I found a reference a few weeks back to the twelve heavenly generals (Juuni Shinshou); Yasha (nature spirits) who were each associated with one of the twelve zodiac animals who are defenders of the Buddhist faithful.
So, if there really was a dog general and there were also eleven others how cool would it have been to have seen some of them? And is Sesshoumaru now the dog general or is the position even hereditary? Each of the twelve were present to hear Buddha speak so it might not be a hereditary position.
After a little more digging I found a list of the names of the generals: