Trifunovici

One fall day....

2011-12-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

I love taking my Atos to the park. And sometimes he stands still long enough for me to snap a picture.

Cutest couple on the block

2011-12-12T21:37:00.001-08:00

Maja and her gorgeous mom Sara.

And finally....

2011-12-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

I claim my dad, the sofa, the Ikea chair and my chuck it rubber ball.
Period.

I also claim this bed....my dog bed!:)

2011-12-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

I claim this armchair

2011-12-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

In fact, I claim it so much, I chewed up the arm rests on both sides....oh yeah, mommy was pissed.

couple of pictures of us

2011-12-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

Just us:)

2011-11-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

An afternoon at Columbia river

2011-11-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

Atos' newest best friend

2011-11-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Srdjan and Kristina are staying with us for a while. They are just in from Belgrade. We are having loads of fun with them (and consuming enormous amounts of food...but that is never a bad thing). The dobermann, however, is convinced that we rented Srki and Kristina to be his daily companions. He particularly loves Srki (maybe because Srki was born on the same day as Ivan?:)))). In fact, he loves Srki so much that he has taken to cuddling with him on the sofa. If he starts sleeping in Srki and Kristina's bed at night, I am going to start getting concerned;)))))))))

Here is Kristina....newest favorite auntie:)

This is just too funny

2011-11-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

No comment necessary!

Fall is here....

2011-11-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ivan's garden has met fall . Ivan and Srdjan went out to clean out the garden beds. And pick some fingerling potatoes. Can I say that the potatoes are the absolutely delicious? We had an entire bucket full. Needless to mention we have been eating a lot of roasted potatoes.

The dobermann has also been having fun in the back yard...he likes to go out with Ivan (and now Srdjan) and help. And I can honestly say that he thinks he helps. The help mostly involves barking and trying to snatch the gardening gloves. His help does not last long, since nothing can be accomplished while he is the helper and inevitably, well, he ends up being sent to the house.
....where he likes to warm up by the fire:)

We went to a wedding last weekend.....

2011-10-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Just tired of everything....

2011-08-26T09:59:00.001-07:00

I spy a doberman in his favorite park

2011-08-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

Positively debonair

2011-08-26T09:50:00.001-07:00

Grandma, bacon and the dobermann

2011-07-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Helping grandma chop some bacon ....

Sleeping beauties

2011-07-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted a picture of my boys sleeping soundly together...which they do on a daily basis. This is one of my more favorite ones....they look so peaceful. And I must admit, I probably feel the most love for both of them when they are in this state....not bugging me, not barking, not demanding, not teasing me, not needing me, not jumping on me...well you get the idea (honey, I love you!).

Sun surfer

2011-06-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

A picture from this morning....Atos finding his own little corner of the sun.....and basking in it. Ivan says that he looks like he is on a beach and the only thing missing is a cocktail! LOL

Far too long....

2011-06-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a long time since I posted anything on my blog...partly because I doubt anyone follows is (my dear friends!:) but mostly because I am sharing things with my friends in so many other ways...like in person get togethers:)
None the less, I have some photos that I wanted to post just because my blog needs a refreshment.

Even though it is past the middle of June, summer has not yet started in Portland. For example, today I am wearing long sleeves. And closed toe shoes....and, like for many others, my mood reflects the very gray skies outside.

Above are pics of some flowers on my patio...it rained almost the entire day on Saturday..and when the rain broke, I took my cell phone and took a few photos....they turned out well so I am sharing them with the world:)

The non-summer weather has not affected the Dobermann...when it is dry, he spends tons of time outside...he loves it. When the sun does come out, he is the first on the deck to do a little sun bathing. When it goes away, he is the first to leave along with it. When it comes out again, he is back at it. All day long:) It is quite funny actually. He does this in the loft as well...
Here are a few pics of Atos lounging around...

This is a picture I took after a long play date with his wife Cocoa....very tiring to be a good husband.
Early in the morning...on a rare sunny morning....
As the shade moves, so does Atos....
In bed with mommy....
Big smile in Springbrook park....after chewing up a stick....
Mom are we ready!?

An adventure....all on my own

2011-05-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

well..I am in Belgrade currently. About three weeks ago I decided to venture accross the pond to see my family because my uncle is sick. I got my ticket, taked my mother in law into coming back with me for the summer, and I am sitting in Belgrade writing this post. I have been here for three days and feel fairly well adapted already....including the time zone:)))) I am leaving for Croatia tomorrow, to surprise my family...well my cousins know that I am coming, but the aunts and uncles are clueless. I was just texting my cousing and both of us were questioning our master plan of surprising all the parents for fear we may cause a shock which would lead to a trip to the emergency room...but we decided that there is no turning back now, since telling them tonight that I am arriving tomorrow would send them into a huge tailspin of baking cookies and cakes, and grilling who knows what and more importantly, who knows how much....and than I would be forced to consume all that food, and we all know how hard that would be for me:)))

Anyway, I have had three magical days in belgrade...yes, the weather has been marvelous, but mostly I contribute this to my little nephew Marko, who is just a doll. I completely adore him and he is just amazing. He is so mature and conversational, and easy to get along with. Hugely interactive. And divine.

Above are some pictures of him (for some reason I can not move them below the post).

Our videos on YouTube can be found....

2010-12-19T21:12:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/Trifunovici

At the springbrook park

2010-12-10T13:15:00.001-08:00

Playing with a dobermann size stick at the park....he had so much fun with it!

Mama's boy

2010-11-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

We took this picture to send to daddy one afternoon, and it has become my favorite.....I love that long face and those doberman eyes.

Why the doberman does not sleep on the bed

2010-11-20T11:14:00.000-08:00

The only comment I have for this picture is: we have a king size bed.

I title this post: TOLERANCE

2010-11-20T11:12:00.001-08:00

I took 4 pictures during this photo shoot...in all of them, Atos is in the same position while Toni is holding on to him in various ways;))))))))))))))))
I am not sure what to say about it, except that at the end of a whole day visit, Toni was on the ground and Atos was playing with him:) Tolerance only goes so far!:)

A toy that lasted longer than an hour....

2010-11-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Atos got this toy for his birthday from his girlfriend Cocoa. He was in love with it so much, that he has managed to have only half of it left after about 4 days....but we still cherish it and play with it only under direct supervision....so that we don't have to piece it together....if you know what I mean:)

Birthday boy- 3 years old today!

2010-11-05T09:52:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATOS!

If you ever invite Atos to dinner....

2010-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

If Atos was ever to come over for dinner, like he did on Saturday at his Aunt Jelena and Uncle Visnja's house, he may end up like this on your sofa. Without permission of course. But than again, who had the heart to make him move....well, no one of course.

Yeah. He had a busy day that day, and he was just done.....so he helped himself to the sofa...and the pillow...and the blanket.

P.S. Pic was taken with an IPhone and it was pretty dark in the room...so quality was compromised slightly:)

Three brothers down...looking for a sleepy picture of Johnny

2010-08-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am at a loss for words to start this post....except to say that I am so deng proud of myself for being able to procure all these pictures. The one of Ivan and Atos, and Rick and Bill is from an old blog post. But the one of Todd and Peter is a new one that Ellen just sent me. How exciting. Of course, leave it to Todd to have the goofiest picture. Anyway, I could not resist to re-post all the pics together. Now I just have to get Sue to get into Rick's lazyboy chair with Jon-Jon and make sure Rick is home to take the picture. The set would than be complete!

The therapy brother

2010-08-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Todd....on his way to visit the children at the hospital for St. Patty's day. Apparently, he wears a different costume each month.
This is an all time favorite picture for me. The look on his face just cracks me up!
I think I will try to talk Ellen into nominating him for Dog of the Day (dogoftheday.com). For sure he would win.

Formally introducing Minka...Atos' lady love!

2010-08-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hello-
This is Minka...Meez, Mimi, MeePeez....she is Atos' lady love. We frequently refer to her as THE cougar. She is 8, after all.
Mimi is a sweet sweet queen bee. Atos and Mimi (along with Lucian) walk in Springbrook park 2-3 times a week. This is the happiest of times for Atos. He loves being with his girl. Minka usually ignores him. She has no other choice. He is annoying and she is the queen bee. You see?

