Dave, this is GREAT. Love the expression and the wonderful texture you captured in the fur. Terrific lighting, color and clarity. What a good dog to pose for you like that. I'm really surprised there were so many '3' votes.
Underscored in my opinion. This is a very good pet portrait and a gorgeous dog. My only suggestion would be to give it a another quick dose of "sharpen" to really bring out that lovely fur.
what a doll of a dog - how could you ever say no to his face? "Did you chew up my new Jimmy Choo's? Of course you did, look how cute the heel is hanging out of your mouth!!"
I think my dog thought the same thing when I suddenly looked directly into the flash... He can still see though. I would try to put a thin, white paper in front of the flash or tone it down a few steps; it looks a bit harsh to me.