International Puppy Club Frequently Asked Questions

What is a human puppy / dog?

Flip aka The Flip-n-Puppy

Jaeger Pup T

A puppy or dog is a human pet. It can be a male or female who identifies closely with real biological pups/dogs and lets go their human inhibitions and stress to embrace their animal instinct. They live in the moment, their entire existence revolves around getting a pat on the head, being told they are a good puppy, exploring anything and everything that looks interesting or fun, even if it's sniffing someone in public. A pup/dog may take on the persona of a biological canine to varying degrees from being on all fours chasing balls and barking instead of talking to only taking on the personality of a pup/dog but retaining their human abilities.
For many it's just a type of role playing but for others it's a part of their inner spirit, it's who they are whether in pup gear or not.

How should strangers approach a human puppy / dog?

Most pups/dogs love to be petted but a stranger should approach a human pup/dog the same way they would approach a real canine. If the pup/dog has a human with them, you should ask the human if it's ok to approach or pet the pup/dog. If the pup/dog is alone and turns away or growls when you approach them, you should leave them alone. You should never try to grab a pups/dogs collar or leash and if they are wearing a lock you should never touch it or the collar as some owners take this as an act of disrespect to them personally. A pup/dog that wants to be petted will make it obvious and might move toward you or they may lick or sniff you when you approach.
A human pup/dog approaching another should use some common sense, never just run up and pounce on the other pup/dog without properly introducing yourself using barks or whimpers or human language. The other pup/dog might not want to play or their owner/trainer/handler may not allow them to interact with other pups/dogs.

What are the differences?

A puppy is younger (no matter what their human age), they are more playful, mischievous and less obedient.
A dog is older, less playful, more serious, protective and obedient.
Gear/Furry pups are more into the role play playing aspect. They love the gear and the acting more than the mindset. When the gear comes off, they retain little or none of the pup/dog personality.
Slave dogs/curs are rare, not a pet and not a normal part of the pup/dog world. They want to be treated lower than a sub-human, caged, humiliated and disrespected. Many inexperienced Tops and Sirs mistakenly think this is the normal desire of everyone that identifies as a pup/dog then attempts to treat any pup/dog they meet as such and gets upset when the pup/dog ignores, growls or tries to bite them. A puppy is not a human slave.

What is puppy play?

Puppy play is NOT about bestiality. Human puppy play does not involve real pups/dogs in sexual activities and it does not mean someone desires to perform sexual activities with real biological pups/dogs.
Puppy play originally began as a way to humiliate or punish a boy by making them look and act like a dog but many found they identified more with being a pet than they did as a boy or slave. The punishment turned out to be more fun than humiliation. So began the puppy movement. Today it is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more people find their true nature as a pet.
It is different for everyone that takes on the role of a puppy or a dog. It sometimes involves a trainer/master/handler/owner where a pup is trained, disciplined or simply acts like a spoiled pet and sometimes it may only involve playing with other pups/dogs or playing alone. Some pups completely relinquish all human characteristics, becoming a true "pet" while others retain varying degrees of their human characteristics.
For some it's completely non-sexual, there is no erotic or sexual interaction at all, simply relying on someone to feed and reward or discipline them is only an exciting variation of Dominance and submission (D/s). For others, they are always a human, capable sexual behavior with other pups or humans. Puppy play has strong naturally occurring elements of D/s, ownership and control, as well as other traditional BDSM aspects
Puppy play depends on what the people involved are hoping to accomplish, it can be nothing more than role-play fun or an escape from reality using an alternate personality.

What activities are involved in puppy play?

Anything a real puppy/dog might do! It can range from simply sleeping on a pad on the floor at night, to housetraining, to chasing a ball or Frisbee to wrestling with a human or other pups to playing a day in the life of a "pet owner".
Taking care of a human pup/dog can be as demanding as taking care of a real pup/dog or as simple as living with a roommate. Depending on the pup, there may be a lot of training and care involved. Most people will not want to clean up the floor or the human pup after it pees or potties but some might want to have to train them not to. Others may prefer their pet to be more self-sufficient and clean up after itself as well as help do chores around the house.

What do human puppies/dogs wear?

