Pup Days Ch. 04

Chapter 4 -- Pablo/Pup Mellow

*****

'Come on, Mellow, up! We've been calling you for the last hour for your breakfast. You have your training lesson today,' Harry yelled, clanging on the cage.

Pablo stirred awake in his cage at hearing his pup name, squinting his eyes at the sunshine beaming in through the windows. He turned over in his warm, comfy dog bed and covered his face with his mitts, trying his best to block the sun with his paws. He groaned at the assistant handler making a racket and hoped he could get another 10 minutes in bed. He had gotten in late last night after his shift at a café. The pay was helping him put together some savings, but the hours were long and wiped him out.

'Ah, no you don't. Lazy dog,' Harry stood by the entrance of the open cage, glaring in at the pup, his leather boots tapping incessantly on the floor.

Mellow tried to ignore the young handler, but the repetitive noise drove him crazy, like a blinding headache echoing in his head. He moaned and dragged himself to his feet on all fours, growling deeply and shooting Harry an evil look.

'Don't be bold, boy. Or do you need a punishment?' Harry inclined his head, daring the young pup to try him.

Mellow cut off his growling and stared at the young handler, eyeing him up and weighing up his options. With a sigh, he relented. He had to admit, although Harry was only a few years older than him and had an ungainly youthfulness, the young handler had a dominant presence and a way of gaining control of a situation. It made the young pup fall in line to his orders.

The pup strolled out of the cage on all fours wearing his blue hood, leather collar, mitts and pup tail. He shook his head and body, shaking off the sleep and stretching his muscles. He waited patiently as Harry locked the cage and grabbed a leash, securing it to the pup's collar.

'There's a good boy,' Harry petted his head. 'Let's go,' he gave the pup a light pat on the butt as he led him out of the kennels to where the other pups were eating breakfast. Of course, he was the last to get out of bed so the other cages were empty.

Mellow walked on all fours beside the handler, keeping pace as he was led to the kitchen area. It was noisy with pups barking, chomping down their food and drinking from bowls on the floor. Most had almost finished, some already done and allowed to play in the main hall.

'Finally, look who decided to join us sleeping beauty,' Serg said from the sink where he was cleaning some dog bowls from the pups who had already eaten.

Mellow barked, happy to see the deputy handler. He was much more fond of him than Harry.

'You can eat by Bruno here,' Harry detached the leash from Mellow's collar and pointed to a spot by Bruno before going to grab some breakfast for him.

Bruno had his hood off and was licking up some coffee from a dog bowl on the floor.

Mellow sat beside the larger, older pup, who growled low enough so the handlers couldn't hear while they worked at their stations, but the young pup heard it and stepped back a few paces, giving Bruno some space. He wasn't sure what the deal was with the older pup. He always seemed so moody, and the few weeks Mellow had been staying at the kennels hadn't alleviated any of the mystery that surrounded him. All he knew was to steer clear of him.

'Right, here you go, pup,' Harry placed a dog bowl filled with cereal in milk in front of Mellow and then carefully pulled off his hood. He felt the whoosh of cool, fresh air hit his face; he had been wearing the hood all night so it had gotten a bit stuffy.

'Wruff,' Mellow barked and lowered his head to the bowl, slurping up the milky cereal into his mouth. He loved eating from a dog bowl, it really put him into the mindset of being a pup: on all fours, collared, no hands to use, just lowering his head down like a dog and gobbling up his food. Happily, he drained the bowl of its contents, his butt sticking in the air as he wagged his tail, head lowered and paws keeping the bowl from getting away from him. In his enthusiasm, he was quite messy and noisy.

A guffaw came from the direction of Bruno, who rolled his eyes and strolled away on all fours, leaving the kitchen area, clearly annoyed at the young pup's chipper sensibilities.

Mellow watched him go, but just shrugged his shoulders and returned to his cereal as the handlers tidied the room.

*****

'Welcome everyone to our second week of pup play/handler lessons. Lovely to see you all back here again,' head handler Bryce said, holding his arms up in welcome to the pups and handlers crowded into the main hall.

Mellow looked across the room at the others. They were all kitted out in their respective pup or handler gear, ready for a new week of learning.

