Computed, not typed
The Dog at a Glance
Your Earthly Branch is Xū (戌), carrying the fixed element Earth and Yang (assertive) polarity — both fixed for life, unlike the rotating element below. In the 12-animal cycle the Dog sits 11th of 12, trine-linked to Tiger and Horse, and in direct clash with the Dragon straight across the wheel. Traditionally, the Dog hour runs 7 PM – 9 PM. None of that is typed in by hand — it comes straight from the Dog's 11th-of-12 position in the cycle, computed the same way for all 12 signs.
- Earthly Branch
- Xū (戌)
- Fixed Element
- Earth
- Polarity
- Yang (assertive)
- Archetype
- The Loyal Guardian
- Ruling Hours
- 7 PM – 9 PM
- Cycle Position
- 11th of 12
- Trine Allies
- Tiger & Horse
- Direct Clash
- Dragon
- Next Dog Year
- 2030 (Metal)
| Element | Year | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Dog | 1994 | February 10, 1994 | January 30, 1995 |
| Fire Dog | 2006 | January 29, 2006 | February 17, 2007 |
| Earth Dog | 2018 | February 16, 2018 | February 4, 2019 |
| Metal Dog | 2030 | February 3, 2030 | January 22, 2031 |
| Water Dog | 2042 | January 22, 2042 | February 9, 2043 |
Your nearest Wood Dog year is 1994, opening February 10, 1994 and closing January 30, 1995.
Earth · Yang
The Dog: The Loyal Guardian
Everything below is true of every Dog, in any year. What makes it yours is the chart above — your Xū (戌) branch, your Yang (assertive) polarity, and the 11th-of-12 seat in the cycle a full BaZi reading builds on. Your fixed element, Earth, colors how that 11th-of-12 personality actually shows up day to day.
You're dependable in the way that actually counts, not just when it's easy or when someone's watching, but consistently, even when keeping your word costs you something real. Your loyalty isn't a decision, it's nearly part of your build. You won't sell out the people you've committed to and you won't call something fine when it isn't. The ones who've earned your trust are holding something genuinely rare and most of them don't fully know it.
You have a strong sense of right and wrong and a real instinct to protect, people, principles, the things you've decided matter. You're not a quiet presence when something's off, you say so. And when someone you love is threatened, a directness comes out of you that startles people who'd only ever met your softer side. There are teeth behind the warmth, and the line you're guarding is real.
But that protective wiring is calibrated to threat, which means part of you is scanning for danger even when the room is completely safe. You can sit in a quiet evening rehearsing everything that might go wrong, certain the calm is just the part before the problem. That low background hum of vigilance exhausts you, and it confuses people who don't carry the same alarm.
The practice for you is telling apart the alertness that's actually protecting something from the alertness that's just become a reflex with nothing to guard. Not every silence is the calm before something. Sometimes the danger you keep bracing for genuinely isn't coming.
That's the Dog in general. Born under a Earth branch at the 11th seat of the cycle, with Yang (assertive) polarity running underneath it, is what a full chart uses to make it specific to you.
Where it goes from here
Reading a Dog Chart
-
Confirm your exact year
The Dog covers a birth year, but the Chinese zodiac year opens at Chinese New Year, not January 1 — check your exact boundary before you assume. 1994, 2006 are Dog years on this site.
-
See your rotating element
Dog is fixed for life, but its paired element rotates. Your next Dog year is 2030, a Metal Dog, opening February 3, 2030.
-
Read the rest of the chart
Your Year Animal is the public layer. A full BaZi reading also weighs your Day Master and the balance of the five elements, plus how your chart sits against the Dog's own 11th-of-12 cycle position and its 7 PM – 9 PM hour branch.
Dog birth years on this site
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Before you go
Dog — Questions People Ask
What years are the Chinese zodiac Dog?
Dog years repeat every twelve years, each one paired with a different element. On this site, 1994, 2006 are Dog years — your next one lands in 2030, opening February 3, 2030. That's a Metal Dog year, 11th in line since the last full rotation.
What element is the Dog?
The Dog's fixed branch element is Earth, but the Heavenly Stem paired with it rotates through all five elements across the 60-year cycle — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water each take a turn. The nearest Wood Dog year is 1994; the full rotation is in the table above.
What hours does the Dog rule?
In traditional BaZi, each of the 12 animals also rules a two-hour block of the day. The Dog's hours are 7 PM – 9 PM — the same branch, Xū (戌), that gives the Dog its year also governs an Hour Pillar for anyone born in that window.
Which signs is the Dog most compatible with?
Tiger and Horse and Rabbit sit closest to the Dog — Tiger and Horse share its 11th-of-12 trine position, one of the three harmonious groupings the 12-animal cycle forms every 4 positions. Dog tends to hit more friction with Dragon, Ox, Goat — and its direct clash, straight across the cycle, is the Dragon.
Is the Dog the same every year?
The animal itself never changes — anyone born in a Dog year is a Dog for life. What changes is the element: Dog sits 11th of 12 in the cycle, and each time it comes back around (every 12 years) it's paired with the next element in the 60-year rotation, which is why 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 and 2032 are all Dog years with five different elemental characters.
Where does the Dog sit in the 12-year cycle?
11th of 12. The cycle runs Rat through Pig in a fixed order, and the Dog's position sets both its trine allies — Tiger and Horse — and its direct clash, the Dragon, which always sits exactly 6 positions around the wheel.
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