Clear Cloudy Eyes in Photos of Senior Dogs
If you’ve ever met a senior dog with vision problems, you know the whitish cloud that can hang over the dog’s eyes. Sometimes caused by cataracts in an aging dog, this condition becomes even more apparent in photographs. To remedy this issue and add some spunk back into Lilly Belle’s eyes, use your Burn tool in Photoshop to do the following:
1
With your image open in Photoshop, zoom in on the dog’s eye region using the Navigator palette.
If your Navigator palette isn’t already visible, choose it from the Window menu in the Photoshop toolbar that runs across the top of your program’s window. After your Navigator palette is open, look just below the “mini image” of your photo.
You’ll see a percentage next to a slider, which is your Zoom tool. Move it to the right to zoom in. If you need to adjust where the tool zooms, hover your mouse inside the red frame that appears in your mini image. Then you can drag the frame to the position you need.
2
Choose the Lasso tool from the Tools palette and use it to trace the circumference of the dog’s eyeball.
Be careful to leave a small cushion of space between the outline and the dog’s eyelids.
3
With your Lasso tool still selected and the eyeball outlined, go to the Photoshop toolbar and choose Select→Modify→Feather.
Enter “3” for the Feather Radius and click OK.
Use feathering to soften the edges of a selection so that whatever adjustments you make to the selected area smoothly transition into the surrounding area. If you don’t use feathering, you may end up with an obvious hard edge defining the selection area you used.
4
Choose the Burn tool from the Tools palette and head up to the Brush Picker drop-down menu, which appears in the Options bar on the upper left-hand side of the screen.
Drag the Master Diameter slider to adjust the size of your Burn tool. Choose a diameter that’s slightly larger than your selection. Also, make sure that “Protect Tones” is checked in the Options bar.
5
Adjacent to the Brush Picker drop-down menu are the Range and Exposure drop-down menus.
Choose Midtones for your Range and start with a low exposure percentage, like 12 percent. The Range options dictate which tones are actually affected by the Burn tool.
Choosing Midtones forces the Burn tool to darken only the middle ranges, leaving the highlighted and shadowed areas unaffected. Choosing Shadows forces the Burn Tool to darken only the darkest shadowed areas, and choosing Highlights forces the Burn tool to darken only the lightest areas. Because cloudy eyes are usually made up of mid-toned grays, start with Midtones as your range.
6
Position the Burn tool over your selected eyeball, click, and move the Burn tool in a circular motion over your selected area.
The longer you hold down the mouse button, the more you’ll “burn in” the area, so make sure you constantly move the tool while you’re clicking to prevent any one area from becoming darker than the rest. You’ll see the cloudy area of the eyeball darken in real time.
7
Release the mouse button to view your results.
If the eyes are still too light, simply take another pass to the selected area with your Burn tool.
After a few passes, if the effects of burning still aren’t satisfactory, try choosing Highlights instead of Midtones from the drop-down Range menu.
8
When you’re finished, go to the Photoshop toolbar and choose Select→Deselect to release your selected area.
Your final result should look similar to the image on the right.
Dogs Glossary
A-B-C assessment
Checking a dog’s airway, breathing, and circulation.
Dogs Glossary
animal shelter
1. An animal control agency run by local government to protect people from animals, take in strays, and manage animal issues and problems within the community. 2. A privately run shelter managed by individuals who want to protect, advocate for, and find homes for animals.
Dogs Glossary
BARF diet
A method of feeding dogs as closely as possible what they would eat in the wild: raw flesh and bones, along with vegetable matter from the stomachs of their prey. The acronym stands for either Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
Dogs Glossary
blow out
A twice-yearly shedding of a dog’s undercoat.
Dogs Glossary
blue slip
An application to register a purebred puppy.
Dogs Glossary
breeder
A person who raises, sells, and often shows dogs of a specific breed. Reputable breeders screen parent dogs in an effort to produce healthy dogs that conform to breed standards.
Dogs Glossary
castrate
The removal of a male dog’s testicles to render him infertile.
Dogs Glossary
clicker
A small hand-held device that makes a sharp cracking sound when pressed. Paired with a food reward, an effective dog-training tool.
Dogs Glossary
cohesive bandage
A stretchy wrap that clings to itself used to cover and secure gauze bandages without tape.
Dogs Glossary
come into season
The advent of a female dog’s term of fertility.