'This week we are going to be getting you used to the dynamics of owners and pets,' he continued. 'One of the main factors to get into the pup or handler head space is to think of yourself as either the owner or pet. That's what makes the fantasy become a reality, allowing yourself to believe in these roles and trust yourself and the other person enough to inhabit the role of pup or handler,' Bryce spoke with confidence.

Mellow was captivated by his words. He had known about pup play for some time and seen people online doing it, but to hear it spoken with such formality grounded it in reality. He had never really thought about the psychology behind it, rather just had enjoyed the aesthetics of it all.

'We can do this with things like a pup being on the floor walking on all fours or not being allowed on furniture, while the handler walks on both legs and sits on furniture. It creates that dual perspective where each person is inhabiting a particular role and it almost creates a hierarchy where we have the handler in one position and the pup in another. As you can see, we have props here, some furniture so we can simulate common situations that occur in everyday life,' he gestured around the room where chairs, sofas and mats had been set up, almost like a showroom at a furniture store.

'It's important for a pup to get used to being on the floor, whether it's walking around on all fours or sitting or lying down. It helps the pup enter that headspace. Also not being allowed on furniture can do this. It also establishes the handler as the dominant, the one who is still allowed all these liberties, but can help them see the other person as a pup when they are below them on the floor. Let me demonstrate, Rex,' Bryce clicked his fingers and pointed to a mat in the centre of the fake living room setup.

Immediately, pup Rex dropped to all fours and scurried to the mat, happily wagging his tail.

'Good boy,' Bryce strolled over to where the pup was and scratched his head. 'Already you can see because I'm standing on my two legs and the pup is on all fours, the height difference establishes our roles and the hierarchy between handler and pup.'

Mellow had to admit, he was getting slightly turned on by Bryce's explanation of roles and hierarchy.

'Establishing the roles and inhabiting them is the most effective method of experiencing a satisfying pup play session. You have to believe in what you're doing or else there can be mistrust with either the pup or handler or both. So do your best to trust the process.'

It gave a lot for Mellow to think about. Usually, he just threw his hood on and let his pup self come out, but there was also the handler to consider. How did they enjoy pup play? What was a positive session for them? Was there anything they liked to experience?

'We can also use furniture as a way to create a realistic pet/owner situation,' Bryce bent down and whispered something in Rex's ear, who nodded and sat on the ground, before he himself strolled over and sat down on the sofa.

'As we all know,' Bryce gestured to the sofa. 'Dogs sometimes are the most obedient. We love them, we want to cuddle them on the sofa when we haven't seen them while we've been at work, but there are times when we don't want them to hop up on furniture. Maybe they're being disobedient or maybe we just want them to sit on the floor. That's why we need to establish no-go zones. The same is true for pups,' Bryce nodded to Rex.

The jock-like pup scrambled up onto the sofa, jumping on Bryce and licking his neck. There were chuckles from the crowd at the pup's eccentricity.

'Like dogs,' Bryce said, struggling with the beefy pup. 'We need to be strict with pups about what is or isn't allowed. So we tell them firmly: No, boy, down,' Bryce held up a finger and stared at the pup.

Rex took a second to take in the handler's command and hopped off the couch, sitting on his haunches on the floor.

'We use reinforcing language and explain to the pup the rules,' Bryce said to the crowd before turning to the pup. 'Bad, boy. Pups aren't allowed on furniture unless I say so.'

Rex lowered his head in submission, understanding the handler's words.

'The pup understands and we have established the rules,' Bryce explained the situation. 'Now of course, this is just a demonstration, and Rex is a very good pup who knows all the rules,' Bryce smiled before petting the pup for a job well done at playing the part of a naive pup.

Rex barked and wagged his tail under the heavy petting from the handler.

'In these situations,' Bryce continued. 'Pups being on the floor and handlers being on furniture can create that realistic owner/pet dynamic. So where do pups sit you might be wondering. Well, think about how dogs behave when in the home. The pup can lie at the handler's feet,' Bryce waved a hand at the ground and Rex complied with the gesture, lying down on the mat beside Bryce's leather boots.

'Or the pup can sit if they wish. For example, where does Rex usually like to sit when he's at home with his owner?' Bryce smiled, encouraging the pup to show off.

Rex stirred from his lying position and crawled over to beside the armrest of the sofa and sat on his haunches, his chin up proud, muzzle straight ahead, back straight and fore paws in front of him on the floor.

