My manuscript could use a little help

Morning, folks. I'm still trying my darnedest to get the first part of Unspooled, my middle-grade all-animal novel, off the ground. (Narrative, not a picture book; please keep that in mind.) Over on another board, one user is having issues with how I'm portraying my characters-a boy raccoon, his cocker-spaniel friend, and the old cat they visit-so far. To paraphrase them: "Just mentioning what species they are isn't particularly interesting if we don't see them as they are. Wag a tail; twitch some whiskers."

Which brings us to the matter of animal mannerisms-and my draft could sure use them at this stage. Can anyone point me towards a web list, or an example of a similar book in the demographic I'm aiming for?