FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Simon held the package in one arm, cradling it to hold it in place. The other arm moved the jagged edge of his house key over the tape holding the box closed, cutting into it with more effort needed than he liked. Pulling the cardboard flap open forcefully, stretching and snapping the last strips of tape, he reached into the foam packing material and pulled out a flimsy DVD cover. On the cover was a golden retriever, his eyes wide open and focused on a swinging pocket watch in the foreground. The eyes were edited in the photo to appear larger than normal, with faint spirals in the center. Across the center of the cover in big block letters was the title: “Taming by Trance: A Training Tool for Dogs.”

He looked down at the brown pit bull lab mix, or where he had been thirty seconds earlier. Hearing the tearing of fabric in the living room, he rushed in to see the dog chewing on the leg of the sofa yet again. Ever since his best friend and roommate Lou had brought him home two weeks ago, he’d brought the two of them nothing but stress, with chaotic days and mostly sleepless nights. When he wasn’t chewing on something, he was peeing on something, and when he wasn’t doing either, he was humping something or someone. The shelter people had named him Courage, both because he’d survived abandonment in the middle of winter as well as frostbite, and partly in hope that he would live up to the name and stop fearing everyone. Sadly, that hadn’t yet happened.

Lou was the only one working at the moment, because Simon called out his boss as a fascist narcissist when he finally couldn’t take any more. So, the task of training Courage fell to him. Last week, he went through the traditional methods, trying to use treats and sweet words in a soft voice to calm him down. But Courage couldn’t pay attention or sit still; every noise from outside put him on edge, and every time Simon raised his voice even a little, he would act out or else shut down completely. Desperate, Simon looked online for alternative methods, as well as some way of dealing with his fight or flight mode. The DVD he held now was the end result of that search and the therapist selling it claimed it would help with both problems and be relaxing for him as well. Less work for more results.

Simon shooed Courage away from the couch, picking up a rawhide bone from the cushion and tossing it over to his padded mat. The dog started at the noise, then skidded across the floor to his mat, sliding into the wall, and lay down to chew it. That kept him occupied for a moment while Simon set up the DVD player. He pushed the disk into the thin slot, then sat back on the couch as the menu filled the screen. It looked as cheap as the cover and was more or less the same image with the spiral and the swinging watch animated in Flash, with the standard options of Play, Chapters, and Extras sitting in the lower right-hand corner. He highlighted Play, hit the OK button on the remote, and watched as the screen faded to black, the disk whirring as the video began.

The image on the screen was a blue and black spiral rotating around the center of the screen, with a similar, translucent spiral behind it spinning in the other direction. Then, briefly, some seemingly random noises came out of the speakers; a human whistle, kissing sounds, snapping fingers, sizzling bacon. It wasn’t clear which noise got Courage’s attention, but soon he was looking at the spiral, standing directly in front of the screen. Then, a soft synthesizer started playing slow, pleasant chords, as a a gentle, comforting male voice began speaking.

“Hi there, doggie. I’m here to help you and your family relax. Just stay there and relax for me, OK? Get comfortable, doggie. I’m here to help.”

Courage’s posture slackened a little, his head lowering as he stared into the screen. Somehow, Simon thought, the video was working. He could relax and just let the video do its work. He laid on his side on the couch and stretched out his legs.

“Just a nice, calm doggie. Nothing to worry about. Safe at home with your family. Calm and relaxed.”

Courage apparently liked the voice and liked relaxing for the first time he could remember. His tail started in slow, lazy swings. Back and forth, right and left, over and over. Simon was amused by the wagging tail.

“Relax. Calm and relaxed. So calm.”

Courage was enthralled, his tail wagging more widely, but just as slowly. Simon watched the tail wagging right and left, feeling completely at ease.

“Just relax deep for me. Safe and calm and relaxed.”

The tail kept wagging. Simon noticed that his tail wagged more to the right than the left. A big swing right, and a short loop left, and a big swing right again. And another, and another…

“I’m going to count down from five to one, and with each count, you’ll be even calmer, even more relaxed.”

Right, right, right, in steady rhythm. So relaxing.

“Five, getting so calm, relaxing so completely. Four. Three, deeply relaxed. Two, next you’ll sink into complete relaxation, complete peace, complete calm. One. Every muscle loose and relaxed, calm and peaceful.”

Simon was completely relaxed and at peace, watching Courage’s tail wag right again and again. The tail moved his hips right with it, tail right and hips right, one after the other.

“Now, you’re relaxed enough to know the truth. Every dog is a good dog deep inside. They just need a reminder. You’re a good dog, too.”

Right. The tail wagged right. The hips swayed right. The voice spoke right. It was all right. It was alright.

