Sex Play Between “Pups” and Their “Handlers”

In his spare time, Brinton is heavily involved in “puppy play,” an activity where grown men derive sexual gratification from wearing dog masks and behaving like animals. As a 2016 Metro Weekly article about this phenomenon explains:

In the pup community, handlers function the same way dog owners do, keeping a watchful eye on their charge and reining in the pups if needed. It’s the handlers who train the pups and teach them discipline, doling out rewards or punishments based on good or bad behavior.

“Think of any bio-dog,” [Pup] Gryphn says. “You can train them. It’s this ‘go do this’ reward system, just like a bio-dog. So let’s say you’re playing fetch, you throw the ball, the pup picks it up, brings it back, and drops it at your feet. You’re going to reward him, whether it’s petting him or anything like that.

“Or, let’s go to an extreme,” he continues. “Let’s say you’re doing pup play around the house and the pup decides to pee on the floor. Obviously the pup is going to be punished for that. Typically, when we’re being humans, it’s ‘Why would you correct me in front of so-and-so? That’s wrong, don’t do that. Don’t speak for the next five minutes,’ something like that.” […]

Others have polyamorous or open relationships in their personal lives that allow them to have a kink partner who is separate from their real life spouse or partner. Depending on the spouse, they may either shun pup or other fetish scenes entirely, or slowly be brought into the fold after becoming more comfortable with their significant other’s bedroom preferences.

Brinton, who at that time was the handler of a 24-year-old “pup” named Nubi, spoke at length to Metro Weekly about the handler-puppy relationship: “It’s the concept of the teacher and nurturer…. My job is to make sure that while he’s in headspace, I’m keeping him safe…. Pup and I have what I feel is one of the most ideally perfect connections between our personal and kink life. Both of us have other partners, so we come into this space, and then we come out of it, knowing the boundaries of where your kink and non-kink relationships begin and end.”