At home, most owners/trainers/handlers demand their pets always be naked other than a collar and sometimes a hood, tail, mitts, knee pads and maybe socks or shoes for foot protection since real canines don't usually wear clothes. It's up to the owner/trainer/handler to determine what, if any clothing is to be worn.
At clubs, bars and friends homes pups/dogs usually wear as little as possible ranging from totally naked, to jock strap, to wet suit, to normal street clothes. Use common sense, you don't want to make people too uncomfortable or violate dress codes. Most local police require genitals and pubic hair to be covered as well as at least a 1 inch wide strap in back. If you can't wear it to a public beach you probably can't wear it to a public bar.
At restaurants and other public places, common sense applies. Normally you can wear a collar and sometimes some pup gear can be worn, sometimes not, depending on the situation.

What toys/accessories are involved in puppy play?

Collar and leash to take them for a walk.
Padded knee pads to protect their knees while crawling.
Padded bondage mitts or socks to restrict thumbs and pad the knuckles.
Squeaky toys and balls with rope through them so the pup/dog can grasp it with their teeth.
Large dog bowls or shallow dishes such as cake pans shallow and wide enough to get the pups/dogs face in.
Cage for punishment or play large enough for the pup/dog stretch their legs out straight while sitting up.
A large, well padded dog bed for taking naps or sleeping.
Restraint devices to train the pup/dog to stay on all fours or for punishment.
A muzzle, hood or mask (preferably with ears) to keep the pup/dog from talking.
Butt plug tail or belt with a tail attachment.
Housetraining pads for the floor if needed.
Treats for rewarding good pups/dogs.
A rolled up newspaper to correct minor behavior problems.
Chastity devices if your pup/dog tries to hump things or people. Be sure to get one that can be left on when urinating.
Anything else an owner or a pup wants that helps them get into head space.

What is involved in puppy training?

Hard-core puppy trainers may want to use behavior modification techniques using the following tools to train their pup/dog:
- Restraints may be used to restrict the pups ability to stand up or use their hands since pups/dogs are always on all fours and don't have thumbs. Note: This can be physically debilitating if taken to extremes or frequent breaks are not allowed.
- Muzzles or hoods may be used to prevent the pup/dog from speaking since pups/dogs bark and whine, they do not speak, they use body language or other antics to convey what they want. Remember to remove it frequently to allow them to drink. Note: If a human puppy is never allowed to speak or interact as a normal human being for long periods they may become psychotic and dangerous to you and themselves.
- Cages or shock collars (around their thighs never around their neck) may be used if a puppy engages in or responds to normal human conversations since pups/dogs can only understand and respond to simple commands, like "sit", "stay", "come", "heel", "fetch" etc.
- Dog bowls may be used to feed pup/dogs. Human faces are too short for most dog bowls so use a shallow bowl or one large enough for them to get their entire face in. Being a human pup/dog requires a lot of energy so keep a lot of water available to them. The human tongue was not designed to scoop up water so be sure to keep the bowl full or use a water bottle. To enhance the eating experience, canned human foods such as beef stew, corned beef hash or breakfast cereals can be used. They can be relabeled if desired. Human pups/dogs should never eat real dog food! It does not have the correct nutritional content and may give them diarrhea, make them very sick or poison them.
- Chastity devices may be needed to keep horny pups/dogs from humping the furniture or peoples legs. Be sure to use a style that can be left on while the pup/dog urinates.

Remember this...

Being a pup/dog 24/7 is a fantasy. The human body needs to exercise as a human and communicate regularly as human to remain physically and mentally healthy. Being on all fours 24/7 would result in joint, muscle and spinal damage and never having a normal human conversation could result in a psychotic pup/dog that may be a danger to you and themselves.

To be a healthy pup/dog, they have to be a healthy human.

Where can I learn more about Puppy Play?

Puppy Pride Flag / Dog Pride Flag

This is the design Pup Flip Gray used to make the Puppy Pride Flags and Puppy Pride Decals used by the Tampa Leather Club, the Tampa Bay Leather Sir & Leather boy Contest, the Saint Petersburg Pride Parade, the Florida Leather n Fetish Pride Event and it is the official Puppy Pride flag of International Puppy.