“A good dog is calm and relaxed. So, you are calm and relaxed. A good dog makes his family happy. So, you make your family happy.”

Right. Relaxed. Right. Happy family. Right. The tail and the hips and the words were right. Below Courage’s hips, his balls swayed right in their fuzzy sack. The balls were right too.

“A good dog does what his family wants. So, you do what your family wants. Making your family happy makes you happy. A good dog is a happy dog.”

Simon was no longer thinking in words; the voice gave him his words. The tail swung the balls right, in time, bouncing with each swing.

“Now, I’m going to count upwards from one to five. When I count to five and snap my fingers, you will be the good, happy doggie you knew you had in you all along.”

Good, happy doggie. Right. Like the tail. Like the balls.

“One… Waking up… Two… Feeling relaxed and wonderfully good… Three… Feeling like a perfect doggie… Mind and body… Calm and relaxed… Four… Eyes feeling clear… Next, you’ll be fully aware, calm, and full of energy… Five… Wide awake… Be good…”

The last sound from the speakers was a snapping finger, as the screen went to black. Courage was a little surprised but found himself relaxed and happy. He looked behind him at Simon, who was on his hands and knees on the couch, his chest down on the cushion as he stretched his forearms in front of him. Simon felt like he was waking up from a very good nap; opening his eyes after a deep yawn, he looked over to Courage, who he vaguely remembered as the new dog in the house. He awkwardly hopped off the couch and walked over to Courage, slightly wagging his rear in greeting. Confused at Simon’s behavior, Courage gave a small wag in return. Simon approached what he hoped would be his new friend, wanting to get to know him better, and sniffed around his hindquarters. It smelled clean and familiar, a good sign that they might get along. Courage found his behavior strange, but not threatening really, and stayed still for a moment letting Simon get his scent. Simon sniffed a while longer but didn’t get much more from it; he had nothing to which he could compare it.

Courage then wondered if it was time for his lunch, since Simon usually fed him about this time. He walked into the kitchen to look as the plastic bin of food, followed soon after by Simon crawling on his hands and knees. He looked at Simon expectantly and whined, pawing at the bin. Simon wanted to help him, and tried to paw at the lid himself, but couldn’t get into it. Then, he recalled how the bin worked, that it opened up at the top, and the food was poured into the bowl from above. Scrutinizing the bin momentarily, he came up with the idea of biting at the top of it, finding a tooth hold at the lip. He pulled it up with a snap of his head, and the lid flipped up and over the back, causing the scent of the food to drift into the air and into their nostrils. Eager to get at the food, Courage stuck a paw into the top of the bin and pulled it down, spilling much of it onto the floor. Courage dug into the feast, while Simon sniffed at it, getting hungry himself. Seeing how much Courage enjoyed it, he took a kernel into his mouth and chewed it. It was a little tough and grainy, but moving beyond that, had some nice meaty and full flavors. Together, he and Courage cleaned off the floor, including the crumbs which had scattered around, and then drank water in turns from the tank-fed bowl nearby.

Their clever solution gave them another problem; Simon abruptly had the urge to pee and determined that the loose boxer shorts around his hips would get in the way. He tried to turn his head over to bite them off, then kick them off his legs, but the elastic on the waist was holding them in place. He rubbed them against the leg of the kitchen table, and although he could get down his waist a little that way, they weren’t coming off completely. He whined to Courage, gyrating his ass and rubbing the shorts against the table to show him the problem. Courage was keen to help and pulled the shorts down his waist with his jaw. From there, it was a cinch for Simon to shake them further down his legs and kick them off of his feet. His penis dangled down, free at last.

But Simon had another problem; he remembered getting upset at leaving a mess on the floor, and also thought there was another member of the family who wouldn’t like it if they peed in a corner without cleaning it up. Looking by the door, he found a small basket of papers that looked like the ones used to clean up Courage’s pee before. He grabbed a few papers in his mouth, placed them flat on the center of the floor, and squatted over them to relieve himself. The stream of urine lasted a few seconds, as the pressure inside of him was alleviated. After a last dribble or two, he shook his equipment to get the last drop of it out, then wandered into the living room to find Courage, who was chewing on the couch cushion.

Somehow, Simon knew that this wasn’t allowed either, and tried to come up with a distraction for him. He thought a game might work and realized that what had been around his waist earlier would be good for chewing. He retrieved his boxers from the kitchen, then ran into the living room, badgering Courage by smacking him with the shorts. Courage was annoyed by this demand for attention and decided to take Simon’s toy away from him. Grabbing the end in his teeth, he pulled at the boxers, only for Simon to pull back, growling playfully at him. Courage had an advantage in raw strength, but Simon was able to use everything he could to keep the shorts away from him; his mouth, his arms, furniture around the room, anything which could give him even a slight advantage. The contest took them through four rooms, on couches, on beds, with the shorts changing possession more than either could track. By the end, neither of them even knew why they wanted it in the first place. But competing for it had been a lot of fun.