Dogs Glossary
dead ring
The stationary ring on a training collar that pulls on the collar, not the dog’s neck.
Dogs Glossary
double coat
Two layers of fur — a top coat of stiff guard hairs and an undercoat that serves as insulation.
Dogs Glossary
dropped ears
The term for hanging or drooping dog ears.
Dogs Glossary
Elizabethan collar
A wide, cone-shaped plastic or cardboard collar that prevents a dog from being able to scratch her head. Used to prevent further injury or hasten healing.
Dogs Glossary
euthanize; put to sleep
To kill an animal to relieve suffering.
Dogs Glossary
fall
Hair that extends over a dog’s eyes.
Dogs Glossary
feathering
Long hair that runs from armpit to paw on the backs of a dog’s legs.
Dogs Glossary
free-feeding
Keeping a constant supply of dog food available so that the dog can decide when and how much to eat. It works best in single-dog households where there’s no competition for food.
Dogs Glossary
heartworms
Parasites that live in dogs’ hearts and cause heart failure. They’re transferred through mosquito bites.
Dogs Glossary
heat
The period when a female dog is fertile.
Dogs Glossary
heel
A command and position in which a dog walks at your left side staying with you as you change direction or pace.
Dogs Glossary
hip dysplasia
A painful malformation of a dog’s hip socket. Some breeds are genetically predisposed to the condition.
Dogs Glossary
hot spot
A localized area of skin infection. It’s usually round, red, and warm to the touch.
Dogs Glossary
live ring
The floating ring of a training collar. Attach a leash to this ring for training purposes.
Dogs Glossary
neuter
A general term to describe either spaying or castrating a dog to render it infertile. Neutering and castrating are often used interchangeably.
Dogs Glossary
pantaloons
The tufts of hair on the backs of a long-haired dogs legs that make him look like he’s wearing bloomers.
Dogs Glossary
pedigree
A diagram of a dog’s ancestors for three or more generations that lists the registered names of the dogs and the titles they earned.
Dogs Glossary
pinch collar
A training collar with interlocking prongs that pinch a dog’s neck when tugged on. Some veterinarians recommend them above all other collars for training purposes.
Dogs Glossary
praise
A verbal reward for a dog , such as an enthusiastic “good dog!”
Dogs Glossary
prong collar
A training collar with interlocking prongs that pinch a dog’s neck when tugged on. Some veterinarians recommend them above all other collars for training purposes.
Dogs Glossary
pulse
Normal dog pulse is between 70 and 120 beats per minute. The pulse of a puppy ranges from 120 to 160 beats per minute.
Dogs Glossary
puppy mill
A place that supplies puppies to pet stores, usually without screening for possible genetic defects or properly socializing the puppies.
Dogs Glossary
registration certificate
The paper certifying a dog’s registration with an accredited organization.
Dogs Glossary
registration slip
An application to register a purebred puppy.
Dogs Glossary
release word
A word that lets a dog know that she is free to move.
Dogs Glossary
rescue group
A network of animal lovers who rescue and find new homes for their favorite breeds or animals.
Dogs Glossary
reward
To give a dog a treat for a correct response while he’s still in the desired position.
Dogs Glossary
ruff
The long, thick fur around a dog’s chest, shoulders, and neck.
Dogs Glossary
separation anxiety
A condition in which your dog becomes anxious and stressed when you leave him.
Dogs Glossary
shed
A twice-yearly process of casting off the undercoat in a double-coated dog.
Dogs Glossary
single coat
A single layer of hairs that comprises a dog’s fur.
Dogs Glossary
spay
To remove of both the uterus and the ovaries of a dog to render her infertile.
Dogs Glossary
stripping
Plucking the dead hairs from a dog’s coat.
Dogs Glossary
titer tests
Tests that check a dog’s immunity levels to determine exactly which vaccinations are needed.
Dogs Glossary
top coat
The top layer of a double-coated dog composed of stiff guard hairs that tend to be naturally water-repellant. The top coat protects the dog’s skin and undercoat.
Dogs Glossary
training collar
A collar that enables you to guide your dog and to check her as necessary — a brief, sharp tug tightens the collar around the dog’s neck.
Dogs Glossary
treat cup
A plastic container filled with small treats or dog food. Shake it and give treats from it as a reward as you train a dog.
Dogs Glossary
undercoat
Fleecy or downy fur shorter than the top layer of a double-coated dog. The undercoat serves as insulation.