Mellow couldn't help but gaze at the pup's magnificent form. He really inhabited the figure of a pup, his muscles taut almost like he was a dog underneath his human flesh.

'I think I know why he likes sitting here,' Bryce cooed. 'It's so his owner can reach over and give him head rubs,' he reached his arms over the side of the sofa and petted the pup's head.

Rex closed his eyes and lolled his tongue in pleasure.

'But, enough from me, let's get you all practising!' Bryce clapped his hands together.

*****

The room was loud with pups and handlers giving it a go at getting used to their roles, the pups on the floor and the handlers either standing up or sitting on furniture.

Mellow looked around at the others to see how they were doing. Icarus seemed to be struggling with getting into the role of pup. His boyfriend Aaron was encouraging him to just try it out, but the stubborn pup was pushing back, embarrassed to have to be restricted to the floor. He sat on a sofa arms crossed looking down while his boyfriend was urging him to at least try to get down on all fours on the ground. Their heated argument caught the attention of the others in the room on a few instances when their chats rose to the level of yelling.

On the other hand, Zeus and his boyfriend Mark seemed to be getting on astoundingly. The pup sat happily at his owner's feet while Mark petted him from his seated position on a kitchen chair. He seemed a lot more perky than this time last week.

Mellow smiled underneath his hood at the sight of the pup and handler interacting. The couple made a cute pairing. He wondered did they get up to similar sessions at their home.

'I think we know you're pretty good at keeping off of furniture,' Serg stood over Mellow, who was curled up on a mat.

The tall handler looked down at him, his boots just inches from the pup's face.

Mellow yawned and gave a sleepy, but content 'wruff'.

'I don't know how you're always so doozy. We should rename you doozy for all the lying around and sleeping you do,' Serg crouched down and gave the pup a rub along his torso.

Mellow closed his eyes and gave a content purr. Truth be told, he didn't need much if any teaching for this particular lesson. He loved being on the floor, curling up on mats, walking around on all floors, it was all good to him. The only thing he had to watch out for was he sometimes napped in comfy spots and ended up sleeping for hours, which could be a problem if those spots were no-go zones like beds or sofas.

'Good, boy,' Serg cooed. 'I know you're an expert in this area of pup play,' he chuckled.

*****

The lesson soon came to an end and another week of the classes was over.

Mellow waved goodbye to some of the other pups and handlers. He watched as couples left with one another. They seemed happy with another week of lessons, content that they could go home, talk about what they had learned and explore and practise pup play more with one another at home.

Mellow sighed. He was happy for them, but felt a slight glut of envy and loneliness at not having that himself with a significant partner; a boyfriend to share his life with and have as an owner. He had been at the kennels a few months now. He appreciated them taking him in and giving him food and shelter, but it wasn't the end goal. Staying here forever wasn't possible. He knew he had to live his own life and do something, but he didn't know what that looked like. Owners looking to adopt pups had visited the kennels, but each time he perked up, hoping they would pick him, they had decided on another pup. So it was getting to feel like he was in a rut.

'Alright, Mellow?' Harry asked as he cleaned up the room, noticing the pup had lingered in the hall, the last one there.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' he sighed, pulling off his pup hood. 'Just thinking.'

'Oh, what about?'

'Ah, nothing really, just about the future, I guess.'

Harry took a beat to take in the pup's words. 'You're young, don't worry about that kind of stuff too much. And you know you always have a bed here, you know that? There's no pressure to move on.'

'I know, thanks Harry. I'll be ok,' he smiled.

'Good, pup. Want me to get your cage ready for you tonight?'

'Nah, I think I'll take a break from pup mode tonight. I'm just going to rest for a bit in my dorm room if that's ok?'

'No problem. I'll call you when dinner's ready later.'

'Cheers, Harry,' Mellow called, exiting the hall and strolling to his room.

*****

Pablo was sitting on his bed in his dorm room, a sitcom on the TV in the background. He flicked through a college website on his phone, trying to figure out his future. Getting a degree would really help with getting a stable job for some financial security. At 19, his plans for college had fallen apart when his parents had kicked him out because of his fetish, so it was up to him to find his own path. The café job wasn't going to do him forever so he had to put some plans in place. But there was so much admin and paperwork, it was a lot to deal with.

