Chinese zodiac · gǒu
狗
The Dog in the Chinese Zodiac
The loyal guardian with an unbreakable code.
Personality and traits
The Dog is the eleventh of the twelve animals — a yang sign whose fixed element is Earth (土), at home in autumn. Traditional readings call the Dog faithful, just, protective, honest, anxious.
Strengths
- · Loyal past reason
- · Principled
- · The friend who shows up
Watch-outs
- · Worries
- · Stubborn
- · Slow to trust strangers
Dog years and their elements
Every Dog year carries a different Heavenly Stem, so a Earth Dog is not a Metal Dog. The year turns at Lìchūn (~February 4) — if you were born in January or early February, check your exact date with the free chart.
Compatibility
The Dog’s strongest traditional allies are the Rabbit 兔, the Tiger 虎 and the Horse 馬. The pairing that costs the most effort is the Dragon 龍, which sits against the Dog’s grain — workable, but never free.
Lucky correspondences
Numbers: 3, 9
Colors: Red, Green, Purple
Flowers: Rose, Cymbidium orchid
Directions: East, South, Northeast
The Dog in 2026 — Year of allies
Dog shares a trine with the Horse (三合). The year is on your side. Momentum is available if you reach for it, and collaborations are favored.
Read the Dog’s full 2026 outlookQuestions
What years is the Dog in the Chinese zodiac?
Recent Dog years are 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030. Each carries a different element: for example 2018 was a Earth Dog year. Note that the zodiac year begins at Lìchūn (around February 4), not at Lunar New Year — January and early-February birthdays often belong to the previous animal.
What is the Dog's personality in Chinese astrology?
The loyal guardian with an unbreakable code. Traditional readings describe the Dog as faithful, just, protective, honest, anxious — with strengths like loyal past reason and principled, and watch-outs like being worries and stubborn.
Who is the Dog most compatible with?
The Dog's strongest traditional matches are the Rabbit, the Tiger, the Horse. The most challenging pairing is the Dragon — not doomed, but a relationship that costs more effort to keep aligned.
How is 2026 for the Dog?
2026 is the Yang Fire Horse year (丙午). For the Dog: Dog shares a trine with the Horse (三合). The year is on your side. Momentum is available if you reach for it, and collaborations are favored.
Your year animal is one third of the picture — the month and hour pillars complete it.