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#1-What Cavy To Take??!!
-Basically you have to decide : Who is entering your pet an adult or juvenile ( juvenile is under 16 years old & below)
Is my pet a boar or sow ( Boy Or Girl),and how old is my pet, is he/she under 5 months old, 5 to 8 months old or over
8 months old (adult)
Say a child of 15 is entering her baby 4 month old guinea pig sow, this would be "Juvenile owned pet sow U/5"
She would also go in the challenge class which is AA ( Any Age), so that's two classes, you would tell all of this to the
Show secretary and she would enter 'Barley' in the show, don't worry if you are a bit mixed up at first, show secretaries
love to help newcomers to the fancy.
#2-Bath Time for Barley
Now that you have decided which of your cavies to show it is preparation time, cavies need to be smart,and clean to stand
any chance of winning,so the week before the show, its bath time!!!!
What you will need:
-Clean Towels
-Shampoo ( medicated/anti mites)
-Bowl
-Comb and OLD tooth brush
-Nail Clippers
-Its best if you lay all these out ready as 'Barley' will not like her bath and will wriggle, so its best to be prepared.
-Place Barley in the shallow water making sure that her head is above water and then saturate her fur, pour on a little
shampoo and rub in well. If you have a longhair then a comb will help the shampoo get right down to the roots!
-The next thing to do is to rinse out the shampoo THOROUGHLY, if you leave any shampoo on your cavy then it will make
her itch and make her coat sticky. With male guinea pigs they also have a grease gland that needs to be cleaned, this is at
their rump.The best way to get it off with is Washing up liquid,the grease builds up over a long time so you have to give
it quite a scrub.
- The final task in the water is to clean the cavies feet, this is where the old toothbrush comes in handy to scrub their
nails.
-Once out of the water Barley must be thoroughly dried with a towel and then blown dried with a hairdryer or kept inside
until she dries, NEVER put a wet cavy outside except on the hottest of days of the year. Otherwise this could make them very
ill. When the cavy is dry then you should comb carefully through their coat checking for knots and tangles, cutting and/or
combing them out carefully.
-Finally clip their nails, its best if you get someone to show you how to do this (vet or breeder) but as a rough guide
in white nails you can see where the quick runs to as it is red, always clip below this point and NEVER beyond or it will
cause lots of bleeding. Black nails are more difficult because you can't tell where the quick starts. So I just clip a little
off at a time to make sure that you don't have to make a quick run to the vet's office.
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#3-Ready To Go!!
-SO,she's ready for the show!!!On show day you must get to the show hall before the judging begins.(The secretary will
usually tell you when this is.) Take along Barley (obviously) and also some hay and veggies for her to munch on all day, you
have to think how would you like to go out without anything to eat!!!
When you get to the show you need to find the secretary, and she will give you a 'pen number'. The pens are what the cavies
are kept in while they are waiting to be judged, when you have yours furnished with some hay,water,veggies and of course Barley!!
Also, its tempting to get her in and out for a cuddle during the day, but this is not a good idea,as it will only stress Barley
more and annoy the judges. You must stay until you are told you can remove your cavies as it would be hectic if everyone went
as they pleased, but there is usually plenty to do, and a canteen to get food at so finally.....
-ENJOY YOURSELF WHILE THERE!!!!!!
-Hopefully You will go home with a prize ribbon or two!? You might even get REALLY LUCKY and win BEST IN SHOW!!Don't forget
to give Barley a cuddle and a treat when you get home. After all she's tired too!!!
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