Different dogs will mean different things. Think of what qualities your breed has and that will lead you to the energies associated with it. What is his/her personality? You can use their actions and behavior to garner clues about yourself - what you need to be doing. For example, when Arista comes to me while I am working, it lets me know I need to take a break, I need to pay attention to her and her needs, I need to focus elsewhere. She never comes over for no reason...she is either hungry or thirsty, has to go out, or in need of affection.

Most Native tribes had dogs as protection and as an alarm system. The Greeks symbolized the dog as Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the gates of Hades...again, a guardian. In India the dog was a symbol of all caste systems and to the early Christians, dog was a watchful guardian and even a symbol for a priest (guardian of his flock).

Dogs can teach us so much - about judgment, about loyalty, about companionship, about love. If dog is your totem, what does it say about you? Look at how you compare to the qualities of dog - are you judgmental, faithful, loving, forgiving? Are those qualities you need to work on? Do you need to be more playful, more territorial or less territorial? Our totems teach us, that is why we have drawn them to us.

"If a person carries Dog medicine, he or she is usually serving others or humanity in some way. Here you will find the charity worker, the philanthropist, the nurse, the counselor, the minister, and the soldier...The message that Dogs are trying to give you is that you must delve deeply into your sense of service to others. Canines are genuinely service-oriented animals, and are devoted to their owners with a sense of loyalty that supersedes how they are treated...It is as if a tolerant spirit dwells in the heart of every canine that asks only to be of service." (from Medicine Cards, by Jamie Sams, David Carson)