Atos tries to woo Meez all the time. Really. When they walk, he comes up to her (and he is a few inches taller than her) and lifts her ear to lick it....than when she continues to refuse his advances, he (LITERALLY) throws himself on the ground in front of her and starts rolling in the dirt (dirty dogs are so much more appealing according to Atos). She, naturally, continues to ignore him. Than, when we walk by his favorite meadow, he runs on a pile of dirt there, and waits for her...when she ignores him, he rolls in that pile of dirt as well.

Me? Well, I just smile. It makes me happy to see him so happy.

Summer is here...and so is all the fun!

2010-08-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

We have had a pretty busy summer....considering summer has only been here for a month. Yeah. We are having a condensed Portland summer this year. It started in early July....So, there has in fact, not been that much time to have tons of summer fun. However, Atos has been making the best of it. I have been taking him on long walks every day, now that the day actually does not end until close to 10PM. We have been walking with all his favorite aunties and all of my favorite friends. He has been behaving very well. I will leave it at that:)

The best part of Atos' summer has been spending some quality time at Aunt Kim Camp. He was there over the weekend, hanging with some of his favorite pack members: Minka (AKA Mimi, Meez); Lucian (AKA LuLu, OO OO) and his newest friend, Jake the Jack Russell. Yes, I too had a heart attack when I saw the picture of Atos chasing a SMALL WHITE THING THAT RUNS VERY FAST....but apparently, there was no end to the fun they had...all thanks to Aunt Kim, the dog whisperer.
Here are some photos of the fun:)

A few recent pictures- 2 years 8 months

2010-07-15T14:21:00.001-07:00

Auntie with the magic touch

2010-04-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

This is my aunt Tanja...she has the magic touch...she is the only one that can pet my ear while I am standing up and put me to sleep...while I am standing up. I love her very much!

Spring is here...

2010-04-23T11:22:00.001-07:00

Here are pics of Atos from our walk to the Washington Park.
Atos thinks he is a very good boy, except when:
1. He steels stuff and runs to the back yard (which is his all time favorite game)
2. He barks at daddy and mommy to play with him
3. He goes hunting on our walks
4. He jumps for the frizbee
5. He won't drop the frizbee
6. He sleeps on the sofa
7. He sleeps in the bed at night without anyone figuring out he is on there until morning
8. He barks at the squirrels from the window
9. He barks at the squirrels in the back yard
10. ...well you get the idea:)

How much I love my frisbee:) Part 2

2010-03-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

How much I love my frisbee:)

2010-03-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

My favorite little man:)

2010-03-30T22:01:00.001-07:00

He is the dreamiest, cutest, baddest, sweetest little green eyed thing you ever have met. I love him (Even though he currently claims not to love me back:)

Boys ...so many boys

2010-03-30T22:00:00.001-07:00

Here is my favorite trio:)
(please note that Toni has his gun with him...he has used that gun to shoot all of us in the household, but more importantly, he was able to play with the gun even with Atos around..that is a testament to the level of comfort between those two)

Best friends....

2010-03-10T15:42:00.001-08:00

One sunny morning in March....

So many similarities...oh yeah.

2010-02-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

Meet Rick and Bill. The person and the dog. Rick is Sue's husband (Sue is our dear friend and Atos' breeder). Bill is Atos' identical twin brother. Apparently, they are so identical that even the sleeping habits are the same. When Sue and I talk and compare stories it turns out that Bill and Atos have pretty much the same personality. They are both demanding, naughty, and vocal about their wants. They love to play with toys all the time...with their people, not by themselves so much. And yes, seriously, they do look alike:) As for Rick and Ivan....maybe better to use the safest phrase that Hollywood invented: NO COMMENT!

Sleeping beauty

2010-02-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

So......how do I start explaining this photo? Let me start by saying that Atos is 80 pounds of pure love, naughtiness, playfulness, badness, and other things all wrapped in one. He turned 2 years old in November, and one of the cardinal rules of our household is that Atos does not get on the furniture....except our bed, on the weekends, only early in the morning so we can all sleep in. So, some of you dog enthusiasts may have seen an e-mail or a card that talks about all the dog rules...the one about how the dog starts off in the back yard and by the time it is all said and done, the humans have to ask permission to get into their own bed? OK. We are not there, but on that list of 10 things, we are at number 5:)
Let me start from the beginning....January 5, 2008. Atos arrived. He had several beds all over our house. He slept in the crate. 4 months later, still lots of beds around the house, no longer sleeps in crate. Until he is 18 months, crated during the day, lots of beds around the house, comes to bed only on the weekends in the morning. He turns 18 months, no longer crated during the day. Instead he gets left on the second floor of the house, where he has his own loft, with three beds in it. Yeah. Three. We use a "barricade" to block his access to the stairs, so he can not come downstairs and have free reign of the house....about 3 months go by and Atos patiently waits on the second floor until we get home. Than one day, we cannot quite remember when, Atos figures out how the scale the barricade and that day mom and dad come home from work only to be greeted, AT THE FRONT DOOR, by the dobermann (we do, by the way, call him dobermann all the time). Mom and dad think this is funny, ha ha funny, but than every day when we get home, the same greeting committee at the door. Where, we start wondering, is he spending his time? We check the downstairs for any damage, but no damage. Until we notice a small wrinkled spot on the sofa...we look at it, we feel it...and it is, oh yes, WARM. We realize he has been coming downstairs and sleeping on the sofa. All day. Every day.
Now, it is hard to deny a dog access to the sofa, when access to the sofa is all his little dobermann heart desires. At this time, he is also trying to spend more time in our bed...during the night. Let me add here that I, the mom, have made it an absolute, total, set in hardest stone you can carve, rule that the dog WILL NOT sleep in the bed with us....stop smiling people, the rule has NOT been broken. This is not like one of those predictable movies (hello every other movie recently released). The fact that the rule has not been broken does not mean that he has not tried. More than once. More than several times. Per night. Per hour. Yeah. He yanks the door knob...and the yank of the door knob, in the still of the night, sounds like the FBI is knocking on your door to announce they are about to break down the door. OK, I am off track...this post is about how we have gotten to the point of taking this photo....well, here is how: he breaks out of his barricade upstairs no matter how we make it, his mission (im)possible has been to get himself on the sofa and the chair, and his use of his stubbornness and persistence has served him well. We now cover up the sofa, cover up the chair, and don't bother barricading him upstairs.
I could not resist taking this photo...he has accomplished his mission and seeing how content it makes him, I am willing to sacrifice the sofa and the chair. Oh and NO, no matter how content he is in our bed, it AIN'T HAPPENIN'!!!!! ...well at least not for another night:)

Sunriver Adventure

2009-12-18T11:07:00.001-08:00

Like father like son!

Dr. J. wanted Atos to be a nerdy intellectual...wonder why...hmmmm:)

Gibson....could he not melt the coldest of hearts! Yes, that is a rhetorical question.

My boys

Atos and Tango...team play!

Now that Atos' favorite toy is gone...

2009-12-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

Well, Toni left (along with Luka and Tihana). Atos is very depressed. He misses being harassed by Toni all day long. They had so much love for each other. When Tihana and the boys arrived in August, one of our friends said that we got the best toy for Atos, a four and a half year boy. At first that seemed like such a presumption to make, but after the first morning we all realized that, well, it was true. Back in August when the weather was fine (and by fine I mean like a really hunky guy…it was sunny, endless blue sky, the kind of weather that makes you want to bond to nature) and Toni and Atos spent time in the back yard it was obvious that they were the perfect match. That does NOT mean that we did not monitor they constantly, because Toni had a way of getting Atos very excited and playful and Atos had a way of thinking Toni was actually HIS personal alive toy. But even with all the knocking over and jumping, I think Toni only ended up with a couple of real scratches during his four month visit with us. I think his mom would say that was an excellent score card. People have been asking me how Atos is doing now that Toni is gone and I always end up telling them the story of the first night they met at the airport, and that it was love at first sight. It was like Atos knew how much Ivan and I loved Tihana and the boys, and he made them his “in-crowd” right from that first night. I have to add here that not every kid would have gotten along so well with Atos, because Toni was fearless from the first moment. He never let Atos think he was scared of him. And, as we can all attest, he never was. What a great time they had together.
To clarify, we miss Toni too. The house just does not feel the same without him and the rest of the gang.

This is my favorite picture of all time. I want to find a contest where I can enter it, because it is just the best picture ever! The picture tells the story of this bond...

Happy couple:)

2009-12-01T10:46:00.001-08:00

Just to be clear: this is MY sofa!

