Looks like he's hiding, Jurgen. The focus thing can cause trouble in situations like this. Also, you had a pretty blown out sky to work with. Very difficult conditions to say the least. Overall, you did a good job given the conditions. I like the idea of shooting at eye level to the dog. The open mouth and tongue hanging out are cute.
I find shots like these teach me more about shooting photos than the perfect ones. Great idea that I'll bet comes out perfect next time.