Have you ever taken a photo and then looked at it later and wished you didn’t have the leash in the photo? Don’t worry…it’s quick and easy to remove it in most cases!

Whether you’re using Photoshop or an online editor, you’ll want to select the Clone Tool. Using PicMonkey, you’ll see it in the Lipstick selection of touchup options:

Select the Clone tool then you’ll see a menu to select the brush size and the brush hardness. Choose the brush size based on how large of an area you need to touch up. Choose the brush hardness based on how exact you need to be. If the brush hardness is low, the sampled area can bleed over into the area you didn’t want to touch up. If the brush hardness is high, the edges of the sampled area can be very obvious when you make your touch up.

You also see an indicator to choose the portion of the photo you want to clone. Look to the left of Irie’s shoulder…you’ll see a white dotted circle with a cross in the middle. Move that indicator around until you have it very near the area you want to touch up.

I moved the indicator to Irie’s shoulder so I could sample the portion of the photo just to the left of her leash. I sampled the road then started the cloning process, pasting it over her leash…

It takes some trial and error. Don’t just hold down the cloning tool and drag it; it will pick up and mirror portions of your photo as you go. Instead, think of it as painting on dots on your existing photo. As you move down the leash, sample the adjacent area again…you’ll see in the finished product below that I sampled Tiki’s fur and removed her leash, too.

It’s quick and easy…and if you mess up, you can always start all over again!

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway on our Lovetripper.com site for an Eye-Fi Mobile X2 memory card to automatically upload your photos from your camera!

Lesson 11 covers continuing education, an important topic in any field. With new research and improved styles of training, it’s so important to stay up with the latest in the dog training world.

As with other lessons, this week’s lesson featured both video and written sections with referrals to course founder Fernando Camacho’s favorite dog training books, professional organizations, websites, and other resources. I was happy to see some of my favorite books on the list including The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell. (If you haven’t read it yet, you have to; I reread it as soon as I finished it the first time.)

This lesson also motivated me to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time: get a membership in the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT); the organization was founded by Dr. Ian Dunbar whose work I love. (If you’re not familiar with Dr. Dunbar’s writing, be sure to pop over to our Freebies page. We have two of his books–Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy–available for free download, courtesy of his site, Dog Star Daily.)

In last week’s review, I told you about the free business cards that come as part of the course; this week, I got the proof of mine!

Back next week with Lesson 12…the last lesson before my final exam!

Previous reviews of Make Dogs Your Life:

• Week Ten
• Week Nine
• Week Eight
• Week Seven
• Week Six
• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Introduction

Disclosure: We are receiving the Make Dogs Your Life course for review; we are not paid for our review and all statements and opinions are entirely our own.

Finally, we have our video of April birthday and gotcha day dogs and cats from DogTipper and CatTipper readers! After just writing on our Paris and John’s Country Home blog about how much I was liking our new wireless DSL Internet service, a thunderstorm knocked out our service for several days! We have a small modem but it’s MUCH slower so we’re still playing catchup…

But now we have our April video…and our April winners! Selected at random, our April dog, who wins a sack of dog toys, is Maki, whose mom says, “Our pup, Maki (who I call “Macqua”) will be turning 11 years old this April 23! She’s grown a little sensitive, has had a bit of trouble with her eyesight, but other than she’s a happy and active pup! Well, a dog, but she’s always going to be a pup to me. We’ll be throwing her a birthday bash with dog friends, dog treats, and a new little house for the bedroom. She needs a lot of attention these days as we know she’s reached her age of retirement.”

And our April birthday/gotcha day cat is handsome Athens:

Happy birthday and gotcha days to all! And, if your pet has a birthday or gotcha day in May, please be sure to send in his or her photo to our May Birthday Bowser Club or our May Birthday Cat Club!

Each week day reporters share celebrity scoop on his syndicated television show, but Harvey Levin’s life became part of the glitterati gossip gabfest on the May 15th edition of TMZ when the animal-loving luminary announced that he had is a new doting doggie Daddy to a rescue puppy.

During a segment showcasing Miley Cyrus’s new barking buddy Happy, proud new pet parent Levin showed a snapshot of his new fur baby, a tiny terrier/dachshund.

Although the rescue who paired the high-profile personality with his pup is still unknown, Harvey Levin holds a special place in his heart for two animal rescues, Ace of Hearts and Pet Orphans of Southern California. In the spring of 2011 the gossip guru recorded a rendition of the Paul Anka-penned classic “My Way,” with proceeds benefiting the two non-profits.

