designing dogs

Knowing I'll have to eventually draw something more than bouncing balls, I've been practicing headshapes in the style of the Preston Blair book:



And Preston Blair pear-shaped bodies:



I want to come up with a character that follows the generic construction principles but isn't a mouse, a duck or a rabbit. I've been thinking "dinosaur", but haven't got it "cute" yet:



And it's a bit too complex for quick drawing.

Something else I've been thinking of is a dog that's almost all head, kind of like Bandit on "Jonny Quest" but even less body.




Obviously this is all still in the larval stage. Lots of work to do.