Cavalier Macro Shot Edits

[gidikh]

Here is a fun shot of my cavalier king charles spaniel. I'm using Capture NX with Color Efex filters. The first one is a tonal contrast

full size tonal

glamor glow

full size glow

Original

Camera: NIKON
Model: D5000
ISO: 256
Exposure: 1/2000 sec
Aperture: 1.4
Focal Length: 50mm
Flash Used: No


Looking for thoughts on the edits. I'm leaning toward the tonal contrast but i'm worried that it might look a little over done. Also willing to listen to any suggestions on what I can do better.

[windrider86]

I do think the processing might be hair overdone. Have you also considered maybe doing a square crop?
If I had to pick between the two tho, I would go with the first one but with less blur on its chin