Gear to Make Your BDSM Pet Play More Realistic

Is your BDSM Pet Play feeling a bit silly? Is it getting hard to “get into” character because your pet needs water (like human beings do), so they have to pick up a water bottle to take some gulps with their very-human hands? Maybe staring at their little human face while they meow at you just isn’t immersive enough to help you forget that they didn’t do their human-chores this morning.

Turns out, a bit of gear and some creative framing can really help your brain “forget” about some of their human bits – especially when you’ve had some successful practice with suspending reality.

Now, what items should you be picking up? That’s always the fun (and stressful – because money) part.

Let’s talk about pet play “gear”, going from least expensive to most expensive – because I know most people don’t have an overflowing budget for their BDSM pet play. (I wish I did too, so I know how you feel.)

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Use an Unknown Language

If you have a bit of time on your hands, this one is completely free!

Of course, your human pup sits when you say “sit”; turns out, their human brain understands English (or whatever your native language is).

But what if you said “s’asseoir”? Now your human puppy is probably a whole lot more confused, and you actually get to have the fun back-and-forth of “training” your human puppy to understand commands – not just hear words.

That’s French for “sit”, by the way. For your human brain.

As the pet owner, simply pick a language, start plugging in standard BDSM pet play words into a translate app, listen to it say them to you, and get to memorizing. 

Bam! More realistic pet play with a bill of $0.

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Look into Hands-Free Ways to Drink Water during BDSM Pet Play

We all require water – and if your pet does a lot of “talking” (barks, chirps, whatever), they’re likely going to need even more water. Making a lot of those noises is not always friendly to the throat.

While pet bowls would seem like the immersive way to drink water, our stupid human bodies just really don’t do well with lapping up water with a tongue. You’ll get virtually no water while simultaneously making a gigantic mess.

You can solve this in a few ways, all of them relatively inexpensive:

• The handler can always provide water. Just like when people let their dogs drink out of their water bottles, the handler can hold the water bottle and help the human pet drink. This, however, can get ridiculously messy very quickly, and you can end up with a soggy puppy. It also requires that the handler be available constantly for water breaks. If you and your human pet are just chilling around the house, this isn’t ideal. It’s great for handlers who want to feel really “required” for the scene, though.
• Use a straw. The handler can hold a glass or bottle of water, and the human animal can wrap their lips around it to drink. If your human pet has a hood, this may require getting an extra-long straw (think bendable crazy straws!) and bending it in a fashion that will let them drink. This still requires the handler, but it leads to a lot less mess, and the human pet can take in as much water as they need.
• Get a device that will hold the drink – AND put a straw in it. If you’re playing indoors, you have a lot of options (like suction cups, sturdy bases, and even clamps). If you’re playing outside, look for outdoor drink stakes that can be stuck into the ground. Just keep your human pet’s capabilities in mind. As mine is usually in a hood, any drink holder I buy needs to be very sturdy because they’ll accidentally knock it over with limited vision.

This water trick can be extremely helpful for long immersion scenes. Your human pet won’t need to tap out early because they need water, and you both can still maintain pet play headspace without using hands to drink.

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Try Human Treats Placed in Animal Treat Containers

Have you seen some of the meat snacks out there? I swear, if someone placed them in the dog treat section, they’d be pretty much interchangeable.

Use that to your advantage. What types of treats would your pet want to eat?

Now, is there a store-bought option for biological animals? If you have a particularly unique pet, you might need to go to a specialty store, but if you’re looking at a human kitty or human puppy, the grocery store will do. Now, pick out containers that look like they’d contain your human’s treat – and buy them. When you get home, empty out the store-bought animal food, give it a good clean, and toss in your human-appropriate food.

Now you have a container that’s going to look extremely immersive for your pet while containing food that’s safe for humans to eat!

If you have a wildlife pet, most veggies and fruits are usually fair game. Tearing and cutting them into smaller pieces for your pet, though, can make them easier for hands-free eating. Nuts may also be an option.

If you have a particularly unique pet, you can also DIY your own treats. This might look like making shortbread or sugar cookies with cookie cutters to get your treats in the right shape. Once they’re in the right shape, simply toss them into the (cleaned) pet container for dispensing.

(Remember: no matter what option you go with, your treat should be about “one bite” sized. Unless your human animal has use of their hands, anything large that requires multiple bites will encourage them to use their hands to eat – or is going to make a gigantic, crumbly mess on your floor. In the case of beef sticks or other foods, it might lead to choking because they’re unable to grip onto the remainder of the long stick. Keep this in mind when selecting treats or cookie cutters to craft your BDSM pet play treats.)

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Put Solid Foods in Pet Bowls

Our mouths do pretty okay at eating solid foods without hands.

