Dog

The Dog dossier

Traits. Loyal, just and protective — friendship is sacred to the Dog, and so is fairness. The first to defend, the last to leave.

Fixed element — Earth. stability, patience and practicality — an Earth year grounds the animal: steadier, more methodical, focused on what lasts. Every Dog carries Earth underneath, whatever the year adds on top.

The year’s own element rotates by its final digit — 0 or 1 Metal, 2 or 3 Water, 4 or 5 Wood, 6 or 7 Fire, 8 or 9 Earth — so across the 60-year cycle the Dog returns in five element forms, each one read against the fixed element beneath it.

The Dog through the cycle

Every Dog year in the table the record holds, with the year’s element and the Lunar New Year that year began on. A birthday in January or February before that date belongs to the previous animal.

The five Dogs

Wood Dog — 1994. growth, generosity and expansion — a Wood year broadens the animal: more idealistic, more cooperative, always growing toward something.

Fire Dog — 2006. passion, visibility and speed — a Fire year heats the animal up: bolder, faster, more dramatic, impossible to ignore.

Earth Dog — 2018. stability, patience and practicality — an Earth year grounds the animal: steadier, more methodical, focused on what lasts.

Metal Dog — 1970, 2030. precision, resolve and edge — a Metal year sharpens the animal: more determined, more exacting, harder to bend. A Metal Dragon (born in a Dragon year ending in 0, like 2000), for example, is the Dragon's boldness with a steel core — ambitious, precise and uncompromising.

Water Dog — 1982. intuition, flow and diplomacy — a Water year deepens the animal: more perceptive, more adaptable, quieter about its power.

Alliances and clashes

The Dog sits in the Protection trine (the protectors) with the Tiger and the Horse. Animals in the same affinity triangle are the classic harmonious pairings of the Chinese system.

Its secret friend is the Rabbit — one of the six secret-friend pairs, the quiet alliances: loyal, low-drama, mutually protective. Directly opposite in the cycle sits the Dragon — the classic clash pairing: real friction, and the fascination that can come with it.

Dog questions

What years are Dog years?
Dog years in the table the record holds (1960–2032): 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030. The Chinese year begins at Lunar New Year — late January to mid-February — so a birthday before that year's new year date belongs to the previous animal.

What is the Dog's element?
The Dog's fixed element is Earth — every Dog carries it underneath. stability, patience and practicality — an Earth year grounds the animal: steadier, more methodical, focused on what lasts. The year adds a rotating element on top: in the recorded cycle the Dog appears as Wood Dog (1994); Fire Dog (2006); Earth Dog (2018); Metal Dog (1970, 2030); Water Dog (1982).

Who does the Dog harmonize with?
The Dog sits in the Protection trine (the protectors) with the Tiger and the Horse — one of the classic harmonious pairings of the Chinese system. Its secret friend is the Rabbit, the quiet alliance; and the animal opposite in the cycle, the Dragon, is its clash.

How does Match By Zodiac read my Chinese sign?
Match By Zodiac works your Chinese animal and element out from your birth date — with the real Lunar New Year boundary, so January and February birthdays land on the right animal — and reads them alongside your Sun, Moon and Rising signs in pair reads. The Western and Chinese systems are kept separate, never averaged.

Find your Chinese sign

The free Finder reads your animal and element from one birth date — with the real Lunar New Year boundary — and your Sun, Moon and Rising signs in the same pass.