2009-11-23T12:44:00.001-08:00

Happy second birthday Atos!

2009-11-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Our baby is 2!

Happy birthday to Bill, Johnny and Todd, too!

Atos is dog of the day today!

2009-11-04T08:52:00.001-08:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check him out at:

http://dogoftheday.com/

After today you can click on this link to see his special day:
http://dogoftheday.com/archive/2009/November/04.html

Mama and her baby!

2009-11-02T13:03:00.001-08:00

I had to post this as a follow up to the post below:)

2009-11-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

Things that crack me up about this photo:
1. the look on Ivan's face
2. the fact that he loves making faces
3. the fact that he looks so damn handsome even when he is making faces
4. the fact that this picture reminds me of the picture of Atos below
....I could go on....but I just love this photo because it really shows of the goofy side of my baby.

Mr. Big Nose

2009-10-16T11:15:00.001-07:00

Things that crack me up about this photo:
1. the look on Atos' face
2. the fact that, when he drinks water, his face is wet half way up to his eyes
3. that he uses that nose to nudge the doorknob in the middle of the night when he wants to come to bed
4. that the distance between his nose and his eyes is scary long
5. that his wet nose kisses require use of a paper towel afterwords
....I could go on....but I just love this photo because it really shows of the goofy side of our baby.

Sleeping habits extravaganza Part 2

2009-09-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, this is the third sleeping habits post this month. Overkill, you may say. I don't think so. If you look closely, you will note that all sleeping poses are quite different:) I am showing them all to demonstrate how my boys like cuddling, and how Atos loves to sleep with his daddy. I need to stress that none of these are staged, these are real, these sleeping sessions go on for hours sometimes, and if I am lucky, the camera is around and I snap a photo.
I know some of you are wondering....Mirjana, do you ever get to cuddle with your husband? Yes, whenever the dog is not cuddling with him. :) :) Just kidding. We often have a family pile and all cuddle together!:))))))))))))))))

Sleeping habits extravaganza

2009-09-29T11:25:00.001-07:00

Don't worry girls, Ivan has been informed that I would post all of his sleeping pictures as a collage on the blog. But just you wait, there is another post with sleeping habits coming along.

In motion at the river

2009-09-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last summer weekend at the river

2009-09-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

Some time ago, I wrote a post about how much Atos loves water. People automatically assumed Atos loves swimming. In reality, Atos does not swim, he wades, he runs like a little mad man through the water. For hours. So much in fact, often he is pretty much unable to walk for the next couple of days. Ivan and I love taking him to the Sandy River Delta for his water adventures. We always go out there with our friends Becky and Jeff (or as they are popularly known in our household: Djejevichi..their last name is Owston and Judkins respectively, but Ivan Serbianized them to Djejevichi) and their three kids (Gibby, Tango and Hazel….they are showcased in previous posts as well). In fact, I think we have been out to the Sandy river only once without Djejevichi because they not only introduced us to the Sandy river, but it is always so much more fun to go out with them.

As you will notice, Atos has an orange colored collar on him…it is his e-collar, which he wears for his protection. There are usually 30-40 dogs on the Sandy river and Ivan and I try to take extra precaution to make sure our dog is under control in that mayhem.

Anyway, here are some pictures and a short movie of Atos, having fun at the river this past weekend…probably the last swimming weekend of this year.

I love this photo

2009-09-21T17:14:00.001-07:00

Taking any opportunity to nap with a person!!!

2009-09-14T22:21:00.001-07:00

With daddy....this was not a five minute nap session...this went on for a couple of hours. So, a major thing in common between Atos and his daddy is the fact that they can both fall alseep anywhere, in any position, regardless of noise level, brightness level, commotion level, and so on.

No words needed...isn't he so dreamy?

2009-09-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

How time flies and how fast things change:)

2009-09-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

So, a lot has changed in the Trifunovic household since August (no, we are not yet pregnant...you know, other things in life can change, unrelated to one getting pregnant!:)...my best friend from childhood, Tihana, and my two godson's, Luka (10) and Toni (4) have arrived. They will be staying with us until Christmas (or longer?:) while Luka attends school and learns English. Tihana and the boys live in Montenegro, with her husband Dejan. Tihana and I have been friends since grade school, and we grew up together in Split. 4 years ago, when Ivan and I went on a visit to Montenegro to see Tihana and her family, she bestowed upon me the honor being godmother to her boys. It is truly one of the most special things in my life. I am so lucky to be godmother to such wonderful boys. The only downside was that they lived so far away, and I did not get to see them as often as I would have liked. So when Tihana told me she was thinking of coming to the States for a couple of months, I was thrilled. Thankfully, we have a 4 bedroom house (of which we only used two), so there was plenty of room for everyone. So, as the excitement was building for the arrival of our guests, the only concern I had was how was my baby going to adjust to all this. Living with three more people, but most of all with two kids, and boys at that. Well, when the big night arrived (and I mean night, since the plane landed around 11PM) we took Atos to the airport with us, so that he would not feel too protective of the house. When he saw how happy we were to see Tihana and the boys, he decided he had no other choice or worry, so he immediately bestowed upon them his slobbery ear kisses and things have been smooth sailing ever since. If I could point out one thing it would be that Atos is convinced we have purchased him the ultimate toy: a four year old boy. He is in love with Toni and Toni (and this is why I love children) has no idea Atos is a dog really, so he carries on entire conversations with him, including logging complaints when he has gotten in trouble. It is hysterical I tell you. Luka and Atos have a much more grown up relationship, and it is lovely to see. I have loads of photos, so let me share some:

Luka and Atos napping (Atos will take any opportunity to nap with a human being, so the boys are great because they are similar in size to Atos and that means a whole new level of cuddling for him)

I could not resist posting this one, since I can not resist this face ever.

The boys (ratio is 4:2 in the house....I think we need a girl dog)

Luka and Atos sharing a quiet moment

The blog is being temperamental, so I will post more photos in a new entry.

Is this the best looking bunch of siblings or what!?

2009-08-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hello!

It is true, my life is totally revolving around my dog. And his siblings:) Yesterday I had a nice long chat with Sue (our breeder) and of course, I always feel great after talking to her. She has much wisdom (about life and dogs!). One of the reasons I like talking to Sue is because I love (not just like) hearing about naughty things that the brothers are doing. It makes me feel like my dog is not unique in his naughtiness. That is a good feeling...no, a GREAT feeling. It can be a little isolating to think that only your dog can get so obsessed with a Frisbee or a ball, that he will lose all sense of normalcy and leap his 75 pound body onto you multiple times without regard, in order to get to his object of fixation. Know what I mean? Exactly! Anyway, Sue and I established that levels of naughtiness are about equal (Jon is apparently obsessed with the garden hose), compared all the notes, realized that Atos and Bill (of whom we have no pictures, Sue!!!!!) are carbon copies of each other, and that Pistol (of whom I have no pictures, Sue!!!!) should come for a visit to Portland this winter! Later, Sue forwarded some pictures of her baby boy JonJon, our Almost Dog. He was the brown boy in the litter, and Ivan and I had to chose between him and Atos….we chose Atos, the gold boy in the litter.

Johnny------------------------------------------Atos
As you can see, it was a hard choice, they are but such "lookers." I can tell you however, what tipped the scale into Atos' favor. Ivan and I both felt that he had a more gentile face, that it was "daintier"....we compared that to the picture of the parents:

See what I mean?

Of course, this is just my untrained eye, I don’t still know much about the technical beauty of the dobermann. But, if you will, follow my “hunch” and check out the close up of grown up Atos and JonJon (the picture of Jon was taken just a few days ago).
-- ----------------------------------
Atos ---------------------Johnny
OK, now that I have proven my point and we are done comparing, let us devote the rest of the posting to Johnny. He is Sue's dog. And he is a total mama's boy. He is super smart and is doing lots of training with Sue, including Schutzhund. One other major things that sets him apart (yes, it has to do with the presence of testicles): he is about to be a daddy for the first time! He got himself a good looking girl, Paige, and they made babies. Babies will be born soon.
So, Ivan and I feel very close to our Almost Dog and here are a couple more pictures to show off his hotness!

