Character Designs for my Book Dummy!

[Patricia Dishmon]

I'm creating a book dummy for my portfolio! This month, I've decided to post my progress online in order to get this done more quickly. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about it in the coming months!
So the story is about a dog who gets invited to a party and gets overwhelmed by how many people there are (much like my actual dog...and like me ).
The cat is the party's host but is also the one who teaches the dog to take some time away from the party to recenter himself.

I'm finding that 1. I'm not that good at character design and 2. I struggle between what I think is a good drawing and what design actually serves the story.
For example, I envisioned the cat looking a lot like cat #1 and I would love to match him up with dog #1, but dog #1 doesn't look like the type to get overwhelmed at a party. Dog #2 looks more shy, but he doesn't contrast enough with cat #1. So I drew cat #3 to go with dog #2 BUT it isn't what I envisioned! You see my problem?

I'd love your input. Sooo yeah.