Dogs and Wolves
I had the typical outdoor farm dogs of our area as a kid, but I grew up drawing horses, and it was much later... mush later... that I came seriously to dogs. Or they came to me: A young Siberian husky, Nikki, who got my goat (the goat was fine and was rehomed, I kept the dog). Of course, huskies do not walk politely on a leash (boring human, you're too slow) so I got a harness, some wheels, and learned the art of mushing, as well as some agility and dancing with your dog.
I still draw horses better.
Here is some reference of dogs in motion. Their gaits are the same as horses, (walk, trot, pace, single-foot), except they more often do a rotary gallop rather than a transverse one. In horses, the gallop or canter looks like: LR... RR/LF... RF. In a dog the same gallop on the same lead goes like RR... LR/LF... RF. Same leading leg hitting the ground last, but the middle beat is not a diagonal pair, but a pair on the same side (LR/LF). Dogs also have two moments of suspension. One is the same as horses: when all four legs are under the body. The other is the moment of suspension every artist of the 1800's and earlier drew: all four legs stretched out as if flying. Horses can't do that. (Well, they sort of do going over a high jump, but that is different). Dogs do that. Each stride, they throw their forelegs forward, and their hind legs out behind them as if flying...because they are.
Dogs also have a much more flexible spine than horses. Dogs are the most powerful draft animal on earth. 800 pounds of dogs (the average Iditarod team of 16 huskies) can pull twice as much weight as 800 pounds of horse, or ox, or elephant or camel or yak... and they have a lighter footprint. With that, and the fact that they are fuel-efficient (horses eat bulky plant material, dogs are carnivores, eating concentrated food), and you can shoot a moose on the trail (thus feeding them off the land) dogs are the choice for travelling cross country in the arctic.
The "knees" (wrists) are lower than the horse's, as are the hocks. Dogs, like horses, run on their toes (bears walk flat-footed, like humans). Only four toes hit the ground, the fifth in the front is the "dewclaw", a sort of thumb higher on the leg. The rear foot has four toes.
If you can draw your dog, you can draw any other wild canine like foxes or wolves.
I still draw horses better.
Here is some reference of dogs in motion. Their gaits are the same as horses, (walk, trot, pace, single-foot), except they more often do a rotary gallop rather than a transverse one. In horses, the gallop or canter looks like: LR... RR/LF... RF. In a dog the same gallop on the same lead goes like RR... LR/LF... RF. Same leading leg hitting the ground last, but the middle beat is not a diagonal pair, but a pair on the same side (LR/LF). Dogs also have two moments of suspension. One is the same as horses: when all four legs are under the body. The other is the moment of suspension every artist of the 1800's and earlier drew: all four legs stretched out as if flying. Horses can't do that. (Well, they sort of do going over a high jump, but that is different). Dogs do that. Each stride, they throw their forelegs forward, and their hind legs out behind them as if flying...because they are.
Dogs also have a much more flexible spine than horses. Dogs are the most powerful draft animal on earth. 800 pounds of dogs (the average Iditarod team of 16 huskies) can pull twice as much weight as 800 pounds of horse, or ox, or elephant or camel or yak... and they have a lighter footprint. With that, and the fact that they are fuel-efficient (horses eat bulky plant material, dogs are carnivores, eating concentrated food), and you can shoot a moose on the trail (thus feeding them off the land) dogs are the choice for travelling cross country in the arctic.
The "knees" (wrists) are lower than the horse's, as are the hocks. Dogs, like horses, run on their toes (bears walk flat-footed, like humans). Only four toes hit the ground, the fifth in the front is the "dewclaw", a sort of thumb higher on the leg. The rear foot has four toes.
If you can draw your dog, you can draw any other wild canine like foxes or wolves.
Look for basic shapes first. And action lines. Find the bones, build on the muscles, and pay attention to "fur tracts": the shapes and flow of fur. Wolves and primitive breeds like Siberians (and some herding breeds like shepherds) have a double coat: wooly undercoat (when your dogs are blowing coat, you could knit a couple more dogs fro it, or at least some nice sweaters)... and outer layer which sheds wind, rain and winter. The outer layer is shaped to allow water to flow off.
turning to chase a tossed treat
Jump
stalk and chase
crouch and chase
walk, trot, gallop
play time
Dogs, especially northern breeds, have a fine tuned sense of Pack Order. As a whole, they tend to play well with others, once they understand where they stand in The Pack. Much of their play mimics hunting tactics... and looks positively ferocious to humans. (hint: those "dogfights" you see in films are playing dogs with voiceovers).
