Honestly speaking… I have no idea why they call Adho Mukha Svanasana : “Downward Facing Dog” ( see pose )… This pose does not resemble a dog except maybe when he is stretching his two front legs, pushing forward. In fact, I think it should be called “Dog Stretching Forward” instead… haha…
Points To Note :
1. Be aware of your limitations. The important basis of this pose is a stretch for your entire length of your back and not whether you can keep your legs stretch. Make sure your back if straight even if it means you have to bend your knees ( your heels will not touch the floor in this case ). This is perfectly fine, we are not trying to be better than someone, but what’s best and beneficial for your own body.
2. Make sure you ground your hands at your fingers too! Spread your fingers out evenly. Have “happy” hands and crawl your fingers at the ground to engaged the fingers. This will help relieve much tension from the wrists.
3. Remember to keep your upper arms (triceps) lifted and engaged, pushing into your entire hand, palm and fingers. The arms should be firmly “back into” the shoulders’ sockets. I call it “loaded securely back into the sockets”. Visualize that you are rooting your hands into the ground as if your hands are “roots of your tree”.
4. Once you have arms and hands alignment proper, now imagine your muscles at the back wrapping around your back. Once you have that, you can elongate your back further in a safe manner.
5. Inner thighs are rotated in, pushing the thighs backwards. If your heels are touching the ground, imagine they are “roots” too as they extend down to the ground. You can bend your knees slightly first, then pushing your knees back to straighten the legs ( do not lock the legs! ). You can also lift the toes from the floor to make sure your heels are firmly grounded to the floor. If your heels are not touching the ground yet, do not fret! Slowly improve the pose without compromising your straight back by lowering your heels bit by bit each and everytime you feel comfortable when you do the pose. I promise you will see the improvement!
These are some insights that I have garnered from many great teachers that I have the fortune of learning from 
Namaste!
OM~
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