Let's Go to a Show!

The Chesapeake CWC Specialty is a week away and Sam is entered in both veteran sweeps and the regular classes.  It's been over 2 years since Sam has been in the breed ring.  I don't have any expectations, we are going to support the club and because Sam LOVES to go to dog shows.  He will bark his head off to let everyone know he's there, then nearly wag himself off the table.  For a dog that wasn't shown until he was over 7 years old, he sure does love the game.

Tonight I took Sam and Gin to our favorite DIY dog wash in Culpeper.  It's a wonderful set up - raised tubs, steps up to the tub, hydro-surge washing systems and even dryers!  Of course, I take my own shampoo and my own dryer; I want to use a particular shampoo on Sam's coat and my dryer has more horsepower :)  The prices are very reasonable and the allure of not having to clean up after myself makes the drive worthwhile.

Gin is typically a breeze to bathe.  She stares at me with deep, tortured eyes until all the wetting, lathering, rinsing and drying is done.  Tonight was no different and I had her bathed and dried in no time.

Sam, however, is blowing coat right now.  He's really blowing coat.  I mean REALLY.  I brushed him out on Sunday at got at least a plastic shopping bag full of undercoat out of him.  Tonight, I brushed him again and got nearly as much.  While I was drying him, the hair was swirling around me and the wash stall.  I can't recall ever seeing him blow coat like this.  I'm not panicked though because, out of coat Sam has more hair than most dogs do in coat.  Being out of coat basically means that Sam will be easier to groom for the show.

At this point in time, you are probably wondering why I am bathing Sam a full week before the show.  Well, Sam's coat is temperamental.  When he's freshly bathed, he is a big fuzz-ball.  By bathing him a week in advance, the natural oils have a chance to get back into his coat and it ends up looking and feeling just about right.  Now we just need to cross our fingers that there is little or no rain for the next week and that Sam doesn't spend a lot of time in his Man Cave (under the deck in back of the house).  Wednesday evening we are going to visit Cathy O-C for some help polishing his look.

I'm excited about next weekend for another reason.  Moira's sister, Scout, is also entered in the show.  We haven't seen Scout since the 2008 National in KY.  Both girls were still quite young then.  On Halloween, they will turn 4 and, I can honestly say that Ra has matured tremendously in the last 6-9 months.  It will be fun to compare and contrast her and Scout.  I'm hoping we can get some family portraits too - Sam is the girls' grandpa and Ginny and Bogey are their aunt and uncle, respectively.

I have 3 clean (Ra got a bath last weekend) and tired red dogs waiting to go to bed.  Next weekend I will post show results and, maybe, some pictures.