Brotherly love

2009-07-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

This is Todd or Toddles! He is one of Atos' brothers that lives with our breeder in Washington. Todd is super special (duh, as if it is not already obvious by his picture). When Todd was born he was not feeling well, and Sue (our breeder) did everything she could to keep to keep him alive. And Todd fought hard. For that reason, Todd's tail was not docked and his ears were not cropped, a look which we all love.
Because Todd is so special, he, of course, steals everyone's heart the minute you meet him (see some other Todd pictures from older posts). Sue's friend Ellen (wonderful trainer and a very kind lady) has trained Todd to be - taaaadaaaa- a THERAPY DOG.
So, to make a long story short, Todd is super smart (he has an obedience title already), super hunky (I mean look at him!) and he is super sweet....yes, ladies, I too am wondering why doesn't god make a SMART, SUPER GOOD LOOKING, SENSITIVE guy....I dont know. What I do know is that for now, Todd will have to do it. Here he is in all his glory!!! Go Toddles, we are all so proud of you (and Sue and Ellen, of course!).

Up-close and personal

2009-07-13T10:05:00.002-07:00

2009-07-13T10:05:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone:)

Here is Atos, very up close and personal:) This are pictures of him just throwing himself around the back yard. He loves to rub his face on the grass, and (hello!) pose for a close-up.

I love these pictures because, if you knew Atos, you would know that they totally tell a thousand words about him. First off, check out the eyes….when he gives me that eye, there is not much I can do…I just let him have whatever he is asking for. The expression is so pathetic, that I cannot resist him frankly. The second picture, well, who has a nose that big? And it is a busy nose too! For those of you who have had a chance to spend some time with Atos, you know he is a very orally fixated dog. Read: he constantly has something in his mouth. Legal and illegal objects. Although, I have to be fair- the amount of illegal activity has decreased significantly as he has gotten older. He still likes to steal shoes, but has recently actually started bringing them back. Major step. The newest thing he is obsessed with are gloves. Now that summer is here and we are out in the back yard doing work (well, ok, Ivan is doing most of the yard work) he cannot help himself when it comes to wanting the gloves. The best is when they are actually on Ivan’s hands and Atos will come over and do what we call a “nibble-nibble” activity. He is so well versed at using his little front teeth, that he comes over and does a little nibble bite on the glove…sometimes he misses, and the nibble area includes some skin too….but that is to be expected:)

2009-07-13T10:01:00.001-07:00

Long time no hear

2009-06-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ah....to see the world through these eyes....

Hello!!!

OK...so I guess I am horrible about posting anything on my blog. I regularly check to see if anyone has left a comment on my older posts....than I realize, maybe people would be more inclined to leave comments if I actually posted some new pictures and stories and interesting whatevers.

So, we do not have any major news. Which I guess is good in a way. I wish I had lots to report, but so far things are just smooth sailing. We are not pregnant yet, for all of you who do stop by our blog. We are trying but no news on that front yet! Will keep you posted.
Summer is upon us, even here in Portland Oregon. In fact, we had a beautiful spring. April and May were both fantastic months. June- not so much. But we are at the tail end of it and are hopeful that by July 4 we will be in full summer mode. I decided this year I will not complain about the weather. It has been far to nice to take the liberty to say nasty things about mother nature. As far as I am concerned, we had a wonderful winter. Very little rain, relative to other winters, not to other places- for those of you who may be enticed to move here!:) And the snow this winter was magic. No, my family did not get all bent out of shape about the snow, we liked it! It does not come often enough, so when it does, we try to enjoy it.

Atos is doing great. Most of the time. There was the "jumping out of a moving car through the open window" incident which prompted a visit to the local emergency room, but that was a relatively low drama affair. A few hundred dollars, some antibiotics, shaved hair in a couple of places, bloody nose, bloody tail, bad limp on the back leg...other than that, it was a non-event. Yeah.

We have been going to training continuously, and I dare say I see progress. There is still hope that we will be able to take Atos to a trial to get his CD title. People always ask me what is involved in getting the CD and when I tell them it is some healing, sit and stay, down and stay, figure 8 healing and that the whole thing takes like 5 minutes, they look at me like: how hard can that be. Very hard people, very hard! :))) Really. Of course, if we trained Atos every day we would be so much closer to that point, but we don't . So, we are taking our time.

Other than that, Atos has been growing up nicely. Almost 20 months now. The big event in his home life involves an excommunication from our bedroom. He does not sleep with us, but he was co-habitating the same room as us. Until he was keeping me up at night and waking me up 29474730 times a night. When I concluded that my level of not only morning, but overall crankiness had reached new heights due to sleep deprivation (with no real baby to show for it) I decided it was time to sever the umbilical cord and send the child packing. So now he is sleeping on his sofa in the office. And I am sleeping better too, which has helped to decrease my level of crankiness, to an acceptable level I am sure. I have not checked with others.

Anyway, here are some pictures, recent ones, of the baby boy.

I like this picture because he looks so handsome.

So here we have Atos and his favorite toy. New favorite toy. It dispenses treats. And he really likes it. So much that he demands, four to five times a day, that we fill it up. He than takes it to back yard and has his way with it. Yes, this toy is pretty big. I love the look on his face when he is holding it. Pure happiness.
P.S. Ivan will hate that I posted this picture, because the background shows that our backyard is not so put together. He is always telling me that I need to watch the background when I am taking pictures. I don't ignore him on purpose, it is just that Atos is not thinking about the background either, because he keeps posing for pictures with bad backgrounds!:))))

One thing we must report on is that Atos does have a new girlfriend. This is Cocoa. Cocoa is the dog of our dear friends, Lisa and Jon. She is a pit mix and about four years old. Cocoa is the sweetest dog ever. We discovered that Cocoa has lots of energy and that she is able to withstand having someone jump on her back, bite at her neck, take the ball out of her mouth, hump her etc etc. Hence, she has become Atos' girlfriend. She does put him in his place. He is, of course, no match for her. She is faster than him, smarter than him, and definitely more sophisticated than him. They have had playdates every weekend for the past several weeks. After the first playdate, Atos was so tired, we practically had to carry him out to the car. We all love Cocoa.

Just handsome...Part 2

2009-04-07T10:52:00.001-07:00

Just handsome...

2009-04-03T15:41:00.001-07:00

Bambi!

2009-04-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

I THINK THE PICTURES SAY IT ALL!

To tug or not to tug

2009-03-20T15:50:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from Atos' playdate with his best friend Joey. Joey belongs to our friend Cheryl, and he lives with his sister princess Jazmine. Joey has been Atos' best friend for a long time. He is the ONLY dog that can actually play with Atos, without being completely overpowered. In fact, I am convinced that Joey is stronger than Atos. Joey is a handsome (as you can see!) fellow, and one of the sweetest dogs ever!!! He is a people dog and his mission is to give you a kiss, at all cost...just ask Ivan! So here are the boys, as we affectionately call them:
Playing with toy #1.Playing with toy #2.Playing with toy #3.

Princess Jazmine

How to play the Cube

2009-03-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Sooooooooooooo, Atos has a few favorite toys...the current favorite is the Cube. It is basically a big cube which holds treats that, if the cube is tossed around properly, fall out of a small round hole. And if your dog is really good at it, or as in our case PRACTICES several hours a day, this can be a fun game. For everyone. What makes this game special in our case is the fact that our dobermann has such a long face and such a ginormous mouth, that he can actually put the Cube in his mouth and carry it around. Which looks both funny and scary at the same time....sometimes I worry he will get TMJ from carrying it around.
Atos likes to play soccer with it, or nuzzle it around. Here is proof:

After the rain...bath rain

2009-03-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of Atos after his bath...he was very excited after being let out of the bathroom, and he had a lot to say. I would not say that bath time is his favorite....I am convinced he gets back at us for it, by getting filthy dirty again within a day.

But he is so shiny for those few brief hours...before he goes to the back yard and rolls around, and brings an entire lawn back to the house with him.

We love our dog.

If the video is being stubborn, try this stubborn link to view it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoxHaiW77vY

A rare picture with mommy

2009-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Somehow, Atos and I don't get to take too many pictures together. Not sure why...maybe because we don't have a photographer following us around. See, paparazzi do have a purpose;)

Anyway, here is a couple of pics of the baby with me..In the first one he would not drop the kong, which is sticking out of his mouth. In the second one he decided to be very serious!

