dog house, in the. In disfavor or trouble; shamed.

Being in the dog house is sort of an adult version of being sent to one's room, though less literal. Being in the doghouse is typically what happens to a husband when his wife thinks ill of his behavior. The inference I draw is that the person who is in the doghouse has brought shame on the household and thus must be treated like, well, a dog. At best the man has not proven himself sufficiently “house trained.” More likely, the man has been a dog in the sense of being promiscuous. Even the couch is too good a bed for a man who is in the dog house. And, if he is smart, he is just glad he hasn't been kicked out altogether.

The offense need not be major, however, for this description to be applied. After the 2004 Iowa caucuses, the New York Times wrote of a rift within a married couple, one of whom had defected from Howard Dean's camp when it turned out that he would not have enough supporters to warrant a delegate. “'I'm in the dog house,' Mr. Terrell said. 'He's driving,' Mrs. Terrell said. ‘I'm crying.’” Nor is it only husbands who are metaphorically banished in this way. The Times Style section David Karp declared, “ …after decades in the doghouse, old-fashioned rhubarb is in style again.”

While there has been some attribution to Mr. Darling in J.M. Barrie's play, Peter Pan, others dispute the claim. Darling indeed took to the dog house waiting for his children to return, however there is no indication that he was in particular disfavor at the time.