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Furry Misconceptions - Leg Anatomy — Description
First is dog/cat/traditional digitigrade, second is horse/deer/standard unguligrade, third is human/chimp/traditional plantigrade, fourth is squirrel/bear/non-traditional plantigrade, and fifth is bird/non-traditional digitigrade.

They're all color coded with humans as the 'key' set for ease of understanding.
Remember, in many other animals the nail is fused to the last digit of the toe. In cats it retracts into the folds of the toe, but in dogs (and cheetahs) it is always out. To understand this better place your hand on a table, lift up the last joint of your index finger (the joint closest to the palm), keep the tip pressed to the table. Now imagine the tip can hinge up towards the raised knuckle. That's how retractable claws work! For horses and the like, picture a ballerina on tip-toe. Simple, yeah?

Good luck!

THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION OF AN OLD TUTORIAL WITH BETTER ANATOMY AND MORE LEG TYPES