Observers and owners frequently report "love stories" where pairs of dogs live as life partners. When one partner passes away, the surviving dog may "pine" or mourn, showing a significant drop in health or spirit—a phenomenon many attribute to the depth of their lifelong connection.

Female dogs, particularly those who have whelped litters, exude a "matriarchal energy." They are attuned to subtle shifts in mood, stress hormones, and body language. In a romantic storyline, when a male lead has a close relationship with a female dog, it signals to the audience (and the female love interest) that this man is capable of listening to a partner who doesn’t speak. He can understand non-verbal cues. He respects intuition over aggression.

In 2020, a campaign called #NoFidoRomance successfully pressured Wattpad to remove over 200 stories tagged "human/dog romance." The campaign’s leader, activist Chloe Denham, stated: "A female dog cannot consent. Writing a 'romance' where she does is normalizing abuse. It doesn’t matter if the dog is imaginary—the desire is the problem."

Let’s be blunt. There is a niche genre of fiction (often self-published or found in dark corners of the web) that attempts to write actual romantic or sexual storylines between a human woman and an animal—specifically canines.