Dog masks

It falls under the broader term of "pet" play. As people do also act like cats or horses. I have seen some truly amazingly well crafted pony suits... And I'm not talking fluffy MLP stuff but just stunning leather or latex.

Generally from what I have seen is it is less about sex for sex and more about mental thing. Control and dominance and obedience kind of thing.

 

They wear dog hoods to help get into the role or they just REALLY love the material

I'm a demon "pet". I act normal (well mostly!) in public. I only dress up around my boyfriend & close friends

People have many reasons why they enjoy animal roleplay. Heck, I had no idea some guys only do it for non-sexual reasons, until I heard about Tom AKA Spot:

 

may it be

I definitely have a thing for men who wear gas masks, but these masks you mention aren't my thing. it's something different

 

I agree with being respectful and not jumping in with judgemental comments, but I don't think we should dismiss the idea that some people may be acting out or participating in different fetishes from a place of low self esteem or impaired mental health. Just something we should consider because if there are self esteem or mental health issues, there might be some questions about how healthy it is to indulge in certain fetishes.

 

Completely agree with you and this applies to most everything.

It is specially hard to do so with fetishes since its hard for a lot of people to separate the stigma of the fetish while trying to give actual healthy advice on how to improve as a person. Its so hard that many therapists don't have the tool to help some people.

Fetishes that come with exchange of power like this one can be tricky and there are ways that the own community of each fetish tries to stop certain toxic behavior, but for the most part fetishes can be used as a tool to cope with anxiety in a healthy way.

 

I think this is one of the things that really confuses me personally. I've always had a disdain for imbalance in relationships because I associate it with things I've experienced and witnessed. It wasn't long ago my sister's abusive husband was ordering her around, telling her what she "was or wasn't allowed to do" and it just... makes me worried for the people involved? Some people don't even realize their relationship is abusive until it's too late.

The whole mindset of thinking of yourself as less than your partner. I've seen it in many forms. I'd just say to keep in mind that you're both people with thoughts and minds. You're both individuals, with your own free will. Neither of you are less, nor more. Do what makes you happy, but just remember that if things are no longer making you happy, you're just as much a person as your partner and have the right to make your own decisions.

I don't judge... I just worry, safety is often my primary concern.

 

That is a legitimate concern and its something that is taught in a lot of kink/fetish workshops.

One of the main things to have a healthy exchange of power is consent. The person who chooses to play as a sub is consenting to EVERYTHING. They will talk to their dom about their limits and there will be a safe word for when everything must stop no questions asked. So for example, if someone like to be slapped during sex that would be a conversation that will happen beforehand; you would talk about how hard, how often and knowing when to stop.

Its also important to keep in mind that most fetishes don't carry outside of the bedroom. So while someone might want to be dominated in bed, it doesn't mean that outside of the bedroom they will be told what to do unless that is what the person wants.

Definitely.

If you talk to people who are submissive in healthy BDSM relationships then they will tell you they don't see themselves as less than their partner. They know that they are in control of the situation and giving power to your partner in a sexual encounter is a gift that the dominant person must cherish and fight to keep their trust and show they are worthy of it.

All that being said, exchange of power can be very healing for some people. For example, its now widely known that a lot of guys who are in high position of power will sometimes seek domineering women as a way to escape always having to be in control of what is happening.

Of course keep in mind I'm not an expert on this, but these are from anecdotes of friends who are part of the BDSM community. And this is also why a lot of the community was afraid of movies like Fifty Shades of Gray which portrays and unhealthy form of BDSM.

 

Some "pets" dominate their owners

 

There are also furries, with "fursonas". I'll admit I don't know much about it but a friend is super into it. Basically you're an animal with human characteristics? That might be it.