What a cute Dachsy ... don't think i've seen entries from you before. Good first try. I can see the apprehension in the expression. A little dark ... but definitely shows something's happening offscreen unlike some others here. Would have been better if cropped and a little lighter ... but like i said ... good first try and in keeping with the subject.
What a sweet dog. I would have cropped this closer or taken the picture much closer to the dog. There is too much empty space around him and the photo isn't the most clear.
i would like to see you come in closer to the dog to reveal facial expression, too much beige carpet in shot makes for boring subject. Flash is always harsh-use a more diffused source-like sun thru window or 60 watt or higher bulb lamp.
Strange angle for the shot. The dog doesn't have enough detail / definition against the light camera. I presume the camera was metering the carpet too to make the shot a bit odd. Could've been cropped much much tighter too.
Meets the challenge, but not a very appealing image. The light is really flat, the environment is very sterile, uninteresting, the pose of the dog is nothing special, there is a strong shadow behind the head caused by the flash. I would suggest to give more thought to environment and light, for example have the dog stand against a desk or table, looking for food, while you have some props around where you show you are preparing your own.