Photo Credit: TMZ

On June 10th baseball buffs are invited to bring their barking buddies to watch the team take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Marlins Park in a game benefiting the Humane Society of Greater Miami/Adopt-a-Pet.

Both pup and pet parent tickets must be purchased online at least five days before the Marlins and the Rays head for the diamond.

Stepping up to the plate to further help the paws cause, player Mark Buehrle and his wife Jamie– the founders of Buehrle’s Buddies– request that fans bring a donation of new or gently used dog toys, blankets and beds for the orphan pets at The Humane Society of Greater Miami. The donations can be dropped off in a collection bin located in the ballpark outside of the First Base entrance.

(If you miss the June 10th event, you won’t be in the doghouse. The Miami Marlins are hosting a second Bark at the Park on July 29th when they face the San Diego Padres for the benefit of the Humane Society of Broward County.)

Admission: Tickets for people over the age of three are $15; dog tickets are $10.

When: June 10, 2012 at 1:10 p.m.

Where: Marlins Park at 501 Marlins Way in Miami, Florida

For more information:

• visit www.marlins.com/bark

Photo Credit: ClipArt

Blog Name: Pet Auto Safety Blog

Complete Blog URL: www.petautosafetyblog.com

General category (dog, cat, all, other): dog

Blog description: Promotes traveling safety in the car with your pet. Blog articles feature various pet travel products, fun pet travel destinations, training tips, and sometimes just some fun doggy stuff.

About the blogger(s): Dawn Ross runs this blog with her two dogs, Maya and Pierson. Both of them like to test and show off new pet travel products.

Blog’s Twitter URL: @naturebydawn

Blog’s Facebook URL: www.facebook.com/petautotravelsafety

Search for more pet blogs!

The Pet Blog Directory features all types of pet blogs. For an index of blog categories or to add your blog, please visit the Pet Blog Directory home page.

My Dog’s Name:

Age of My Dog: 2 years and 1 year

Breed: Lhasa Apso and Dachshund

What I Love About My Dog: My Doxie Daisy-Mai is such a sweet baby. I rescued her from a bad situation when she was only 5 months old; she will be 1 year old on April 29th. Then after my 14 year old Terrier passed away early February, I adopted Nola-Breez from a rescue organization; she had been abandoned on the streets. I’ve been married 27 years and all my animals have been rescues or strays. These two fur babies have helped me get through the days. I miss Little-Bit that I lost and my mom who I lost 4 years ago. They make me laugh til I cry and make me laugh when I’m crying. Rescued is the best breed and with these two sweethearts it’s no doubt who rescued who.

-contributed by Sher Adams in Many, LA

Want DogTipper to feature your dog as Dog of the Day? Use our online form to submit information about your pet. Be sure to attach a photo and/or video!

Castle is spayed, up to date with his shots and is house trained. He is ready and eager to find a home with understanding pet parents who will take the time to give him the support and love he needs.

For More Information:

• email the Humanity For Healthy Animals Foundation
• call the Humanity For Healthy Animals Foundation at (559) 667-8439
• visit Castle’s Petfinder page

About Adoptable Dog of the Day

If you are interested in one of the dogs featured in Adoptable Dog of the Day, please contact the person or organization listed with the dog’s information; they’ll be able to tell you more about this dog. If you would like to list a dog as an Adoptable Dog of the Day, please visit our Submit An Adoptable Dog of the Day page.

If you have a blog, you are free to republish the Adoptable Dog of the Day listings and please feel free to share them on social media. Let’s help find these great dogs homes!

Just this week we reviewed what has quickly become Tiki’s favorite bed in the house…the Ortho-BLISS Memory Foam Bed from Pet Dreams. Now one of our lucky readers will have a chance to win a bed for their own pet!

How to Enter

As always, we’ve got several ways to enter in the Rafflecopter below; you can enter with as many or as few entries as you like. This giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada. The giveaway ends at 12:01am Eastern on May 30, 2012. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Pet Dreams has provided the prize for this giveaway; we were not paid for our review or giveaway and all opinions are our own (and Tiki’s!)

One reader will win a grab bag of pet grooming goodies from John Paul Pet! You’ll remember that we recently reviewed several products in this great line of products; now you’ll have the chance to win a bag full of these products to ensure a well-groomed pet all summer long!

And don’t forget to RSVP for the party and enter to win a pre-tweet grab bag of pet toys!

How to Enter

In the Rafflecopter below, you’ll find numerous ways to enter; you may enter using as many or as few entry methods as you like! This giveaway is open to US and Canada mailing addresses but readers worldwide are welcome to enter and donate any prize to a US rescue. The giveaway ends at the end of the Twitter party, 10pm on May 27, 2012. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway