Lhasa Apso

The Lhasa Apso is mainly said to originate in Tibet on the Himalayan Mountains about more than a few hundred years ago. The breed gets its name from the Lhasa which is considered to be a sacred city. For a lot of years after its origination, these dogs remained mainly bred by nobles and holy men of Tibet. These dogs were used as watch dogs in monasteries and in temples. These dogs were considered to be sacred as well. This was mainly because the people of Tibet believed that when the master of these dogs died, their souls entered into the bodies of their respective dogs. These dogs are very rare, not commonly come across and very hard to buy. It was only in 1993 that these dogs spread across the country.

These dogs are small yet a hardy bunch of dogs. Their length is larger when compared to their height. They have very small and dark eyes. Their eyes are deep set and are dark brown in color. They also have the presence of pendant ears that are quite heavily feathered. They have straight pair of front legs. Their back legs are not clearly visible as they are heavily covered with hair. Their muzzle is of quite medium length. They have teeth set in such a way that they meet in a level or a slight under shot bite. They have round feet. Their feet are quite cat like with the abundance of hair. They have a high set tail. Their tail is very well feathered as well.

They carry their tail over their backs in a screw. Some tails may or may not have the presence of a kink at the end. They are double coated and their coat is dense. Their coat is straight and so long that it covers the entire body that is, including their head and their eyes. Their coat usually grows so long that it reaches the floor. They do not come in any specific color as well. Any color is acceptable. However, the most popular coat colors are gold, honey or cream in color. The other colors of their coat are slate smoke, dark grizzle, white, black and multi colors of brown. Their coat color may change as they grow from puppies to adults.

These dogs are very hardy, assertive, well mannered, intelligent, friendly and lively dogs. These qualities of theirs make them great as pets. These dogs are high spirited and devoted little creatures. They are usually very affectionate toward their masters and also very obedient and listen to their masters commands. These dogs are said to respond very well to motivational training. As they have a very good and keen sense of hearing, they make excellent watch dogs. The down fall of owning these dogs is the fact that they usually tend to think that they are the pack leaders of the pack containing humans; this is known as the small dog syndrome. This syndrome may cause many varying degrees of negative behavior. They tend to get very suspicions of any stranger and lose their ability to tolerate kids.