The Puppy Pride Flag is similar to the 7 stripe design created by Jeff Hull (Grungepup Jeff) but like the first Puppy Pride Flag with the centered Red Doberman Head, this design has all 9 Black, Blue and White stripes from the Leather Pride Flag created by Tony DeBlase that is a symbol for the leather community, which encompass those who are into leather, Levi's, SM, BD, uniform, cowboys, rubber, and other fetishes. Unlike previous flags, the White Stripe in this design is 1.5 times wider than the other stripes to represent the broadness of the puppy community and as in Grungepup's design, the stripes are set on a 30 degree diagonal reminiscent of the boy flag designed by Keith P. to indicate a new direction. Like Grungepup's design, the blood Red Bone in the center is reminiscent of the puppy pride flag designed by Kirk "Brue" Pierce which replaced the red heart of the Leather Pride Flag with a centered red bone since the original Puppy Pride Flag with the centered red Doberman head was too breed specific (see Brue's original note below). However, the centered red bone used in this design is larger to be more prominent and represents the unconditional, non-judgmental heart of the puppy.

Pup Flip Gray released this design to public domain so it can be used and reproduced royalty free for private or commercial use. Feel free to copy and use it.

~ Pup Flip Gray (LeatherPup) May 10, 2011

Colors Used:
Royal Blue (PANTONE: Reflex Blue 2X - CMYK 100,73,0,2 - RGB 23,23,150)
Red (PANTONE: 1788 2X - CMYK: 0, 84, 88, 0 - RGB: 235, 38, 41)
Black (PANTONE: Black 6 2X - CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 100 - RGB: 0, 0, 0)
White (CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 0 - RGB: 255, 255, 255)

Click HERE to download the CorelDRAW vector file (.CDR) file only.
Click HERE to download the .JPG file only.
Click HERE to download the .PDF file only.
Click HERE to download a ZIP file with all of the files.

Official Puppy Pride Flags of International Puppy Club at St. Pete Pride Parade

~ Original note from Kirk "Brue" Pierce

I am going to throw a little history lesson into this pup pride flag discussion:

Over 25+ years ago when I started exploring my pup journey my first experience in identifying myself was as a gay leather man in my early childhood. Growing up I always had a pup (Dog) soul. I never really identified as a bear (even though I am very hairy) or as a member of the Imperial Court system (even though I worked/volunteered with them) or as a pan-sexual (even though I belonged to many groups/friends) or any of the other organizations I belonged to that have come and gone since but as a gay leather man and finally over time as a gay leather Dog. So it was natural for me to embrace the leather pride flag that Tony DeBlase created as a symbol I could relate to in the beginning when it first came out and even more so over the decades.

But even though I identified with the leather pride flag it still was missing something, a complete representation of myself. Over a decade ago I had come across a design with a red dog head on the leather pride colors but something did not feel right about it. The main thing I did not like about it was the dog head looked like a Dobermans head and I did not identify myself as a Doberman. I tried to imagine another dog head but each one was too defining to a particular breed and there was no generic all encompassing dog head I could think of. And I didn't want to use a paw as the bear community already had been using that particular image as their symbol representation.

So I thought what simple symbol would be universally recognized around the world that is associated with dogs? Then it became obvious, a dog bone. So I took out the red heart and added a red dog bone to the center of the leather pride colors. Now I had a symbol I could identify with as a leather dog that did not discriminate based on a dog breed and that would be visually translatable around the world. I also always liked Tony DeBlase's description regarding the colors he choose “I will leave it to the viewer to interpret the colors and symbols."

Initially only a few friends knew about my leather dog pride design but little by little people saw the design and remarked that they liked it. My friends at Leather Creations where I worked at the time when I created the concept encouraged me to pursue getting it out to the public. In the beginning they copyrighted it for me to help protect it from being misused and helped me get it made into a 3'x5' fabric flag, leather armband, a few embroidered t-shirts and eventually I had pins made. I admit I have never really pushed the leather pup/Dog pride symbol I had created to be universally accepted but overtime it seems it is being embraced.

Now in more recent years it has been redesigned by having the stripes go sideways with new interpretations. But it still makes me smile to see the red bone symbol being used and widely identified, accepted as a pup symbol.

In the end what matters to me the most is find out who you are and how you convey yourself, your pup/dog soul or Handler/Trainer skills. This is what is truly important to help make our community a safe and healthy space.

Please remember there are many ways to convey your pup/dog interest that even if none of the current or available pup/Dog logo designs work for you, find something that does. Be true to yourself, your soul, as each of our pupdom journeys are different from everyone else's.

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	Offering friendship, unity, community support, education & organizational ideas for human puppies, handlers, trainers and owners around the world.