Prepping for show

[Godins Chinchillas]

Hiya-

I just want to get everyone's opinions on prepping for show. How often do you comb your animals? What do you use to whiten their bellies if they are urine stained? Do you try to shampoo the urine out? I've got one girl that is a little stained-not bad but definately bothersome to me. I changed her cage twice a week but she always likes to stick to one corner to sleep and of course that is where she urinates.

With Nationals I am finding that rough grooming them 4 weeks before the show, again at two weeks before the show is shaping them up nicely. I plan on running a size 2 on them on Thursday and taking a 1 to touch up at Nationals. What is your preferred method?

 

[Sycamore Chins]

We've got a smaller amount of animals, but a few weeks before the show we put our show chins on paper bedding. I don't think we've had urine stains since we started doing that.

I'm not home enough to do the prep that I want. This year I was home two weekends before the show so I rough groomed everyone with a 3. I try to do a 3 the night before the show then a 1 (more like 1.5) the morning of, but this year we aren't getting in until really late, so it'll be a scramble to get everything done the morning of the show.

 

[mark miller]

I comb all my possible show prospects 2 weeks before the show very deeply attempting to remove all the loose fur. If you have urine staining, rub corn starch into the fur and comb through the stain. Repeat as many times as needed leading up to the show till stain lightens or disappears. I then look at all the possible show prospects under the grading lights 1 week before show and make final selections for the show. Then 2-3 days before show I comb them all again getting the rest of the loose fur out. The morning of the show I groom very lightly, only going about half way into the fur and lifting all the tips up and forward towards the head. This makes grooming at the show go much faster and you dont have fur flying everywhere which is annoying for everyone else trying to get the loose hair off their groomed animals.

 

[mishalaa]

I start dusting daily four weeks before the show, with fresh dust. Two weeks before the show I change dust again, and rough groom with a #4 and clip tails. I give the final dust bath the Wednesday before the show. I pull water from show animals the night before the show. The morning of the show, I groom with a #2, then finish them with a lint roller.

I don't like to comb too much as it's possible to overgroom them, and at that point continuing to comb will only make them look worse.

For stains, I've sprinkled dust on it and wiped with a baby wipe, repeating until it lightens up. Corn starch works better, but it will dull the animal's color if used anywhere other than white areas.

 

[EMSChins]

I start dusting daily a month before a show with a rough comb out at that time and comb again with a number 4 and 3 comb 2 weeks before at which time I also trim their tails.

I discontinue dust the Tuesday or Wednesday before the show on all dark animals (BV's, eb's and XD std's) and on Thursday or Friday for the lighter ones - depends on the weather and hall conditions (if the hall is carpeted and there is low humidity then I discontinue dust a day earlier due to static making the dust cling to the animal).

I thoroughly clean the cage the same day I discontinue dust and discontinue hay at that time as well. I do not put hay in the carrier with them on the way to the show because if it gets wet it has the potential to stain the belly. They get hay after the show.

The morning of the show I use a number 2 and 1 comb on them lightly, I also blow on my hand and use it to remove loose fur as well as use a lint roller. Then once more with a number 1 comb and very lightly with a lint roller and then shake them out and hope for the best!

I have one girl here who like yours likes to lay in her urine - ticks me off!

I have found the best thing for her, besides daily spot cleaning of her cage, is to leave a pan of dust in her cage for this month around the clock. I have seen her lying in the dust rather than in the wet shavings and I am just hoping for the best.