They say that a dog is man’s best friend, and they remain hugely popular pets as well as working animals. Here is a book that shows you how to draw these lively and diverse creatures so you can sketch pictures for your friends and family of their cherished pets.

As with the other titles in the How To Draw series, words are kept to a minimum and confined to a brief introduction and list of the breeds depicted. Each page is given over to a dog, taking you from simple shapes through to adding details, culminating in a finished pencil sketch and a watercolor painting. Each new detail of the staged project is drawn in pink pencil, with the parts from the earlier steps in blue for extra clarity, a truly good idea in my opinion. The breeds range from several of the perennially popular terriers, through to other well-loved breeds such as the Alsatian, Rottweiler, Great Dane, Labrador Retriever, Collie and more. There are a variety of poses too, from standing at eager attention to lying on the ground, although most are looking up out of the picture right at you, another nice touch. There are bigger books on this sort of thing, but for a simple, direct approach and a stocking filler price (£4.99/$9.95) this is ideal.