First dog Dash, outside of his doghouse during U.S.
President Harrison's tenure.
A doghouse (or a
kennel) is a
small shed, often
built in the shape of a little
house, in which a
dog is kept or can
run into for
shelter from the
elements.
The expression "in the doghouse" means to be in trouble; often used of
a husband
who is figuratively sent to the doghouse in the same way that a dog is removed
from the human habitation. The
disdained person may also be "sent
to Coventry".
Snoopy's doghouse played a large role in the comic
Peanuts.
In
architecture, doghouse is more commonly a
builder/contractor
term for a dormer.
The name is derived from the appearance of improperly proportioned dormers,
which do resemble dog houses. Properly proportioned dormers should neatly fit to
the window it
is meant to frame - a common mistake is to undersize the windows or oversize the
dormer, which necessitates the use of
siding or other
infill
material, in which case the structure should be treated as a
gable end. Some
architects use the word "doghouse" in a derrogatory manner to indicate an
ignorance of "honest" building practices, often found in low-cost residential
and light commercial, developer-built structures.