Fun with Fotos (alternatively titled Phun with Photos)

As I have already tried to make clear, I am not very good at Photoshop.  Honestly, I'm not really that great at photography in general.  But I do have a desire to learn.  So maybe a better way to put this is that I'm not very good at photograhy...yet.
That said, I spent some time tonight reading about Photoshop tips and tricks.  I found most of my information here.
Anyway, I haven't learned much, but I did play around with some layers.  I took my puppy from this

to this

See the difference?  To me it looks brighter and sharper, but I'm still just learning what to look for.  I may have lost some of the definition in her fur, but oh well.  This is just for fun.  On the plus side of my new found interest, there are TONS and TONS of tutorials and tips scattered all over the internet on how I can improve (here and here are a few more).  On the minus side, I'm now on the hunt for a new camera, which, based on a short search, is going to be more expensive that I realized.  Oh well.  If I smile and tilt my head just so, Byron gives in to me pretty quickly.  And with professional photographers in his family, my interest will be supported.