狗 (gǒu) means dog. The measure word is 只 (zhī) for individual animals. 狗 is used both literally and figuratively - in insults (走狗, running dog or lackey) and expressions (狗日的 is a vulgar insult; 狗眼看人低, a dog that looks down on people, meaning to be snobbish). In Chinese culture the dog is the 11th animal of the zodiac. Common compounds include 小狗 (puppy), 警犬 (police dog - 犬 quǎn being a more formal word for dog).