The image of sky dog in Chinese mythology

The dog as the first domestic animal played very important role in the mythology of ancient Chinese. The image of Sky Dog (Tian-gou) was of composite origin; hence the name of Tian-gou has many incarnations (functions). This mythological creature was the most completely represented in solar and lunar myths and presumably connected with Hero of archery (such as Hou Yi) as protector against malign forces.