Animal 11 of 12 · Earth · Yang
The Dog
Loyalty, fairness and a strong sense of what is owed.
Strength. Reliable to a fault and genuinely fair. The one who notices an injustice first.
Friction. Worries constantly, and judges harshly once trust is broken.
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Dog holds 19:00–21:00. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Dog as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Traits
Dog years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Fire Dog | 2 February |
| 1958 | Earth Dog | 18 February |
| 1970 | Metal Dog | 6 February |
| 1982 | Water Dog | 25 January |
| 1994 | Wood Dog | 10 February |
| 2006 | Fire Dog | 29 January |
| 2018 | Earth Dog | 16 February |
| 2030 | Metal Dog | 3 February |
Born in January or early February of one of these years? Check the new year date — you may belong to the previous animal.
The five Dogs
The Dog's own fixed element is Earth. The element of the year interacts with it differently each time, which is what separates the five versions — and why the cycle runs sixty years.
| Version | Years | Relation to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Dog | 1934, 1994 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Fire Dog | 1946, 2006 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Earth Dog | 1958, 2018 | Doubled — strongest expression |
| Metal Dog | 1970, 2030 | Drained by it — productive but costly |
| Water Dog | 1982, 2042 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Dog year is the same length
A lunisolar year runs 12 or 13 lunar months, so it lasts between 353 and 385 days rather than a fixed 365. That means the window for being born under a sign is genuinely wider in some years than others.
| Year | Ran from | To | Days | Lunar months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | 14 Feb 1934 | 3 Feb 1935 | 355 | 12 |
| 1946 | 2 Feb 1946 | 21 Jan 1947 | 354 | 12 |
| 1958 | 18 Feb 1958 | 7 Feb 1959 | 355 | 12 |
| 1970 | 6 Feb 1970 | 26 Jan 1971 | 355 | 12 |
| 1982 | 25 Jan 1982 | 12 Feb 1983 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1994 | 10 Feb 1994 | 30 Jan 1995 | 355 | 12 |
| 2006 | 29 Jan 2006 | 17 Feb 2007 | 385 | 13 — leap year |
| 2018 | 16 Feb 2018 | 4 Feb 2019 | 354 | 12 |
| 2030 | 3 Feb 2030 | 22 Jan 2031 | 354 | 12 |
A leap month is inserted seven times every nineteen years to keep the lunar calendar aligned with the seasons. Those are the 13-month years, and they run a full month longer than the others — a difference of about a month in how long a sign lasts.
The next Dog year is 2030
By tradition that is the year for a Dog to be careful in, not to celebrate. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Dog compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Horse | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Rabbit | Traditional ally | 88% |
| Rat | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Monkey | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Dog | Same sign | 72% |
| Snake | Neutral | 68% |
| Rooster | Neutral | 68% |
| Pig | Neutral | 68% |
| Ox | Square — friction | 60% |
| Goat | Square — friction | 60% |
| Dragon | Traditional clash | 45% |