It can be hard to honestly say that it simply isn't right, especially after I've already spent time on finishing details. True resemblance demands the scrutiny though and when I returned to this one after a night's sleep I knew for sure this malemute had the snout of a bear and the eyes of a boxer (the human kind, AFTER a fight). It could easily pass as a generic dog, but didn't look enough like THE dog I was making. Fortunately there was still room in the piece to find the final form I wanted, I just had to get over taking so many steps (and hours) back in time.

The snout was too short- so I pushed the eyes back about 3/4". The eyelids were too puffy- so I mellowed those out and made the eyebrows bunchier and closer to the nose bridge. The nose end was too round and the upper lips were too far forward- trim away. Not enough smile- so I extended the cheeks back and opened the lower jaw a bit more. Once the changes started happening I could tell I'd made the right choices and it was super fun to watch the dog I was looking for show up! The process is always so rewarding.