I just have to comment, love labs so much. Had a black lab before and I know how hard they are to photograph.
One thing that strikes my as obvious now that I see it is the colour of the ottoman versus the dog's eyes. Same colour and it works really well for bringing the focus where it should be.
On the second shot, depth of field is too short and the eyes seem out-of-focus. My preference also goes to the first one.
Thanks again for the eye colour thing, I will use it for my next dog pictures !