That ordeal had left Simon tired and sweaty, and his scent was stronger for it. While he panted and recovered his strength, Courage sniffed around him, intrigued. He had never smelled Simon this intensely before and had been pushed away every other time he had tried. Courage wasn’t sure why, but he liked this smell, and Simon liked the feeling of his cold nose on his warm body. Courage lingered near his rear end, sniffing at his ass, his cock, his balls, and everything surrounding them. The attention made Simon excited, as his penis got hard beneath him. He trusted Courage as family and wanted to make him happy so badly that he was excited to think about it. He wagged his hips to show that he was happy with Courage.

Courage licked at Simon’s presented hole, curious about the taste as well as Simon’s response to it. Simon whimpered softly at the first lick, but didn’t move, so Courage kept going; Simon had never felt this before, and the warm rough tongue lapping at him was making him more fired up with each lick. It didn’t take many for Courage to get to the center, which was even more sensitive than the outer wall, electric tingles running from it into his cock and balls. Simon pushed back into Courage’s mouth, bowing down to give his friend easier access. The tongue stopped, but before Simon could feel any disappointment, Courage leapt on top of him and started humping at his cheeks, not quite aligned with his mate, yet. Simon, eager to please, gave him the help he needed by angling his body and pushing back into him, allowing him to penetrate his virgin hole.

Courage loved the feeling of being caressed on all sides by warm flesh and pumped into Simon relentlessly. Simon loved the feeling of being pressed inside by warm flesh and pushed back into Courage fervidly. He could hear Courage’s heavy panting above him, could hear his own whines and moans of pleasure, and felt proud that he was making the good dog inside of him so happy. Then, he felt a hot spurt inside of him as Courage emptied his balls into Simon for the first time. The warm spurt came with a new feeling, something getting bigger inside of him, filling him and pressuring him in a very good way. Courage turned around above him, facing away, but that full feeling remained, throbbing inside of Simon. After a few minutes in silence, Courage began trying to pull away, which gave Simon the last push he needed to cum, white strings blasting out from his cock onto the floor below him. Courage pulled out of Simon with a sloppy, sharp noise, and began licking himself to clean himself up, a task Simon did his best to assist him with. The taste was strange and salty, but he was happy to help. Then Courage went over to his padded bed to take a nap, and Simon cuddled beside him, the two guarding each other while they slept.

The key turning in the door perked Courage’s ears; Lou was home from work. Courage got to his feet and walked smoothly to the door, wagging his tail slowly in a friendly greeting. Lou was amazed that Courage hadn’t tackled him in his usual ferocious way and scratched him behind the ears.

“Hey, buddy. Where’s Simon, huh? Taking a nap? You’re being such a good boy, today, yes you are.”

Simon heard the familiar voice and shuffled sleepily toward the door. Wagging his rear and pushing his head in to get his own scratches, he was troubled when Lou pulled his hand away and jumped back at the sight of him. To Lou, the sight of the pantsless man scraping his head against his outstretched hand was a complete shock, and a most unwelcome one.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing? Why are you acting all weird?”

Simon whined, sorry that he had scared Lou that way, but he wasn’t sure how to fix it.

“Come on, dude, talk to me, you’re freaking me out.”

Lou’s request unlocked a part of him that would, Simon hoped, assuage his fears.

“We were waiting for you to get home, Lou. We’re good dogs now, aren’t we?”

Lou was even more baffled now. What did Simon mean by “we”?

“You’re not… alright, just tell me what happened.”

Simon wasn’t sure he could explain, but he was going to try his best.

“I… I put on a video for Courage, to help train him. To help him relax. He watched it, and I watched him, and it made sense, and told us how to be good, happy doggies.”

None of this made any sense to Lou, but he might find something in the living room to explain.

“OK… just… just stay here, alright. Both of you. Stay. Sit.”

Courage and Simon sat together, as soon as they heard the command. That in itself was off-putting. Simon moved into the living and looked on the coffee table. Sitting there was a flimsy DVD case. He looked over the label, then looked at the back. In a big white box with a red border, there was a warning in capital letters. It read:

CAUTION: USE OF THIS PRODUCT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WITH A HISTORY OF DRUG USE OR INSOMNIA. IN CASE OF SIDE EFFECTS, USE THE DEPROGRAM FUNCTION FOUND IN THE EXTRAS MENU OF THIS DISC.

Shit… Lou didn’t think this sort of think would work at all, especially on people. Then again, given the quality of the case, they probably never tested it on people. Lou grabbed the case and carried it into the kitchen. He held it at Simon’s new eye level.