To toy...or not to toy

2009-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Brotherhood

2008-12-11T11:58:00.001-08:00

This post is a bit late (4 weeks or so) but better late than never. Ivan, Atos and I took a trip to Rockford, Washington to visit Sue Kelly-Walsh (our breeder) and her adorable husband Rick, along with the three brothers and Pistol. It was a wonderful relaxing weekend, as the Walsh's live on 15 acres and the weather was great too. We met some wonderful people, including Ellen and Peter (who are parents to two wonderful girl dobermanns) and Kayla and her daughter McKenzie (who have three wonderful dogs). All of these beautiful people helped Ivan and I learn more about dogs in general, about dobermanns in particular and Atos specifically. We are forever grateful for their kindness and generosity. Here are some pictures of the brothers!

Blue collar- Bill

Purple collar- Johnny (our almost-dog)

Floppy ears- Todd

Orange collar- Atos

I heard a lot of comments about how "intense" they look...i.e. scary. They are intense, not scary, and they are the sweetest, naughtiest bunch of 13 month old dobermann's around! Guaranteed!

Toddles and Atos

Toddles: the hear-breaker, heart-stealer, cutest thing you ever have met. He is in training to be a therapy dog.

The bruisers

My hunky dog:) On the schutzhund field (schutzhund is a german sport)....before he started doing this (the man in the picture is called the helper):

No wonder people sometimes cross the street when they see us coming!:) (just kidding)

How to play the tug-a-jug

2008-11-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATOS!

2008-11-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Atos is one year old today!

(I think I can now really understand parents of children and how overcome with emotion they get when they figure out that their babies are growing up:).

It has been a wonderful year, full of fun and joy, and hard work, and lots of “monitoring,” lots of togetherness and many other things I cannot think of right now. This was not a year full of sleepless nights, since Atos was the best sleeper ever, he never whined or complained from the first night he spent with us….he was very independent and at about 4 months decided that he did not want to sleep in the crate at night and proceeded to be the best little out of crate puppy sleeper ever….why am I talking about his sleeping habits? Because his great sleeping habits really made it easy to have Atos as a puppy. We never had the sleep deprived nights with a naughty puppy and that helped everyone’s state of mind:)

As we have watched Atos grow (and they grow so fast!!!) we are reminded that we wish he would have stayed “little” for a little while longer. He was the cutest puppy ever seen (yes, of course we are partial but so what?:), he had and continues to have the sweetest disposition, and is growing up to be quite the eye candy! :)

I know I speak for Ivan when I say this, but this is our first “project” together and I am so proud of the results we keep producing. Now we both feel so much better equipped to have a human baby someday soon! Right honey???:)

Here is a little walk down memory lane for Atos’ first year…SRETAN RODJENDAN MILE!

At five weeks!

Five weeks too!

In the car, on the ride home after being picked up...

First meal at home!

Sleeping with Daddy....

Cuddling with Mommy!

In the back seat of my Civic, doing a little yoga

March 1. March 29.

I have a kong!

Playing with good toy. Playing with bad toy.

What? I did not dig that hole!?!

We should have named him Cassanova!

I like to drive the car

November 5, 2008 HAPPY BIRTHDAY

A day with Auntie Kim

2008-10-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

When Auntie Kim sent this picture, it was saved as "the Germans"...which is not only hysterical, but also appropriate. We all talk about what wonderful cars the Germans make (hello Mercedes!), and great electronics, and than there is the Milka the chocolate ...but check out the dogs they have bred over the centuries. Minka the Rotweiller, Lucian the German Shepherd (imported directly from Germany) and Atos the Dobermann (father is German).

Minka is Atos' girlfriend. They are quite the couple. Minka weighs 10 pounds more than Atos and is about 4 inches shorter...Which only means that Atos has a lot more fattening up to do! Minka is Auntie Kim's doggie, and Atos loves his Auntie Kim. She takes the best photos (including this one).

I love mommy ...and mommy loves me

2008-10-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

Trip to Multnomah Falls

2008-10-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

Christmas card???

My mom and her new husband (Zivko) and his daughter, Tanja...on their first trip to Multnomah Falls.

On the way to the top...Jo, Chebi and my boys:)

Why is that water falling down like that? I don't get it.

The crew...on top of the Falls...Chelbi is an Australian Shepherd and she is Atos' favorite cousin. She can't stand him and disciplines him all the time. He loves her. Her mom is Jo, and she is my sista'. (one of three:)

The girls on the way down.

I am putting this picture in because I think my husband is so handsome!

On the way home from Multnomah Falls (in the beautiful Columbia Gorge) Atos did not want to sit in the back with cousin Chelbi (well, it did not help that she disciplined him)...so he sat in my lap, on the front seat....the rest is in the picture...

Just like Michael Phelps!

2008-10-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

Just new pictures

2008-10-08T09:58:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of Atos at 11 months!

He wades!

2008-08-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

Atos is not quite a swimmer yet. But he loves going to the river and frolicking in the water…just enough so that he smells like the river and requires a bath before he can sleep next to our bed at night.
Here is a short video of him hanging with Gibson, Tango and Hazel at Sellwood park!

Embarrassing the dobermann

2008-08-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

Atos and I decided to make this video because it shows of the “sweetheart” part of his personality. Many of our friends have said that I spoiled Atos (like- whatever!) and that he is dobermann and he is too much of a mushy dog. But please, how many of you would resist this face!? Really?
So here is a video of how my baby lets me harass him ….when I need some dobermann loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Bang bang- on the first try

2008-08-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here is an updated video of Atos performing a couple of tricks….in particular the Bang Bang trick, where he was accused by some (haha) of taking too long to actually play dead! Well he has improved in his performance and now is just a very good boy!

Are we taking too many pictures?

2008-07-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Are days just flying by or is just me? Before I am able to turn around it is already a Thursday or a Friday….I guess that is not so bad, since the weekends are always fun….well for some of us anyway. Ivan has been working like a maniac so Atos and I have been spending a lot of time together. We really miss hanging with Ivan, but we still try to have some fun…although it is never the same without him…no one is there to annoy us, tell us what to do, how to walk, which side to cross the street on, how loudly to yell at a misbehaving dobermann, how much ice-cream we should get, what flavor…well you get the idea …Just kidding honey…you don’t tell us what flavor ice-cream to get :))))(That is a typical Ivan joke).

So, the big news we have to share is that Atos is going to be testicle-free as of August 14, 2008. This past weekend he decided to flex his muscles, so in order to avoid any further doggie miscommunication we are going to take a precautionary measure and relieve him of his testicles. Dr. Judkins (www.hawthornevet.com) will have the honors.

We are attaching some pictures we took last weekend. Enjoy!

THE PICTURES!
Here is my new ball. It is currently the only toy I own…most toys only last a short while, like 10 minutes. This ball is very cool and I love to carry it around the house. I play soccer with it and bang it around…when I do this, it sounds like there is an earthquake because I am not very gentle.

These two pictures were taken at a park in NW Portland, were we regularly go on Friday night. Than we go and get ice-cream.
HORSIE!
Gwanma donated this duvet so that her baby can snuggle.
Here are some pictures of our afternoon frolicking at Sellwood park by the river with our friends Gibson, Tango (black dog with tail) and Hazel (Australian Kelpie, brown and tan dog). The yellow lab is Lilly whom we met at the park, and she is the biggest dog bully I have ever seen.

Now, we would like to clarify one thing...the dobermann does not swim...no, no people. He wades. He frolics. He barks at other dogs swimming. But no, he does not engage in the activity himself. Will he ever? I do not know. One thing he does enjoy: drinking river water....oh yeah.

Trying to steal Gibson's toy, after Gibson SWAM for it...and the dobermann waited for Gibson to return to the shore....he is an only child, that is the only excuse I can offer for him (and yes, for you snickering people, his momma is an only child to...and she turned out pretty good...thank you very much!)

A correction must be made here...Gibson is not a Labradoodle, Gibson is a Goldendoodle. We had to get that clarified, especially since he is so handsome (the picture proves it) and because he learned how to swim on Sunday afternoon! Yeay Gibson.

Two posts in two days...is it overkill?

2008-07-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today is just one day after our last post...shocking I know!:) As some of you know, I like to keep an element of surprise in everything I do! :) (I wish these smileys automatically converted into actual smileys).

Anyway, it is the weekend, the weather is great in the beautiful Portland, Oregon ...a little to hot for the dobermann to have any activities until later in the day...so we are taking this opportunity to write yet another blog. Atos is downstairs..I don't know what he is doing, but I am probably going to check in a couple of minutes, just to make sure is now wrecking anything that is for human use or decorative purposes.

