sex symbol is a form of animal roleplay!
The bunny is popular and there are lots of rabbit ears, pink and white fuzzy outfits, and fluffy tails to don if this is your thing.
Wild Kingdom
For those who want to try to tame a wild animal, animal roleplay is about all creatures great and small.
What Kinks Cross Over with Animal Roleplay?
Pet play can go along with just about any kink or fetish—leather fetish, for example, is a natural match, or spanking, to go along with dog or pony training.
Animal roleplay definitely fits under the umbrella of BDSM. Think about dog collars, a leash, or following orders, and it’s easy to see why. Think about restraint, being kept in a cage and taken out when the master feels like it.
Of course, animal roleplay can involve domination and submission in creative ways, like biting, or being made to eat from a dog bowl. For farm animal play, milking and lactation kinks might be part of the scene.
Read: Submissives: Slaves vs Pets
Essentially, wherever the sexual imagination overlaps there will be kinks that go with animal roleplay.
Are you into pet play or animal roleplay? We’d love to hear about your kink in the comments!
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