Chinese zodiac / Dog
The Dog in the Chinese zodiac
The Dog is the zodiac's loyal friend: honest, fair and protective of the people it cares about. Dogs have a strong sense of right and wrong and the courage to act on it.
Dogs are born in 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 and 2030. They are dependable, sincere and often the moral compass of a group, even when they would rather not be.
Dog years
- 1934Wood Dog
- 1946Fire Dog
- 1958Earth Dog
- 1970Metal Dog
- 1982Water Dog
- 1994Wood Dog
- 2006Fire Dog
- 2018Earth Dog
The zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, so a birthday in January or early February usually belongs to the previous sign. Check an exact date.
The Dog personality
- Loyal
- Fair
- Protective
Dogs stand by the people they care about and have a strong sense of right and wrong. Sincere and dependable, they make true friends.
- Lucky numbers
- 3, 4, 9
- Lucky colours
- RedGreenPurple
- Trickier matches
- Dragon
At their best
Dogs are trustworthy, brave and deeply loyal. They keep their promises, defend their friends and treat people fairly. In a team the Dog is the one who makes sure the right thing gets done, not just the quick thing.
To watch
Dogs worry, and they can be anxious, pessimistic and slow to forgive a betrayal. They sometimes see threats where there are none. The habit to manage is bracing for the worst; the best Dogs learn to trust the good news too.
The Dog in love and at work
In love
Dogs are devoted, honest partners who want trust above everything. They are not interested in games and will not play them. Their traditional matches are the Rabbit, the Tiger and the Horse; the Dragon is the classic clash.
At work
Dogs suit law, teaching, medicine, public service, security and any job with a duty of care. They make good managers because people trust them. They are less suited to roles that require bending principles or selling things they do not believe in.
Matches follow the traditional harmony and clash pairings. Try any two signs on the compatibility checker.
A year to go gently
The Dog in 2027, the Year of the Fire Goat
2027 asks the Dog to pick battles carefully. Your loyalty and fairness are strengths, but not every issue needs fighting.
Questions
- Is the Dog a lucky sign?
- The Dog is considered an honest and protective sign rather than a flashy lucky one. Tradition holds that Dogs earn their fortune through loyalty and hard work, and that they are lucky in friendship, which many people would call the better kind of luck.
- Which years are Dog years?
- 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018. Each starts at Lunar New Year, not 1 January, so a January or early February birthday usually belongs to the previous sign.
- Is 2027 a good year for the Dog?
- A year to go gently. Dog and Goat form a 'punishment' and 'break' pair in the traditional calendar, so the year asks for patience in disagreements. The Dog 2027 forecast goes through career, money, love and wellbeing.