I am wanting to put a dog room under the stairs but am unsure if this is a load bearing wall. 
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From the photo it may be load bearing but it is impossible to tell with the structure covered. The sheetrock and the apparent step in the wall (or an optical illusion) make me believe it may be.– Ed BealCommented May 11, 2017 at 13:28
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2 Answers
It's hard to tell without some "exploratory surgery". However, 1) it appears the garage door opens opens parallel to the wall in question, and 2) if you look closely at the gyp board ceiling, you'll notice the 4' wide gyp boards are installed perpetual to the wall in question.
1) I'm guessing the roof supports are installed parallel to the wall, which means the wall is not load bearing. Also, there's no beam or header over the "open area" of the stairs.
2) The gypsum boards are installed over joists running parallel to the wall, which means the wall is not load bearing.
All this needs to be verified, of course. Also, you should confirm a) no second story, b) roof supports run the same way as the ceiling joists, c) stair landing does not rest on wall, d) stair stringer is supported other than where you're going to cut the opening. If you could get in the attic and take a pic, that would held decide.
In any case, you have to cut into the wall board to open up the space. Once you open a hole, you can inspect the inside and better determine if it is a load-bearing wall. I suspect it is not.
If it is, you can limit your opening(s) to the space between the studs, or frame in a header from the inside to remove a stud.
