This puppy is not very difficult to paint. Painting the strokes for the fur can be very meditative and relaxing. 

Some tips for the best results:

1. Use masking fluid to mask off any highlights you want to keep.
2. Paint the fur strokes in the same direction that the fur is growing on the dog. 
3. Where you want the fur darker, make your strokes closer together and layer some on top of each other.
4. Where you want the fur to be lighter, make your paint strokes farther apart. 
5. For the shadows on the white fur, use a very watery version of the dark mixture used for black. In this painting, I mixed dark brown and dark blue to make a "black." 
6. Once all the fur has been painted and is completely dry, go over it with a brush filled with clean water to soften the lines. You may want to dab some areas with a paper towel to lighten them. 
7. Paint the nose using dots (stippling). This will mimic the bumpy texture of the puppy's nose. 
8. Use the wet-on-wet technique for the blue part of the flag and the red stripes. Wet the paper first and then apply the paint to the shadow areas and let the water do the rest of the work. 
9. Pay attention to where the shadows and light areas are on the pup's face wrinkles. 
10. Don't worry about mistakes, enjoy the process.