Dakota - Initial Sketch on Canvas

Below is the sketch on canvas for the painting of Dakota, transferred using a grid from a favorite photo provided by her owner. Sadly, this beautiful dog passed away several weeks ago, so I'll do the best I can to make this painting a lovely reminder. I sketched the eyes with more detail than I usually would because they were difficult to make out in the photo and I did what I could with Photoshop to clarify them and bring out some detail. Hopefully I haven't had to guess too much.