Around the house she’s known affectionately as 8-Ball. But when things get serious at dog shows around North America, she’s known as Shines Call the Winning Shot with Tzo Wen N Xin Jin.
The almost-six-year-old (8-Ball’s birthday is May 27) is the most decorated, award-winning Chinese Shar-Pei in Canada, says Rhonda Holloway, who moved to Virgil with 8-Ball, her husband John Kolodziej, and eight other Chinese Shar-Peis last year. The couple breeds them via their kennel, Periwrinkles Chinese Shar-Peis.
“She was the top Shar-Pei in Canada for 2018 through 2021, and 2023 as well,” says Holloway.
And the awards keep coming for 8-Ball. Just last week, she was named Best of Opposite Sex, the top female after the male Shar-Pei Good Fortune Good And Ready was named Best of Breed at the world-famous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Holloway raised Shar-Peis back in the late 1980s and 1990s, but gave it up for a number of years. She got back into it again in 2016.
“I absolutely love this breed,” she says. “Back when I started they weren’t recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club, but that changed in 1990. I never showed them back then, but since we started up again I’ve been showing them almost every weekend for the last six years.”
All nine of Holloway’s Shar-Peis are show dogs, but none as successful as 8-Ball, a name given to the dog by her breeder.
She explains that judges look for dogs to match the standard for the breed. For the Shar-Pei, that includes a square-like body, a top half that rises, a tail that is upset over the back, an up-tilted rear end, moderate rear angulation, shoulders that are set back, smaller ears that don’t perk up and a muzzle that is equidistant from the forehead to the stop.
The wrinkly fur that is natural to the breed must also be maintained. And Holloway adds that when a Shar-Pei sits, those wrinkles are supposed to fall. 8-Ball, she adds, was super-wrinkled as a puppy, and has clearly maintained quite a bit of those wrinkles.
“Her movement is absolutely perfect,” Holloway adds. “She flows like no other Shar-Pei I have ever seen. When she moves around the ring she is just amazing. And she loves it. I don’t have any dogs that love it like she does.”
Though Holloway travels with her dogs to shows such as Westminster, 8-Ball usually competes alongside professional handlers, including Hailey Carusi who was in the ring with her last week. Between shows, 8-Ball attends handling classes, and Holloway makes every effort to socialize her.
“Most Shar-Peis are known to be a little bit more aloof,” she adds. “She is very friendly and outgoing. That is a little different than most in the breed.”
During a short meeting at the Virgil Sports Park, 8-Ball is full of personality and energy. When Holloway releases her, she runs to this reporter and accepts the affection on offer. Well-behaved, when Holloway calls her back 8-Ball enthusiastically returns to her side.
There’s no sign during her time at the park that 8-Ball is aware of her lofty status amongst the Shar-Peis of the world, and that’s just fine for Holloway, who will be showing her at the American Nationals near Chicago in September.
“She’s won the top-25 there twice,” she says. “You have to be invited, and she’s been invited five times in her six years.”
And 8-Ball isn’t the only winning Shar-Pei in the household. She’s been setting the standard for others in the Periwrinkles stable.
Juice has won multiple awards in the U.S. and Canada, while Cello has also captured titles in both countries, her first coming when she was just seven months old.