This book was part of a series. It was aimed towards children or young adults. Nothing violent or gory. My assumption is that it was written somewhere around 2010 as it is not an old book. It's written in English and is probably British or American. It is not a show, a TV series, or a cartoon. It is a series of books.
The protagonist is a boy sent on a space mission alongside a talking, bipedal, humanoid-looking/anthropomorphic dog or wolf/canine on a planet. The dog is not actually his pet and does not belong to him. He is actually assigned to serve as a partner during the mission. He remains his partner throughout the sequels of the book.
The boy is presumably 12 years of age. Not too old, not too young. His partner is outwardly friendly and outgoing while the boy is a bit brash and energetic. The boy likes fast food while his partner likes steak and other kinds of meat. The boy lives with his (single?) mother.
The organization responsible for sending the pair on a mission is a space school or academy for young astronauts or space explorers.
Briefly, there is a part in the book where the boy takes on an exam/quiz/assignment related to space before taking on the mission. Instead of being written on paper, it is holographic or being on an IPad-like device that's described as being futuristic in design.
The pair encounters a planet inhabited by black, scaly lizard-like aliens that are aggressive and hostile. They are shown in the cover to stand upright yet are described as being smaller than the protagonists. They have spikes/ osteoderms like an iguana or a crocodile/alligator running down their backs, with sharp claws on their hands and feet. They resemble house geckoes.
Upon encountering these creatures the protagonists are attacked by them. They remain hostile towards them until the pair escape the planet.
The book has a few illustrations in black and white but normally isn't reliant on them. The cover of the book depicts three of the lizard-like aliens watching a rocket take off in the sky, with the middle one glancing back over its shoulder at the readers. The cover is in 3D while the illustrations in the book are 2D.
The second group in the series I read was about the characters assigned with another mission to a new planet. The planet's inhabitants were a society of tiny, blue people who invented machines that were once helpful and peaceful but have turned destructive and dangerous. These machines had a golden color and resembled an owl or an eagle. These machines were bigger than the inhabitants but smaller compared to the protagonists.
