Julie,
welcome. With the name of "Julie" and two dogs as ready practice subjects, you have every chance to be successful as a pet photographer -- just ask Julie Poole and Julie Ford .

A comment about image manipulation for the sake of "creativity": tilting, burning, doing B&W or sepia conversions, HDR, etc. are all excellent creative tools if used judiciously. They are not things to be done simply to make a good image better IMHO. The shot of Cowboy & Flash is good enough without the horizon tilt which actually tends to look like a mistake rather than an enhancement.

The best way to find out how everyone is doing in terms of pet photography is to ask specific questions. You'll find that we're more than willing to share.

Jim