Celeste,
the best place for dogs is the AKC site, www.akc.org. Look up the breeds and you'll see a stacked shot that pretty much shows you how the dog should look to a judge.

The key is to translate that kind of image into a pet portrait with them sitting or laying down. The key is to understand that things like feet turned out or in, hocks pointing out or in, are not what people want to see in their own pet even if they are pigeon-towed and cow-hocked .

It's not unlike finding the most flattering pose for a person having their portrait taken. You don't emphasize an unattractive feature like a big nose or weak chin. Same with dogs and cats.

Another thing to learn is which dogs you want to give you "ears" and which are not supposed to give you up-standing ears. With Dobes, the ears are supposed to be straight up. With Rotties, the ears are supposed to be attentive across the top of the head but not stick out to the sides. Bassett Hounds never give ears. Whippets do. Again, seeing the AKC Breed images will help you understand which is which.

For mutts, you need to try to see the underlying primary breed influence and take it from there.

Your images are very nice and you are willing to try new things so you should do well. There's a lot to learn beyond the photography piece and there's a ton to learn there. We're all working to try to get better.

Jim