Shvana ( Sanskrit: श्वान, romanized: Śvāna), a Sanskrit word meaning a dog, finds repeated references in Vedic and later Hindu mythology, and such references include the following:

• The female dog of Indra, a Vedic god, is named Sarama, and it is mentioned in the Rigveda. Its offspring became the watchdogs of Yama, Sharvara and Shyama.
• Yudhishthira, one of the Pandavas, insisted that he be allowed to enter Svarga ( heaven) with the dog that had followed him from their advent to Svarga. The dog transformed itself into its true identity of Dharma.
• Deities like Rudra, Nirriti, and Virabhadra are associated with dogs.
• Shiva, in his aspect as Bhairava, has a dog as a vahana (vehicle) (mentioned in the Mahabharata).
• Khandoba, a deity, is associated with a dog on which he rides.
• Dattatreya is associated with four dogs, considered to symbolise the four Vedas.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dogs in Hinduism.

• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend ( ISBN  0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola

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