Welcome to Dogs Anonymous, the Online Support Group for People With Difficult Dogs
Dogs Anonymous is a nonprofit support group launched in 2025 to help pet owners navigate the shame and emotional burden of living with difficult dogs. The organization provides a non-judgmental space for participants to discuss behavioral issues and personal struggles related to pet ownership.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing intersection of mental health and pet ownership, addressing the social stigma often associated with struggling to manage animal behavior.
Before discussion began, Louise Crane, the president and cofounder of Dogs Anonymous, the organization hosting the meeting, recited the seven acknowledgements participants must agree to, the first being, “I admit that life with my dog is not what I imagined.” Crane wore a black T-shirt exclaiming “Abolish ICE” in thick white lettering.
“I may need to be talked off a ledge,” one attendee said as conversation kicked off, mentioning that she wasn’t sure how to handle her dog’s mood swings. Her family had been through a series of new changes: Their other dog died and they were also fostering one, and now their boxer was “unsettled” and “grumpy” to the point he was doing more “demand barking, which has never been like him.”
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