He puffed up his cheeks and exhaled slowly, falling back on his bed and staring at the ceiling. Clear blue sky sat picturesque through the square of the skylight. Slowly, a plane drew a white chemtrail across the brilliant blue as it made its journey towards somewhere unknown. High up there in the stratosphere where it was a different world. It's probably off to some place exotic, I'll bet, Pablo thought, imagining escaping to a far away location with palm trees and sandy beaches.

Sighing, he put the fantasy out of his mind. It was a pipe dream. How could he ever manage a luxury like that? Heck, all he wanted was a bed of his own, somewhere to rest his head and a family who he could call his own and support him. The image of his parents came into his mind - how angry and disgusted they had been when they had found his gear, as if he had committed the worst kinds of sin. How they had told him he couldn't live under their roof anymore, that he was an abomination. He had left the following day, with as much clothes as he could fit in a rucksack and that was it.

He turned over in bed and curled into a ball, shaking the thoughts from his mind as the tears welled up in his eyes.

'Knock, knock,' a voice came from the door behind him.

Pablo wiped the tears quickly and sat up, turning around to see Serg standing at the door, wearing jeans and a casual t-shirt.

'Napping again?' Serg smirked.

'Yeah, I must've dozed off,' Pablo lied, pretending to wipe some sleep from his eyes.

'No worries. There's some lunch in the fridge if you fancy a bite. Just a few sandwiches. I'm just heading out for a walk.'

'Ok, cool,' Pablo smiled, holding himself a bit awkwardly. 'Serg, do you ever think ... you know what, nevermind,' he shook his head.'

'No, what were you going to say?' The handler strolled into Pablo's room and leant against the wall, his body language relaxed and open to give Pablo the space to say what was on his mind.

'Like ... When you were younger, did you ever wonder how it would all work out? I mean you seem to have your shit together. How did you manage?'

'Well first of all thank you for that,' Serg chuckled. 'But seriously. You do it one day at a time. I went through some stuff when I was younger, had a tough time of it, but I got better, pulled myself together, luckily I had some good people on my side. I still have my bad days, and sometimes I don't know where I'm going, but we all have those thoughts. You thinking about where you're going again?'

'Yeah it's been on my mind, and I don't think any owners are going to be picking me any time soon.'

'Don't say that. Listen, you don't know what's around the corner,' Serg walked over to Pablo. 'You're a bright, intelligent, kind guy, and a damn good puppy,' he ruffled the younger man's hair, making him close his eyes and hum quietly. 'Just don't get down on yourself. You've got some years left in you yet, old dog,' Serg tussled him playfully.

'Alright,' Pablo laughed as he wrestled the handler and rolled his eyes at being called an 'old dog'. It was a running joke at the kennels: he had the spirit of an old dog in a young pup's body. It was mostly because of his dozing nature.

'That reminds me, if you're up for it, there's a couple coming in this afternoon. They're looking to adopt a pup. I know you're probably sick of seeing owners come and go, but you know never. Give them a chance.'

Pablo sighed. 'I guess it'll be putting my best paw forward as usual, right?'

'That's the spirit!' Serg matched Pablo's sarcasm, getting up to leave the room. 'Well if you don't feel up to it, I won't pressure you, but I do hope you'll consider seeing them in the kennels. It would be great to see pup Mellow there,' he nodded to Pablo's blue pup hood laying on the desk.

'I'll see,' Pablo smiled as the handler left and looked over at his pup gear.

*****

Mellow lay on his dog bed in his cage, snuggling into the warmth of the blankets. He had taken in what Serg had said and decided to be present in the kennels when the potential owners would be passing through to look at the pups. But he wasn't much up for entertaining. Sometimes he ran up to the cage bars and barked happily, other times he acted goofy to show his playful side, but he really didn't have it in him today, so he was going to be plain ol' dozy Mellow.

'Wow, you've got quite the facility here, all proper equipment and everything,' Mellow heard a voice say. It must be the new owner.

'Yeah, it's a pretty good set up we have here. We want to make it as comfortable and realistic as possible while giving a safe and supportive environment for both pups and handlers,' Serg said.

'We're quite impressed. We've never seen anything like this before.' It was another strange voice. Were there two men looking for pups?