Before I forget, I wanted to post a picture of Atos' brother, Johnny. He lives with our breeder Sue Kelly-Walsh in the Spokane (WA) area. Sue is working with Johnny so that one day he can be prepared for Schutzhund (maybe I misspelled that). Schutzhund is a working trial for dogs, where they perform in the areas of tracking, obedience and protection. So here is Johnny at training. Isn't he so handsome???

Ok, so this turned out NOT to be 2 posts in one day, as I am finishing this post on Sunday night...well not really finishing it, since I have more things to put on here (home videos) ...but it is all I got tonight!:)

We want to blog...we just don't do it!

2008-07-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Atos - 8 months

OK, OK, I know it has been forever since we posted. I have heard all the comments you nasty friends of mine can dish out. And cleary, I have ignored all of them:) I am kidding, we should blog more, but we are just not organized enough to do it...or wait, we don't have time becaue our 8 and a half month old puppy takes up ALL of our free time. No, I am not kidding. Atos is still not grown up enough to be left unattended...no, not even long enough to blog. Why? Well because Atos is a naughty dobermann and if he even lays his teeth on sometehing, it leaves a mark...why? Because his teeth are HUGE! And I really mean it...huge. Lets face it, we are not used to having a king kong size dog. We did not realize that with a big dog there is more dirt, more to clean up, they slobber more, they smell more like a dog, they can reach the counter and take stuff down....well you get the idea. We were used to Tessa who did not smell like a dog, act like a dog, eat like a dog and so on....

Here is just how big he is:)

Isn't he so gorgeous? I am totally in love with him!

Case in point...I just had to stop writing this post because as I am sitting in my office I hear that someone, downstairs, is unlocking my car...sure enough, I go downstairs and the beloved dobermann has my car keys in his mouth and is clicking the remote and locking and unlocking, and locking and unlocking my car parked outside. That, people, is why we don't have time to blog!!!!!!! Thank you very much!

PROOF!

OK, I distracted him with a chewy which should get him off my back for about half an hour. It was nice when he was smaller and had smaller teeth, because that same chewy disctracted him for an hour and a half....oh why do they grow!?:)

I am trying to think of things I should share, that happened in the past three months...really, not a lot. Which is good, becuase in life it seems when not a lot is happening, that is a good thing. We have spent a lot of time with Atos, now that the summer has actually arrived it is very nice and we take him to Gabriel Park every night. There, he plays with his best friend Joey. We dont have any pictures of Joey, but will try to get some soon.

Recently we went to dinner at our veterinarian's house, Dr. Judkins (http://www.hawthornevet.com/) and his girlfriend Becky. They live with three dogs, Tango, Hazel and Gisbon the labradoodle. We had such a great time, and Gibson and Atos became instant friends. Here are some pictures from that evening.

This is Gibson the Labradoodle. He is the same age as Atos and very similar in size. Aside from being boys, the other thing they have in common is the fact that they both have their testicals...for the time being, as the retention of the tesitcles is on a day to day basis.

Atos and Gibson are in love. I am not sure either of them quite know the difference between a boy dog and a girl dog.

Here is Atos with one of his favorite ex-toys (it is an EX toy, because he ate it). Gwanma (Atos language for grandma Slavka) bought this duck (upside down in the picture) and it lasted quite a while...until he ate it.

New pics....sans text

2008-05-09T10:48:00.001-07:00

Atos and mommy went on a hike in Washington Park....Atos loves nature and he loves running like a little madman on the paths in the park....I managed to catch him for a brief moment and get his to pose for this picture:)
At the end of the hike....it was much easier to take a picture of him sitting down....
This is the standard state of affairs on the drive home after a hike....a tired dobermann is a good dobermann...:)
My boys....not sure which one is more handsome...or NAUGHTY:)

OK...funny story about the sheep...Gwandma (that is what we call her:) bought Atos this sheep (in real life it is the size of a miniature schnauzer) when he was not feeling well....she thought he needed a new toy to perk him up. He LOVED this sheep for 5 days, until the slaughter he was exposing her to was done. Basically, he would take the poor sheep, drag her to the back yard and than perform slaughter like operations on her...than he would drag her back to the house and do the same thing indoors...finally, the sheep had enough and decided to just be dead and leak all the fuzzy white stuff she is stuffed with. Did I mention this is a Tuff Toy with a rating of 7? Yeah....my point exactly!

Samo za teta Hanu

2008-04-02T17:52:00.001-07:00

Najnoviji trik

2008-04-02T00:01:00.001-07:00

:)

This is Atos' version of play dead trick...and his comments about having to do it, as well!:)

Fun on Saturday morning....

2008-03-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the state of the affairs in the Trifunovic household on Sunday morning....

A month later....

2008-03-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

OK, no I have no idea why it takes me this long between posts....it is what it is;) I am not going to fabricate excuses;) Really (although my imagination could come up with some really good stuffs:).
I wanted to post a few new pictures of Atos (aka Tulip, aka Naomi, newest aka Fabio) because he is so deng cute it is a shame not to share him with the world.

Yes, I have tons of great stories, but no time to write them! So, here are the photos becuase (haven't you heard) they speak a thousand words:)))) (and if you do the math, I am speaking several thousand words than!!!).

Here is Atos and daddy at the training class:

Here is the state of the affairs on the ride home, after the training class:

Atos playing with a puppy

2008-02-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a short video of Atos' social hour at a local doggy daycare.

It can also be seen on YouTube:

My blog is for my dog

2008-02-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

I always thought I felt too much quilt about things in life, but I definitely confirmed it for myself when I started feeling guilty for not posting on my blog! Clearly, I need some professional help....but, as an excuse, I can offer this: I am an only child of a widowed Eastern European mother. (I see some of you nodding your heads....you understand me, don't ya?:)

Anyway, I realize the last blog is titled: after two weeks life is settling down....ok, so it has now been six weeks and life is quite settled. Or so I would like to believe. Of course I am referring to life with a puppy, for those of you who may have interests beyond that of my new puppy, Atos:) As I said to Ivan when we were getting Atos, he will be the center of our universe until we have him on a path of good behavior, being a good, loving, sweet dog...nothing else is a priority right now. And lets face it....it is winter in Oregon, there is not much to do aside from devoting oneself to your dog;))))) This brings up a good point for me, actually....people asked me why we were getting the dog in the middle of winter...if I skip the obvious explanation, such as because the dog was born November 5th, I would say that our decision to get him in the winter was partly due to the fact that we knew he would not require too much exercise while he is little and growing and we wanted to save those long walks when he is over 6 months old for spring and summer in Oregon. So when we did math (well, lets be clear..I don't do math...but my genius mathematician hubby does) we figured even though it may be annoying to have a puppy that has to go out 94875672983927844895721765987237662662302 a day (because their bladder and their brain have not yet established clear channels of communication), they only need to go out for a minute or two at a time (if you are lucky, as are we...Atos figured ut that as soon as you put him down on grass he needs to go potty). So, that was the rationale for getting a pup in the winter, for those of you who may be contemplating whether that is a smart decisions. We made it and we think we are pretty smart.
And pretty....as evidence, I submit this photo.
There are so many stories on my mind that I want to share, not enough time or space of course, but let me tell you a funny one. As you can all see from the pics Atos (aka mamma's little tulip.....red with yellow edges) has his ears cropped. Yes, as you can imagine there are LOTS of comments about the ears....from, why did you mutilate your dog (which I always blame on my loverman husband...because, lets face it, being able to blame ones spouse is one of their major functions...right, honey?:) to what is that on his ears. We tried giving people some gentle explanations, but after a while it just gets boring to be asked the same question over and over and over and over again...so one weekend when we visited Bonnie Wittorck (www.wittrockdobermans.com) we were talking to her about this (Bonnie has bred dobermans for 40 years). She told us some fun stories she likes to tell people. Our favorite is that the dog had brain surgery. When Bonnie told us about it I laughed so hard. Than a few days later, when a person asked me what happened to his ears I sad: he had minor brain surgery. They said: is he going to be ok. I said: oh he is fine...and kept walking:))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Now, in the spirit of "ears" here are a couple of pictures of what my hunky dog will look like when he no longer has to wear the ear wraps (Which should be in another month or two)

Here is a picture of a visit to a dog store....as many of you puppy owners can attest to, puppies get tired very easily (even if they weigh 30 pounds at 16 weeks) and they make funny attempts at getting rest. Here is what Atos did when he got tired of shopping (he is a man, after all...:))

Also, puppies sleep at home a lot too!:) Atos has three beds and two crates....here he is napping in the smallest of his beds (actually this is a special bed, becuase it used to belong to our beloved Tessa). He can still kind of fit in there and he really likes it:

Sometimes they like spending time in their beds when they are awake....along with a friend.

