This is one of the most enjoyable parts of cavy keeping. To have your cavies win prize cards and rosettes is a great feeling as it means all your hard work and effort has paid off. Just before writing this page, I had bathed two cavies in preparation for a show at the weekend. I will give an account of how I go about showing.
First of all I find out when and where shows are to be held and I find out whether I have to book my entries in advance or at the show.
Then I have to decide which cavies I am going to show. I think about this very carefully and choose cavies that are healthy and in good condition and whether they meet the requirements needed to show them. I pick out my main cavies to show but I also have some others prepared just in case something should happen to my main choice before the show. I have just bathed Bronya & Sprite for a show so I will go throught the process of preparing them. They are only being entered into the pet sections and I chose them because they are good, big healthy cavies.I brought them into the house in a travelling box and prepared for their bath. I heve a bowl that I put in the sink and a rubber mat to stop them slipping when I put them on the draining board to shampoo them. I fill the bowl to about a couple of inches with warm water and holding the cavy's front end with one hand, I lower the back end slowly into the water. I let the cavy sit for a few seconds just to get used to the water and then I use a jug to start wetting the coat. Once the coat is saturated, I take the cavy out of the water and place it on the rubber mat. Then I use the shampoo. With longhaired cavies I use a normal shampoo for the first wash and then use an insecticidal shampoo for the second. I only give the short haired cavies the second wash with insecticidal shampoo. The shampoo is worked well into the coat remembering to get the awkward parts between the back legs and so on, but remembering to keep it well away from their eyes. Once the coat is all frothy with shampoo I put the cavy back into the water and use the jug to start rinsing the coat. All traces of shampoo MUST be rinsed out otherwise it will make the cavy scratch and get a scurfy coat. To do this, I turn on the tap and hold the cavy under it with one hand whilst using the other to make sure all the shampoo is gone. When the cavy is clean and the claws, grease gland and ears are clean, I take the cavy and wrap it in a towel. Then, depending on the cavy, comes the enjoyable part, having their hair dried. I just use a hairdryer on their coats and use a grooming brush to brush the hair. Most cavies enjoy this but some are a little skittish and jumpy when they hear the hairdryer. Once the cavy is dry, I put it in a travelling box with some hay in to cool down and relax after its bath and it stays in there for a few hours before being returned to the shed. I continue with the grooming until the show day. The night before the show I get all the things I need ready for the next day. This involves a bag of hay to put in the pens and getting the travelling box ready. I have a few travelling boxes but I usually only have to use my long one which is divided into four compartments so I can carry upto four cavies in that one box.
On the morning of the show I go and feed all the cavies and then go and have breakfast myself and sort out any last minute details before setting off. When ready to set off I go and put the cavies in the travelling box and then they go in the car.
When I arrive at the show I go and collect my entry sheet which has the pen numbers and ear stickers on it. My other half will go and find the pens my cavies are going into and put in some hay while I give the cavies a final grooming and stick the ear stickers on their ears. The ear stickers have a number on and the cavies go into the pen that has the same number. Once the cavies are in their pens you leave them and don't take them out again. During the course of the show there are plenty of things to do, you could help with stewarding (fetching and returning cavies for the judges) and putting prize cards and rosettes on the pens.
At the end of the show you take any prize cards you have won to the secretary for your prize money if it is given in that class and then you can take your cavies home.
Finally, give your cavy a cuddle and a special treat when you get home because it has been a long and tiring day for them.
HAPPY SHOWING. |
