The dog is a contorversial animal. Asians make a stew out of it, Americans send it to a shrink or feed it Xanax (R) when it´s depressed. No being could represent more the bipolar dualty of human cultures. No wonder, it has made it also into English everyday colloquialisms.

to be in the doghouse = the husband has to sleep on the couch after a matiomonial dispute

e.g. Johnny shouldnt´t have contradicted his wife, now he´s in the doghouse and has to sleep on the couch.

to make a dog´s breakfast of something = to make a real mess of something

e.g.  The author really made a dog’s breakfast out of this article.

to give a dog a bad name = to blemish someone´s reputation by his wrongdoings of the past

e.g. Let bygones be bygones, don’t give a dog a bad name.