狗 Dog

Characteristics

The Dog is traditionally pictured as loyal, honest and protective — a faithful, principled figure with a strong sense of right and wrong and a deep regard for friends and family. Folk descriptions cast it as sincere and dependable, if sometimes cautious. These are cultural associations of the sign rather than claims about any particular person.

History

Eleventh in the cycle and the earthly branch 戌 (xū), the Dog has been humankind’s companion and guardian for so long that its zodiac image is built on trust: it stands for loyalty, watchfulness and justice. In folk belief a dog’s arrival can betoken good fortune, and the animal is widely regarded with affection as a faithful friend.

In the Great Race

The Dog was among the strongest swimmers and should have finished near the front, but it loved the water so much that it could not resist stopping to bathe and play partway across the river. By the time it remembered the race and paddled to the bank it was nearly last, coming in eleventh — its playful detour, not any lack of ability, the reason it placed so late.

The five elements

Tradition colours the Dog by element through the cycle: a Wood Dog is spoken of as warmer and more co-operative, a Fire Dog as more spirited, an Earth Dog as especially steady and reliable, a Metal Dog as more resolute, and a Water Dog as more easy-going. These are cultural flavours laid over the same loyal animal, never predictions.

Recent & upcoming years

Further reading

• Wikipedia: Dog (zodiac)
• Wikipedia: Chinese zodiac
• Britannica: Chinese zodiac (owner to confirm)