Bonnie Wittrock loves the clean lines and intelligent demeanor of ZZZZZaaron and her other Dobermans. Of the many dogs she has shown in her 40- year career, ZZZZZaaron has won the most championships.

Marcus Larson / News-Register

ZZZZZaaron, a handsome black and tan Doberman, has a full name that's longer than the driveway leading to owner Bonnie Wittrock's rural home. And since dog show titles are added to the winners' names, it's getting longer.

After taking best of show in conformation at the United Doberman Club's 2008 specialty show, his full name is now International/Canadian/United Doberman Club Champion Wittrock's ZZZZZaaron CD-AKC,CKC,BH,T2,VCX,AD,WAC,ROMC,SCH III.

Each group of letters denotes an additional accomplishment. SCH III, for instance, stands for Schutzen III, the highest level of personal protection training.

"ZZZZZaaron's pretty special," Wittrock said. "I know of only one other dog with so many titles."

And her knowledge runs deep. She's trained and groomed dogs for four decades, and owns and operates Bonnie's Dog Training Center.

ZZZZZaaron's common name, with all those Z's, denotes his heritage.

His mother's name was Sizzzzzle. Wittrock added a few Z's to describe the female's pizzazz.

And she gave ZZZZZaaron and his eight brothers names that started with at least one Z.

"I like to name each litter for a certain letter," said Wittrock, who has bred and raised about 25 litters of puppies over the years.

The letter names have been her style for about a decade, she said. Before that, each litter had a theme, such as "call," with puppies named "Call to Glory," "Call of the Wild," etc.

Although Wittrock sells most of her puppies, she decided right away that ZZZZZaaron was a keeper.

"I knew the minute he was born that he was special," she said. His siblings were average-size, 16 to 19 ounces, but he weighed 23 ounces. And he clambered to his feet and started nursing right away.

As an adolescent, he became "cartoonish," all paws and head. But even then, he announced his uniqueness.

"He never took his eyes off me," Wittrock said. "I'm an obedience person first, and that's what you need - their complete attention."

ZZZZZaaron grew up to be a prime example of his breed, with lines and angles that conform to Doberman standards.

He has the heavy-boned, muscular body that Wittrock prefers. Some show judges prefer a lighter, thinner dog, she said, so she always hopes for a judge who favors the older, sturdier style.

Wittrock said ZZZZZaaron loves competing in trials that test his tracking, obedience and protection skills. In these, he must obey Wittrock's commands as he searches for hidden objects, wards off an attacker and performs other tasks.

He also revels in conformation rounds, where he shows off his sleek body and "gets rewarded just for being himself."

Occasionally he can't contain his joy and lets out a bark.

"He's a talker," she said. "That's cost me points in the ring."

While ZZZZZaaron may have lost a point here or there over the years, it hasn't kept him from racking up the titles. His best in show at the 2008 National Specialty was "the best I've done in 40 years," Wittrock said.

The show attracted entries from all over the world.

Wittrock gives ZZZZZaaron special credit because he almost showed himself. She was having an off day because of an injured knee.

"He just turned on the charm," she said. "When he won, there was such an uproar of applause."

Wittrock isn't surprised that ZZZZZaaron did so well that day.

"You don't master a Doberman," she said. "You partner with a Doberman."

She has been devoted to the short-coated breed since she was a teenager.

A dog-lover since childhood, she found a job in a grooming shop when she was in high school. One day, her boss walked in, wearing a gold shirt and carrying a red Doberman puppy.

"So beautiful!" she recalled. "I knew instantly that was the breed for me."

She bought her first Doberman as a pet, Wittrock's Little Regret. "She had issues," Wittrock said, recalling that dog's misbehavior, "so we took obedience classes."

It was the beginning of both Wittrock's dog training business and her own line of Dobermans. ZZZZZaaron and the other dogs she shows today are all descendants of Little Regret.

In addition to breeding Dobermans and training all breeds, Wittrock continued grooming for many years. In fact, she left college after two years to go into the business full time with Bonnie's Dog Grooming.

She sold the grooming portion of the business in 1996 to concentrate on training and breeding.

Wittrock is especially proud that her line of Dobermans is free of genetic health problems. This is a product of careful testing and selective breeding.

She makes sure her litters are sired and borne by dogs with clean bills of health. As a result, dogs from her line live an average of 10 to 14 years, while the average lifespan of the breed as a whole is only eight to 10 years.

She also is proud of how well-trained her dogs are - something she advocates for all breeds. Training is important for the sake of both the owner and the animal, she said.

She starts the process with her own dogs from the day they are born - from the moment of whelping, in fact.

With the mother overseeing things, "I pick the pups up, hold them to my face, hold them in my lap," she said. "As they grow, I handle and clean them. During their weaning, I start teaching commands."

When the pups are about five weeks old, Wittrock starts walking them. She has a path in her yard with miniaturized obstacles for them to walk over and past as they grow attuned to her commands.

Today, she has three Dobermans living with her - ZZZZZaaron, Wittrock's Psychedelic Flashback and Wittrock's Razzzzzen, a female who tied for high points in obedience at the National Specialty.

"These are my pets, my buddies, my companions," Wittrock said. "We enjoy training together, and they live in the house."

While her dogs are free to go anywhere in the house during the day, they sleep in kennels in a separate room at night. "Otherwise, all three would be on the bed with me," she said, laughing.

The dogs are gentle with visitors. Although they love attention and petting, they are loyal to their owner - so much so that ZZZZZaaron jumps on Wittrock's Roomba vacuum if he thinks it's getting too close to her.

As much as she loves dogs, she doesn't like to keep more than three at a time - puppies excepted, of course. "Dobies are very emotionally demanding," she explained.

The Doberman breed originated in Germany in the early 1800s. Combining qualities of the German Pinscher, Rottweiler, Manchester Terrier and Beauceron, Louis Dobermann bred his dogs for protection, stamina and alertness.

Their intelligence and demeanor make them good companions, Wittrock said, noting, "They're very personable, friendly and social.

She also said, "They are very in tune to where their people are. They're a one-family dog."

Wittrock's home is filled with trophies and photos from dog shows, along with knicknacks and decorations featuring her favorite breed.

She said ZZZZZaaron, Razzzzzen and Psychedelic Flashback understand that the decorative items are Dobermans.

"They recognize their own breed," she said. "Even if they see a dog all the way across the field, they know if it's a Doberman.

"They prefer Dobermans to other dogs. I think they're a little arrogant."