How to tag dog house?

Adamant1 · 2023-01-31T03:28:39.459Z

Someone asked on the talk page for the barn tag once about using it on chicken coops. It doesn’t seem like the conversation went anywhere though and I guess there’s like 1,740 uses of building=chicken_coop in the meantime. So you could maybe look into creating a barn/shed sub-tagging scheme for animal shelters. Or if not, there’s like 4 uses of building=dog_house. Really, I’m kind of surprised there isn’t already a sub tagging scheme for animal shelters or at least types of barns. Maybe there is and I just missed it though.

stevea · 2023-01-31T03:29:30.544Z

I mean, it could be quite appropriate to coin a new tag here, like building=dog_house, and wiki-document it after pinning one into our map data.

Pedja · 2023-01-31T03:29:44.053Z

building=dog_house seems possible way too, but that is also not existing value for the building tag.

stevea · 2023-01-31T03:30:44.567Z

Sometimes, it is correct to simply “make up” (coin, in English) a new value for an existing key. Presto! A new tag! (And everybody likely understands it, thanks to its direct simplicity and widespread use, at least in English).

Pedja · 2023-01-31T03:31:49.759Z

That is why I asked here first, to check, if there is proper way but I just cannot find it.

stevea · 2023-01-31T03:32:16.574Z

We ARE allowed “any tag you like,” and speaking personally, I happen to like building=dog_house!

Adamant1 · 2023-01-31T03:33:44.899Z

Pedja:

building=dog_house seems possible way too

I don’t think anyone would have a problem with you just creating that tag in this case since like Stevea it’s a generally accepted recognized and accepted term for dog shelters.

Pedja · 2023-01-31T03:34:00.468Z

stevea:

building=dog_house

building=dog_house was the first I looked for, but found out it does not exist. It seems obvious.

Pedja · 2023-01-31T03:48:41.559Z

OK, I created building=dog_house. Updated Wiki too.

Mammi71 · 2023-01-31T09:08:12.925Z

My translators suggest another word: dog kennel. But a kennel is a little bit more than just a small wooden hut for dogs.

aTarom · 2023-01-31T09:08:49.279Z

A few months ago I chose “building”=“kennel” because of what was said in the forum to be a “more English” word.
https://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?pid=660277#p660277
Just as a note, I understand we have these three in use?
“building”=“kennel” (in green)
“building”=“dog_house” (in red)
“building”=“doghouse” (in blue)

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SomeoneElse · 2023-01-31T09:49:45.056Z

One feature, Six mappers and still More ways to map it:

dog kennel

“kennel” is the British English word for a small wooden building outside for dogs, but it’s also (usually as “kennels”) used for what in OSM we’d call “an animal boarding amenity for dogs”.

British English doesn’t use “dog_house” much, except in this sense, but people will know what it means in American, so (a bit like sidewalk) I can see the logic of using it here. Current taginfo usage for all variants is low, see here, here and here.

SK53 · 2023-01-31T10:41:14.908Z

SomeoneElse:

also (usually as “kennels”)

Also for those housing hunting and military/police dogs as here and here.

The distinction between the singular and plural here does suggest dog_house is less likely to cause confusion.

Grass-snake · 2023-01-31T10:51:06.997Z

aTarom:

“building”=“dog_house”

Don’t you think that this is not quite the right option? Maybe it’s better to use the man_made=dog_house tag (or another value), similar to dovecote?

Adamant1 · 2023-01-31T18:42:01.731Z

IMO man_made makes sense for dovecotes because they can be both separate buildings and parts of ones. I don’t think there are buildings with dog kennels built into the architecture though. It’s always a separate, individual building. Except maybe in animal shelters or boarding places, but that’s not really what we are discussing.

pyram · 2023-01-31T19:25:54.522Z

Pedja:

OK, I created building=dog_house. Updated Wiki too.

We should not use “building=*” for things that are too small for people to enter.
I would oppose that this is a good idea to change the Wiki without longer discussion.
See contributions above:
SomeoneElse Link
and Grass-Snake Link

What’s the next? building=birds_house?

dieterdreist · 2023-01-31T20:05:21.000Z

We should not use “building=*” for things that are too small for people to enter.

my concern with the typical dog house is that it isn’t made of sufficiently durable material to call it a “building”. Most dog houses I have seen were big enough for someone to enter them (not standing up of course) because small dogs won’t get a dog house, they will sleep on a carpet or mattress inside

pyram · 2023-01-31T20:10:24.056Z

I already meant “enter” and not “crawl in”
From a certain size one can discuss it

dieterdreist · 2023-01-31T20:32:00.000Z

I already meant “enter” and not “crawl in”

I meant crawling is fine, also required for some buildings that house technical equipment

stevea · 2023-01-31T20:49:20.501Z

Without getting into the “building” aspects, I offer perspective on whether “kennel” is better chosen. In British English, as @SomeoneElse has said, “kennel” might be the right word to describe a small structure where a dog takes shelter in a yard, but in American English, “kennel” is (always) specifically a “boarding facility for animals” (very often, dogs). “Kennel” in American English never means “small structure where a dog takes shelter in a yard,” it always means “boarding facility.” So to avoid that (potential or actual) ambiguity, IMO “kennel” isn’t a good word for OSM, despite our propensity towards British English vocabulary.

And I appreciate that @SomeoneElse advises that “dog_house” could work in OSM, even as it is not especially a British English language element (except for the sense he notes of “being disapproved of,” as the phrase “in the dog house” is identical in American English) — similar to how “sidewalk” also isn’t especially British English, but it does get used in OSM as it “better disambiguates.”

This project isn’t always easy, but with sufficient discussion, just about anything is doable! Thanks for good discussion, everyone.