Mellow raised his head to hear better, but remained lying down as Serg introduced the men to the various pups in the kennels, some responding better to the potential owners.

Then the men came to Mellow's cage. Of course. Serg had mentioned it was a couple earlier - it had slipped his mind.

'Oh, is he asleep?' One of the men asked.

'Probably not, this is Mellow, he likes to nap a lot. An old dog soul in a young pup's body, we like to say around here,' Serg explained, giving the men a little chuckle.

'He's very cute, all curled up there,' one of the men said, making Mellow blush underneath the hood.

'I must say, I do love those types of lazy dogs,' the other man added.

'Mellow, want to come say hi?' Serg asked.

Mellow had to admit, from what he had heard them say about him, he was slightly won over. But he didn't want to get his hopes up, like many times before, so he played it cool, getting up slowly, yawning and slowly padding over on all fours to the cage bars.

The pup looked up through the gaps in the cage and gazed at two handsome gentlemen. He felt his eyes go wide in wonder, barely managing to keep his mouth from dropping open, agape.

'Mellow, this is Lance and Jorge,' Serg gestured to the two men.

The two men stood close to each other, holding hands, rings on their left hands. Mellow deduced they were married. They looked like they were in their 50's, slightly grey hair, fit figures, well-groomed, handsome.

What had taken Mellow aback was that not only were they attractive, but they exuded a warm, friendly energy that he picked up on immediately. They had kind faces and seemed genuine.

'Wruff, wruff,' Mellow barked, wagging his tail. He had liked some owners before, but this was different. It felt like an immediate connection.

'Think he likes us,' Lance smiled, moving a hand cautiously to the pup, who allowed him to pet his head. Jorge did the same.

Mellow closed his eyes and let himself leave the room, existing in the bliss of just being in the presence of warm, caring individuals. He purred quietly.

Both men's eyes sparkled as they gazed down at the pup, falling in love with him. They glanced at one another and smiled, a secret message passing between them with just a look.

*****

Pablo sat at a desk opposite Lance and Jorge, out of his pup gear and in casual clothes so he could chat with the two men. They had been chatting for ages, but what had felt like only a few minutes, Serg giving them the space to chat. The connection had been immediate, all of them getting along with one another. As he sat speaking to them, he felt more at home with them, almost like they were family already. Pablo had spoken about his past, his family, how he had been thrown out, his journey to the kennels and his hopes for the future. The men had also given him their story and their past.

'I would want to be with people that are supportive and I guess like a family, because I don't have that anymore,' Pablo said.

'Well we're glad to hear that because it's what we would want, someone to be our pup, but also that we can take care of,' Lance said.

'And we're happy to support you in your plans, it sounds like you've got ambitions with your eyes on college.'

'I hope so, I guess I just want to feel secure.'

'You will always feel secure with us, pup, I promise,' Jorge said.

Mellow felt a wave of emotion, the warmth coming from the men was almost overwhelming.

'You guys are amazing, I've never felt this way before. I mean, like I'm quite attracted to you both, but I also feel a lot of love from you,' Pablo laughed.

'Well we feel that for you and from you too, even just being with you a few hours,' Lance said.

'So have you guys ever owned a pup before?'

'No, we've only ever had fun with pups, like once-off sessions. It was always something that we wanted, but it never felt right with any of the pups we met, I guess it's because we are both protective of our relationship and we don't want to introduce another person unless it feels right for both of us. And from interacting with you as a pup and talking to you, I can definitely say we click with you,' Jorge said.

'I feel the same as you, I just felt your energy as soon as I saw you and I knew,' Pablo was almost in tears. 'So what would the setup be, like a throuple?'

'Yes, I would say we would be a throuple, and then also you would be our pup and we would be your owners, if you're happy with that?' Lance asked.

'I would love that,' Pablo smiled, hardly believing what was happening. He had waited so long for an owner and now he had two.

'So ... I guess we should formally ask you, Mellow, will you be our pup?' Jorge asked, cheeks wide in smile.

'Yes, wruff! I'd love to be your pup, will you be my owners?' Pablo asked coyly.

'Of course!' The two men said exuberantly.

The three men got to their feet, hugging and kissing in joy having sealed their new arrangement.

Soon after, Serg returned, congratulating the trio and preparing the paperwork for the ownership.