Help with focus?

[elordi]

I am a beginner to photography and am wondering why I was unable to get this shot in better focus? They are sled dogs so there were several did i just zone in on the wrong dog or would it have been something else? I was in auto focus. All help is greatly appreciated.

[outamyway]

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Looks like you were focused on the snow just behind the dogs. When I'm shooting action, and I know where the action is going to take place, I prefocus on that spot and wait for the action to pass by. I also leave it in manual focus then so I can adjust and follow along. You might try a smaller aperture as well so the focal plane is deeper.

[wamplers]

What focus mode did you use? For action, I use AI Servo, typically with center AF point only selected. This lets you focus exactly where you want to and the focus will track the motion.

[sk66]

Was this a significant crop from the original? I just can't see the camera having focused behind the scene like this in any typical autofocus mode.