So, the last picture I want to share is one of Atos that was taken while we were visiting a dog store....they had a photographer taking random pictures and this is one of him that I think speaks a thousand words....I just love how his face is telling a story!

Until next time...and yes, it may be another 4 weeks...I make no promises...but I feel guilt!:)

After two weeks...life is settling down

2008-01-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

I have concluded that one of the saddest things about owning a dobermann puppy is the fact that they grow too fast....when Atos arrived two weeks ago, he was little...much smaller than I thought he would be....and we loved how little and portable he was. Two weeks later, at 11 weeks, he weighs 19.6 pounds...a whopping 6 pounds more than he did when we first met him. So sad. His head has gotten so much bigger (but the dumbfounded look on his little face has not changed...thankfully!:) and he is so much taller.
We take lots of pictures to try and capture all of his funny moments....and there are plenty of those. He still remains a pretty calm puppy with a great temperament.... when he is not awake:)))))
During his waking hours, he needs constant monitoring, attention and a person to play with. He likes his toys a lot, but he also loves the slippers and the remote control, which he regularly steals and runs around the house with.....catching him is another story.

Here he is cuddling with mommy. His favorite thing is to come over and lay in my lap. I am not complaining.....however, I am wondering how that is going to work when he weighs 80 pounds? Any ideas, anyone?

We took some pictures while we were at Bonnie's (who is, by the way, a delightful person and the one who takes care of his ears...www.wittrockdoberman.com). So you can see his ears have the potential to stand up;)))) This was the first time we got to see him with the wraps down, so we think he looks quite handsome.

Here is a picture of him riding in the car, which he loves to do and he regularly sleeps while we are driving. In these pictures he was zonked out because he had just spent 4 hours with his cousin Shelby (Australian shepherd), annoying her the whole time and running around like a little maniac. He continued to sleep for another 3 hours when we go home:) Too funny.

Oh, one funny thing is that he discovered the heating vent....oh yes! He discovered it with so much delight that now he has taken to laying right on top of it....and making himself into a little hot dog. It is so funny, because he will just get right on top of the vent and put his face down and just be roasting himself into oblivion. But it is good in a way, because he likes the heating vent in his little room. So that helps. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
Also, he has become the favorite of the ladies (three aunties, Cherri, Rachelle and Kim….and uncle John is there too!) that work at the dog store where we get his raw food (http://www.blackdognaturalpetsupply.com/). So they have requested that he come and play with them and the store dog (Tucker, who is a perfect role model) 2-3 times a week. We are going to take some pictures there soon, and post them. Did we mention that he always gets gifts when he visits...a toy, a chewie, a toy, cookies, a ball ... we owe the aunties big time!

There are lots of other stories to share....for example, he received the best gifts so far..his cousin Zoe the Kerry Blue Terrier from New York sent him a care package with some super cool toys and bones. His cousin Elvis the Boxer from Boise sent him (get this:) a feeding station from L.L. Bean....it is so cool looking I am not sure I ever want to use it for Atos...I am thinking it would be more like a nice piece of furniture! If and when he starts using it (he is still a little to short for it...for another day or so!:) we will take some pictures of him.

More to come soon! I promise!

P.S. How obvious is it that I have not quite mastered the layout of the blog? The only thing I can say in my defense is..I AM TRYING!:)

Puppyhood is very busy!

2008-01-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been a while since I posted anything, including new pictures of our new baby boy Atos. However, let me say this: motherhood is glorious and very tiring!:) Having a puppy takes up all your time and most of your energy, because a puppy can not be left unattended even for a minute (unless closed in a crate during the night). So, blogging is not the only thing that has fallen by the way side...you should see my filing stack at home. Where do I start? Well, first let me say that we got Atos on January 5, 2008 by driving to Hermiston, Oregon...which is about 3 hours from Portland. We met the breeder at a truck stop (yes, you read it right) and got our baby. The breeder (Sue Kelly Walsh) is one of the kindest people I have ever met (she co-bred the litter with Jim Closson of Boise, Idaho). When he picked up Atos, it was obvious that he was so well taken care of. He arrived in a crate with his brother, the brown boy:))) Actually, we had to decide between getting the brown boy or Atos (who was gold boy). When we met brown boy that day at the truck stop, we knew immediately that personality wise, we picked the right dog for us. Brown boy was so CUTE but had a very bustling personality, and we wanted a puppy with a calmer temper. Hence, Atos fit our lifestyle like a glove. We did not spend a lot of time at the truck stop (for reasons I don't feel I need to enumerate here) and set out on our way back to Portland. I drove, and the boys hang out in the back. The ride was uneventful, which is GREAT. Here are some pictures of Atos on that ride home:

Atos and daddy just before setting out on the ride home.

This is not a bad gig they have going here...a nice bed, a new toy, a warm car....a guy can get used to this. Yes, the "party hat" on his head is funny....we have already heard ALL the comments there are about it:))

By the way, he is 9 weeks old and 13.4 pounds heavy here.

Here are the boys when we arrived at the house...Atos is confused, and Ivan is just loving having a puppy!

The first few days were an adjustment for everyone (especially mommy). Well, I would say the first 2 weeks were an adjustment....however, let me also say that Atos slept through the night from day one...he cried a little bit the first couple of nights when we first put him to bed (in a crate, next to our bed) but than he got very adjusted to the fact that at night: puppies sleep (We also had to take good care that he does not inherit his daddy's super weird biological clock....honey, you know what I am taking about!:).
We don't need to talk about potty training, because...well, we are still learning;)
Here are some pictures of Atos' first days in his new home:

Atos in his crate, with one of his three beds....he picked this spot in the house to be his favorite sleeping spot....(and you will notice that the cone is gone:)))))) He now gets his ears re wrapped every two weeks by Bonnie Wittrock, who is a dobermann breeder in McMinville, Oregon.

Do I need to say anything about this picture? Yeah, I didn't think so:)

This is how growing puppies do yoga while they are sleeping!

Tri nedjelje kasnije- Slike sa godisnjeg

2007-12-30T23:15:00.000-08:00

Dakle, neki od vas su pitali da posaljem slike sa godisnjeg odmora....ja sam zaista to htjela da uradim, al' izgleda da se ne moze poslati 20mb slika. A stvarno sam bila napravila selekciju... Majke mi, sto bi rek'o ciga.
U startu moram da kazem: Bokice, nemamo pojma 'de su nam slike sa vama Svedjanima. Majke mi.

No da ne duljim, jer vec je kasno, ujutro treba da se radi, pa da se ceka Nova Godina, pa da se u utorak farba neka sobica, pa da se postave vratanca za pseto, pa da spremim i nesto da se jede... Dakle bice naporno sljedecih 48 sati :)
Ovo su Sale i Zoka, vjencani kumovi. Inace, Sale i Zoka imaju dva divna sina, Petra i Marka. Oni su mnoooooogo fini. Ustvari, Zoka je mnogo fina...a Sale, pa Sale je Sale :)))) Ljubi ga kuma. Inace ovo je jedna od slika sa jednog "nocnog krstarenja" kojim nas je pocastio moj muz. Dakle, on je dobio kao besplatne karte... a Sale, Zoka, Tamara i ja nismo ni razmisljali da se malo preupitamo STA to znaci...BESPLATNO? Hmmm...mislim da je dovoljno reci da se to svelo za splav omotan celofanom, kapetana Peru koji je igrao aerobik cijelo vrijeme dok su svirale disko pjesme, neka Mica koju je kapetan Pera htio u stvari da hm hm, i generalno to je sve bila jedna velika uzasna nocna mora.
Ista vecer...isto krstarenje... Tamara (nasa vjencana kuma) i ja nismo mislile da je celofanski splav bas tako topao.... A jedini nacin da se PREZIVI krstarenje, svelo se na to da se ukljucimo u disko ritam.... Ovdje sigurno pjevamo jednu od Colinih pjesama.

