Hmm. For canines (Or more like wolves). I do the simple, two large circles for the chest and back, then the smaller one for the head. Okay soo....I would try doing sides first since it's more simple, look at real wolf pictures too, so for the hind legs (Bear with me, I'm not good at explaining) I would draw a short-ish almost half circle? Like if you draw a half moon, like that but more...Maybe a little more downwards, then with a dull lump or something to show where it starts going into the paw area, then go straight down then do a small straight line slightly inwards to show the paw, then for the paw, do a little line then a gentle curve, then at the top do a little dip to show the paw, the do the front of the leg, which is very easy to do.
For the head: So do a thinner rectangle then put in the details, such as the nose, if the mouth is open, such as snarling, do a half circle, start the half circle at the mouth area of the rectangle, then put in teeth, and for a more aggressive look, narrow the eye/eyes slightly at the start so it looks like it's glaring, and maybe put a little sharp end at the pupil. If I knew how to stick pictures on here, I would do it.