“This is what you watched?”

“He watched it. I watched him watch it. I liked watching him watch it. It made me calm and relaxed. A good dog.”

“OK… then, what happened to your pants?”

“Had to pee. They were in the way. Didn’t want to make a mess. Good dogs make their family happy.”

Lou then noticed the laid down newspapers with the yellow stain at his feet.

“And you used the paper?”

“Messes make you unhappy. I don’t make messes. I’m a good dog.”

Lou’s first thought was that Simon had gone nuts and needed to either watch the other video or, if that failed, to leave in a straitjacket. But then he thought again… Simon had been miserable since he lost his job, and he seemed to have found purpose in this simple mindset. Maybe he could tweak it to work with him and make all of their lives better.

“So… you like being like this?”

“Yeah. It was a good day. We had lunch. I peed. We played. Then Courage humped me. It was the best day ever. Courage likes me a lot.”

“Dude… TMI. But if you’re gonna stay like this, we’re gonna have to change some things. Come to the living room. I want you to watch the video again.”

Simon nearly leapt off the floor in excitement and ran into the living room on all fours, jumping up onto the couch. Lou chuckled and followed him, and Courage hesitantly joined them. Lou turned on the television and DVD player, then went into the extras menu. Below the “Deprogram” option, there was something called “Custom Training”. He selected that option, then waited for the video to play. It started with a spiral graphic and soothing background music, then some noises to get a dog’s attention, which compelled Courage to stand in front of the screen, his tail wagging. Simon began staring at his tail, ready to feel as relaxed and wonderful as he did before. A voice began saying to be calm and relaxed, and Lou could see Courage’s wagging get into a slow steady rhythm, as Simon’s eyes focused on it and his body relaxed. After the voice counted down from five to one, some text faded on to the screen and stayed there:

To the trainer: you can give your dog specific commands while they are in trance. When you are done, snap your fingers to return them to normal.

Lou looked down at the two, mesmerized and lost in their own worlds. Courage’s metronome-like tail was swaying his body, and Simon’s eyes were following every undulation as a line of drool dropped from his mouth. Lou walked over to Courage and scratched him behind the ears.

“You don’t have to listen to me right now, Courage. Just keep being a good boy and wagging that tail for Simon.”

Courage didn’t even seem to have heard him, but that was for the best. Lou moved over to Simon’s side.

“You can talk without waking up, right?”

“I can…”

“Good. Courage is a beautiful dog, isn’t he?”

“Beautiful… Tail…”

“He has a powerful body, doesn’t he?”

“Powerful… Balls…”

“Right… You just want to make him and me happy, don’t you?”

“Yes…”

“You’re a good doggie, now, aren’t you?”

“Good… doggie…”

“But you’ve lived like a human your whole life. You’re a clever doggie, to be so good at that trick.”

“Yeah… clever…”

“Now, you can make me and Courage really happy by getting a job in the human world. You’re so good with people, so friendly and happy now. But you’ll need to pretend to be a human to do that. They don’t give jobs to most dogs.”

“Pretend… to be human?”

“Yes. Whenever you’re outside of our house. It’s absolutely necessary.”

“Necessary…”

“Tomorrow morning, first thing, we’ll look in the paper for a job for you. I’ll help you with all the human stuff, like money and bills. You’ll treat people like family, friendly and relaxed and helpful. At home, you can just be a dog and play with Courage and me. You can take care of us and make us happy. Sound good?”

“Good…”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Oh, a couple more things. You can use the toilet if you need to pee or poop. Maybe you can teach Courage to do it too. And if you and Courage want to… err… hump and stuff, can you not do it in the same room as me? I don’t know if I want to see that.”

“OK…”

“Great. You’re a good dog.”

Lou snapped his fingers and scratched Simon’s head, as Simon panted in ecstasy. Courage came over for some attention himself, and Lou smiled at the two of them. Their family wouldn’t ever be normal, but they’d be happy.

Simon eventually got a job in a pet store, working as a cashier. The customers, human and canine, loved his amicable, supportive demeanor, and so did his coworkers. Within a year, he was a shift leader, and within five, he was managing his own store. He and Courage remained friends for a decade afterwards and fulfilled each other’s needs with gusto. Lou dealt with his finances and bought a modest home with a small yard for the three of them. There were some challenges, like how to feed both of the dogs with the same food, but they were very happy together. After a full life, Courage died peacefully in his sleep, and while Simon missed him, he soon had other fellow dogs to teach and to play with. No one who worked with him or knew him outside of his home would believe the life he lived, even if he told them. But in essence, he was the same in both places, eager to please and full of love. He was a good dog.