Razlicita vecer, mnogo razlicito mjesto. Ovo je mali Petar. Ja mislim da on ima tako andjeoski osmjeh da ce mu u zivotu bude mnogo lako. Kum Ivan pokusava da izgleda isto tako andjeoski, al cak i kamera zna pravu istinu, dragi muzu :)))
Ista vecer, isto mjesto. Da li treba da se komentarise? :) Za one koji hoce da probaju, to je Stari Pingvin, kod bloka 70 na Savi. Ja se jos uvijek rado sjecam te veceri.

Totalno razlicita tema....ovo je nas mali Marko. Samo cu da kazem da iako ne lici na ujku izgledom, svi smo mnogo zabrinuti jer previse lici na ujku ponasanjem... komplikovani, precizni matematicar :)))) UJKINO ZLATO! :)

Ljubi ga ujka:)

Prije neke dvije ipo godine, tacnije 7. avgusta 2005. smo se u crkvi Svetog Marka po drugi put jedno drugom rekli DA :)))) Zar to ne zvuci romanticno? :)

Beogradska Arena... Na teniskoj egzibiciji NAJJ Srbije (Novak, Ana, Jelena i Janko), dan pred odlazak iz Bgda.

Pusa od Ivana i Mire!

P.S. Izvinjavam se za nepismenost:))

P.S.: I meni ej zao sto mi je zena nepismena ;)

Explaining the "Atos"

2007-12-28T09:11:00.001-08:00

I think it would be an understatement if I said a few people have asked me what Atos means...it's more like, EVERYONE has asked me what Atos means...

Let's be clear, other people had other ideas for naming the puppy...for example, Sue's (the owner of Atos' dad) husband informed me today that he really wanted us to name him Leopold (because in the litter Atos was gold boy...gold because he had a gold colored string to identify him)....and politely inquired whether we can change his name to Leopold Atos :))

OK, back to the story of how Atos became Atos.... I have to give credit to the husband, he came up with it. I had nothing to do with it. We spent quite a lot of time talking about the puppy's name...I had, what I still consider a brilliant suggestion, to name him Romeo. After all, dobermann's are one of the most handsome breeds in the dogdom. Do I need to write that I was overruled, vetoed, shut down, ignored, laughed at by the husband? :) Yeah, I didn't think so. Anyway, with Romeo out of the running, I was in a total naming imagination slump. I could not come up with anything. Than Ivan and I went online and found some Serbian people names that we thought would be fun (Avram, Acim, Boki, Blaza, Vukota, Gavra, Dobrica, Djura, Djuza, Zika, Jaksa, Joksim, Mosha, Sekula, Spira, Ciro,Spiro) but none of them were really "it." So, one morning we were laying in bed, half asleep, and Ivan turns to me and says ATOS. Immediately I thought of my only encounter with something called Atos and remembered, in order to encounter the Atos I had to get ready in 14 seconds (can I just add here: I HAVE HAIR!:) because we overslept and the tour bus was going to leave us behind... It was our first vacation together, in Greece, and we were taking a day cruise around the Holy Mount Atos.

So, in order to give justice to explaining where the name came from, I enlisted the help of- wait for it, wait for it- GOOGLE :) So here is an abbreviated version of what I found out, but enough to, hopefully, satisfy the curiosity of most:

Mount Athos is situated in the entire third, eastern and most beautiful peninsula of Halkidiki, called the peninsula of Athos. It is the only place in Greece that is completely dedicated to prayer and worship of God.

For this reason, it is called the Holy Mount.

The Holy Mount is about 50 Km in length, 8 to 12 Km in width and it covers an area of about 350 square kilometers.

The borders of the monasterial city are defined on the ground by an imaginary line that starts from the location "FRAGOKASTRO" in the West coast and reaches the cape "ARAPIS" in the opposite end.

The natural beauty of the peninsula is extraordinary. The highest point of Mount Athos is like a huge cone, reaching 2033 metres in height. It’s a naked, treeless crest that seems to lance the sky and its slopes are fully covered by ancient evergreens. All these help to create an area of incomparable natural beauty.

The Holy Mount is a self- governed part of the Greek state, subject to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its political aspect and to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinopole as regards its religious aspect.

It has been divided into twenty self- governed territories. Each territory consists of a cardinal monastery and some other monastic establishments that surround it (cloisters, cells, cottages, seats, hermitages).

All the monasteries are communes (of a convent nature) which means that there is common liturgy, prayer, housing, nourishing and work among the monks. The Superior of the monastery, being elected by the monks for life, is responsible for the affairs of the monastery. The Superiors of the monasteries are members of the Holy Assembly and exercise legislative authority.

Moreover, every year the monastery elects its representative to the Holy Community which exercises administrative authority, while the Holy Supervision exercises executive authority and consists of 4 members, elected by the 5 hierarchically preceding monasteries.

Mythology
According to mythology the name Athos belongs to a Thracian giant. During the conflict between the Gods and the Giants, Athos threw a huge rock against Poseidon (the God), but the rock slipped through his fingers and fell to the sea creating a huge block of land which is now Mount Athos.

In a different version it was Poseidon who threw the rock against Athos. The rock crushed Athos and buried him underneath. This rock was called Mount Athos.

According to tradition, the Virgin Mary with John the Evangelist, or their way to visit Lazarus in Cyprus, encountered a stormy sea that forced them to temporarily seek refuge in the port which is now the Holy Monastery of Ivira. The Virgin Mary, admiring the wild beauty of the place, asked God to give her the mountain as a present. Then the voice of our Lord was heard saying: "Let this place be your lot, your garden and your paradise, as well as a salvation, a haven for those who seek salvation". Since then, Mount Athos is considered as "The Garden of the Virgin Mary.

In the 5th century AD, the first monks came to Mount Athos, who disappointed from the boredom of everyday communal life, found this beautiful and uninhabited place ideal for worship their God.

In Greek, Mount Athos is Agion Oros. In Serbian, we say Atos (without the” th” sound found in the English pronunciation).

The anticipation builds up....

2007-12-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

This is our first blog post. There are lots of things we would like to share- like our views on politics, our favorite sports teams, my disbelief that Isaiah Thomas has not yet gotten fired from the Knicks coaching job, etc- however, we think it is best to start on a much lighter topic....our soon to be puppy, Atos.

As some of you may know, in January 2007 we lost our beloved dog Tessa. Tessa was the joy of our lives and losing her was very difficult on both of us. Tessa died last January at the age of 12 and a half. I can not write much about Tessa because the thought that her little person is no longer around, still makes me incredibly sad.
Lets just say that there will never be another dog like our Tessa.

So, after months and months and months of not having a dog (for me, this was the first time since I was a freshman in highschool that I have not had a dog and Ivan had only ever lived with Tessa...which was enough to impress upon him the thrills of living with one), I decided I had enough of an empty house, no visits to the park, no walks, not being oppressed by my dogs wishes and desires, and, generally, not having someone to worry about (worrying about Ivan is in a league of its own:)))) Hence, I set out, quietly, on a quest to find us a dog. Ivan was warm to the idea, but as he admitted himself, he was going to wait for the timing to be perfect. Me- well, I am an only child and I usually get what I want within a few short days- well, I had a hard time accepting the fact that it was going to take us that long to get a dog. After all, I wanted one and to me that meant NOW. So, I set out to find a puppy so perfect in every circumstance, that we could not pass it up.
Yes, we like purebred dogs that we can raise from puppyhood. We like the semi-predictability of certain breed behaviors. We are planning on having kids and we wanted a puppy whose history we knew from day one.

So after looking at several breeds and narrowing our criteria it come down to a giant schnauzer and a dobermann. I knew that would be a tough choice because I have only ever had schnauzer and I had a hard time imagining having a dog without facial hair....but the thought of grooming a giant schnauzer and wiping its feet every time it went out (lets face it- we live in Portland, it rains about 7 months out of the year here) was more that I could handle....so we decided to get a dobermann. In the meantime, while all the discussion was going on about which of the two uber German breeds we would get, I found an excellent dobermann breeder in Idaho, who owns a mamma dobermann (Sasha) from a breeder in Serbia. Once I called him and found out that Sasha was pregnant (hello- who would think that was NOT a sign?:) I was set on getting a puppy from this litter. And so, I presented my findings to my husband and some 350 days earlier than anticipated, we made a decision!
That is the short (according to some, anyway:) of how Atos became our new puppy and how we have yet to meet him....he was born on November 5, 2007 and will be coming home sometime during the week of January 1st.

Preparations have begun for his arrival.....toys have been purchased, books have been read, education on doggie nutrition has been had, doggie daycare places have been researched, command words have been discussed....now we just need the puppy!