That means that experimenting with “pet food” is a really great place to add some realism!

A lot of household cereals really look like animal food if you stop to think about it. Brown, large, uniform balls? You could find that in the pet food section – or the cereal aisle. Simply dump some of that sugary cereal into a pet bowl, and you have realistic-looking pet food – for the cost of box of cereal.

If your human pet is more of the “spoiled with wet food” type of animal, consider making very-firm consistency oatmeal, and then packing it into a circular cookie cutter on a plate for the stereotypical “wet food” look. (Remove the cookie cutter before presenting it to your pet.) Just be prepared for a bit of mess on this one. Your human pet is going to get it all over their nose and chin.

(As always, risk of choking is always present. Ensure your treats are small, and encourage your “pet” to eat slowly and patiently. Trying to gulp down 4 mini marshmallows at once is definitely a choking hazard.)

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Gift them a Personalized Pet Tag

Does your pet have a name? If so, you can very easily make your BDSM pet play more realistic by simply getting a name tag for your pet.

If you head to your local pet store, you can usually print one of these at a self-kiosk near the front of the store (which gives you a bit more freedom if your pet has a name that reflects their misbehavior…)

Be aware that D-rings on most BDSM collars are thicker than the D-rings on most pet collars. This means that a standard pet tag clip may not work with your kink collars. You can get around this by picking up a different pet tag clip (my suggestion!) or using a collar designed for animals on your human pet (this presents safety and comfort concerns).

Once you have it all set up, you can simply clip your pet’s nametag onto their collar when it’s time for pet play headspace.

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Consider Bodily Waste Disposal in a BDSM Pet Play Scene

Fair warning: we’re talking human bodily functions here.

Your pet will most likely need to pee if you end up doing a scene that’s more than an hour long – especially if you’re keeping them hydrated. How will your human pet end up peeing? The human way is likely going to rip you both out of the headspace – and depending on your comfort level, you both might be a-okay with that.

If you’re open to more pet-friendly options, there are quite a few ways for your human pet to pee indoors, outside of the toilet, without getting out the mop:

• Disposable Puppy Pads. Simply lay them out, let your human pet do their business (without hands, of course!), and then the handler can crumple it up and throw it away. This option has the least contact near urine, and you can get these disposable puppy pads in a variety of different styles – including cool ones with fire hydrants. Do a trial run on an easy-to-clean area of floor for the first few runs – especially for the penis-owning pets, their aim may be a bit “unexpected”. Depending on your human pet’s bladder, you might need more than one next to each other. We usually layer three, in a triangular shape, to capture all the mess.
• Grass pads. Does your animal belong out in the wild? If so, a cleanable pad of grass might be more headspace-enhancing for them. This is the one I own. Just be aware that this will involve more “handling” near pee – which may not be for everyone.
• Litter Boxes. Is your human pet litter box trained? If so, consider a litter box for your human pet. I recommend getting out the measuring tape for this one. To make it hands-free, your human pet will need to be able to straddle it. You may need to go for litter boxes made for smaller animals to ensure your human pet can comfortably use it. There will be a middle ground between “no spillage” and “can still straddle the box”.
• Adult diapers. This is not a first go-to for many kinksters, but it’s definitely an option – especially if your pet has a diaper kink or enjoys humiliation.
• Towels from your home. If you really don’t want to buy anything, you don’t have to. You can try laying folded up towels as an impromptu “disposable puppy pad”. This not waterproof, and it has the highest opportunity for leaks, but it doesn’t cost anything. Be aware you’ll need to handle the towels again, and definitely do this over a hard floor; leaks are probable.
• Your sex blanket. If you are lucky enough to have a waterproof sex blanket for sex purposes, it can also work here. If you don’t, you might consider picking one up if you could use it for your sex life too (multi-functional!). It won’t be the most immersive option, but it’ll be your two-in-one option as well as a more eco-friendly option. Gathering the edges of the blanket to pick it up will reduce how much handling you do near pee – especially if the pet “went” in the center”.

Most handlers will not want to mess with solid waste, but if that’s your jam, have at it. All of the above options can also work well for that – though litter boxes and grass pads will require more “handling” of the final product for clean-up.

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Restrict the Use of their Fingers

Most human pet play animals don’t have movable, controllable fingers. You’re not going to see a biological puppy pick up a piece of paper anytime soon.

That means that restricting the use of your BDSM pet play partner’s hands can be an instant way to enhance their headspace.

