Caladh1

Any comments?

Forget the Photoshop gimickry. Shoot your pup (figuratively, of course) on a cloudy day with your zoom (I'm assuming) at the longest focal length. Use "A" mode, set f5.6, and get down low, so there is no distracting (back)ground in the frame. Turn off autofocus, and focus on the eyes. Be patient; wait till he looks right at you.

While I agree with Scott's comment, I like what you did here.

 

In my opinion it doesn't quite work because of the extreme difference in contrast between the dog and the somewhat cluttered background. Try applying a lot of gaussian blur to the background, and desaturate the dog some so the color jumps out a bit less. A bit of softness on the dog may help the painted look as well.