You can do this in a whole variety of different ways:

• Use BDSM Mitts. While the most expensive, this is the most reusable, easiest to put on, and most comfortable. BDSM mitts – especially those made for pet play – usually offer padding to make it more comfortable to crawl too. They’re usually made of sturdy materials, can be locked onto your human pet, and can be used again and again. They’re about as easy to put on as socks. This really is your “best” option if you know you’ll do BDSM pet play often – but the sticker shock can put some people off of trying it as a first option. You can also…
• Use bondage tape or vet wrap. Have your partner ball up their hands then use bondage tape or vet wrap to “force” those hands to stay in that shape. Never bind the fingers in a spread position, and if crawling, ensure your pet can safely place weight on their hands before finishing the bondage. As this doesn’t allow for any movement of the hands at all, expect this option to be a limited-time option.
• Use socks. Really. Just slide a snug, ankle-length sock onto your partner’s hands, and bam: it’s much harder to use those opposable thumbs.
• Use winter mittens. Get those mittens as fluffy and as padded as you can – preferably without a way to easily expose the fingers from the mitten. Now your partner’s fingers are stuck as one – though they can still use their thumbs.
• Use plastic baggies and some tape. Okay, this isn’t beautiful, but it’s functional. Place your partner’s hands into a grocery bag or gallon-sized food storage bag and tape the bag around their wrist. It won’t prevent full use of the fingers, but it will make it much harder to grip. (Expect some sweaty hands though!)

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Get Specific Pet Play Clothing

Now, this one can get as expensive – or inexpensive – as you want. You can go thrifting for your outfit – or you can special-order a beautiful latex suit that features the fur patterns of your desired breed. So, it can be $5, or it can be $500. Y’know, the usual in the world of BDSM.

The important factor here is the fact that you only use this set of clothing for pet play. We want to rewire our human brains to know that “this brown shirt” means “fox time”. We do that by not wearing it as an everyday item – and only wearing it during our BDSM pet play time. Over enough time, our brains will begin to associate it as a part of the pet’s identity and look.

(The real hard part comes in once your brain has made that association – and the shirt is tattered enough to need to be replaced. It’s like saying good-bye to a part of yourself.)

Select any clothing that makes your brain happy while simultaneously being functional for pet play. If you’re a lingerie-wearing turtle, have at it. Do remember that most pet play involves a lot of crawling, so expect to wear out the knees of any pants you choose unless you’re faithful to your kneepads.

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Add Hoods, Ears, or Tails

These tend to be one of the most expensive options – but also one of the most immersive. Wearing ears, a tail, or a hood can instantly help change your human pet’s headspace into that of their chosen animal. It’s a bit like how putting on the shoes you only use for the gym makes you feel like it’s time to go to the gym. Our brains just do things that way.

You can also make this as immersive – or as affordable – as you want. A set of clip-on ears from a local teenager fashion store can run you less than $15 – or you can get a set of custom-made ears from a kinky crafter that perfectly matches your breed’s coloration. You can get a clip-on tail that will simply clip onto a belt for about $25 – or you can go all-out with an interchangeable-tail, body-safe butt plug that might run you $150.

While you’re picking out your pet play hood, pet play ears, or pet play tail, remember to think about the logistical aspects as well. Things like:

• How are you usually dressed? Is your BDSM pet play in the nude? If so, a tail that clips onto a belt isn’t really going to work – butt (pun intended) a butt plug tail would be fine! If your pet always has a collar, will your hood get in the way? What about eyeglasses for, y’know, seeing?
• Where do you usually play? If you’re regularly walking around a conference center filled with people (hello kinky hotel takeovers!), pony play blinders or a kitten hood with limited visibility might be a safety hazard. Gigantic rabbit ears might be cute for pictures, but they might be dangerous if you don’t have the clearance to go through door frames.
• How rough do you play? Does your foxy rough-housing have other foxes pulling on your clothes or ruffling up your hair? Clip-on ears and headbands might simply slide off. A butt plug tail could get pulled out mid-play (awkward).
• How sexually do you play? If you have a gem-encrusted tail and your puppy play tends to lead to messy, lube-filled anal sex, this might not be the right accessory for your play. Keep bodily fluids (including blood, if you tend to rub parts of yourself raw from crawling or play) and cleanability in mind while selecting your BDSM pet play gear. If anal sex is regularly on the BDSM pet play menu, a butt plug tail might get in the way (or be the perfect accessory for anal warm-up prep. It’s all about your own style of play!)
• What does your play include? If you’re a very oral human pet, some pet play hoods might get in the way of your play. If crawling or hopping is high on the list of your pet play fun, an extra-long tail might be dangerous or prone to breaking if it catches under a knee. If you’re usually snuggled up next to your pet and a tablet, trying to get your pet to look at this now, hoods that reduce their vision might make it hard to share your TV show.

Updated: June 2023, May 2023, March 2023, January 2023.