In the first part here I will share with you the right procedures, and ethics for wanting to breed your Lhasa. If you love this breed of dog, as I do, and you feel the world is a better place with Lhasa’s in it and you feel that your love for this breed is the main reason for proliferation, then you have the ethics for breeding. Breeding the damsel, which is the term I use for the female Lhasa, unlike some who use another term I shall not use, is quite detailed. First you need to be aware of her abilities and what you hope to achieve. If you are breeding for the wrong reasons, such as for Genetic Engineering as some breeders do, then dont!  This is what a lot of Show Breeders subscribe to for achieving their purpose. I will not condone this type of achievement in my household. In breeding, which is what Genetic Engineering is, is in my opinion abhoring. This can, and I have seen the cases, completely backfire on the results you want to achieve. On the other side of the coin is breeding to improve disposition of the female. Many times, when the female Lhasa is bred she becomes a quite docile, nice little girl afterwards. The female Lhasa, if the right size, has the capability to produce a number of little Lhasa’s for you. She will have to have care before, during, and after the birth of the puppies. Selecting the right male to mate her with is also of utmost importance. Knowing his bloodlines is imperative, and adhering to a code of ethics when breeding is also utmost. Never, I repeat, never force the female Lhasa to breed. On this subject, also I never breed the female Lhasa on her first season. Her first season is usually before she is 1 year old. She is not fully developed internally at that age. You need to wait until she has her second season before breeding her. If she will not accept the stud, don’t force this. If she rejects him outright, then she is sending you a signal that she is not ready for this. If you dont heed the warning she can be damaged internally and emotionally. If the female gets to be of the proper size, not too small nor large, then she may not know what to do during the first breeding. This is why you need to be there to possibly help her. If she has no tendencies toward rejecting the male, she may not know how to breed. You may have to help her, by putting her in the proper position for the male to have access and do the breed. Many times, going off and leaving them alone the first time will keep them from breeding. Another consideration in this is the size and attributes of the male. Is he proven? Is he current on his grooming and shots? Is he the right size, being slightly smaller than the female? Has he got the coloring suitable to you? If you hope to achieve a certain coloring then these are some of the considerations you need to take into account. Is he from the same lineage as the female? If he is, then I do not support breeding them. The results may or may not be good. More times than not, I have seen where this type of breeding produces inferior, wild acting, dificult to train, mean little dogs. This is not helpful when promoting the breed of dog. What is in the lineage of the two Lhasa’s? Is there any cross over in lineage? If you cant verify where the two come from, you are risking getting undesirable little puppies. No responsible breeder ever wants to produce puppies that are inferior or defective. Not following procedures that make common sense can result in this. If you have purchased two(2) Lhasa Apso’s, from entirely different lineages, who are of the right size, then you have a good start to producing some of the greatest puppies in the world. There is nothing wrong with proliferating high quality, pet quality puppies, irregardless of what some may think. If however you are not discriminatory about where your stud or damsel comes from, and they come from a puppy mill, as some do, then you may not get the desired achievements you want. Always, I tell every prospective breeder this, always, know the breeder your puppies come from. Look at the facilities where the puppy came from, and if the facility is not of good quality, walk away from them. If it appears that conditions are not good for the sires, or the damsels, walk away from them. Reputable breeders never let their breeding males and females live in squallor or in unhealthy conditions and they never do inbreeding. All reputable breeders also keep their dogs up to date on shots and grooming. All reputable breeders also give their dogs good medical care, and take good care of the puppies as well as the parents. If you do not see evidence of this at any kennel you visit, then my best advice is to walk away from them. On the 12th and 13th day of the season, the female should be ready to breed with the male. Multiple breedings, 1-3 times will result in more puppies being created. A size wise suitable female can produce as many as 7 puppies in one litter if multiple breeding occurs during the season between the male and female. Also be aware that before the 12th day and after the 13th day, the female may not be inclined to breed. Giving the female proper nutrition during the pregnancy, and while lactating is utmost too if you want healthy, well developed, strong puppies. Feeding her high quality, nutritious dog food, and adding vitamins and supplements to her diet is a no brainer also. This insures her health, as well as the health of the puppies. I do recommend Science Diet puppy food and Science Diet dog food. All of my dogs, and puppies do eat this and I consistently have good healthy dogs and puppies. Taking good care of your female and male results in excellent puppies and overall excellent health of your dogs. Next be committed to being there at the time of the birth, and doing this in a secluded spot for you and her. No other dogs, or people should be around at the time of her birthing and during the birthing. Have a good padded, or lined box ready for the big day in advance. It takes anywhere from 58-63 days for gestation to occur before the puppies are born. Note the date on your calendar of the first day she bred and count from there to the 58th day. There is a 5 day window there, where she can have the puppies on any given day. She will start acting funny usually on the day of the birth, but not always. One sure way I have found to determine as the big day approaches, is to check the teats each day from the 58th day on. 1-2 days prior to her giving birth she will start developing milk. Squeezing the protruding nipples toward the upper part of her abdomen will tell you when she is starting to produce milk. Please be gentle with her during the examination as she is quite uncomfortable during this time just before giving birth. You should have a place set up prior to the actual time for you and she to go to while she gives birth. Your assistance again may be necessary during the birth. You may have to help her, and tear open some bags to get the puppies breathing. Most of the time the female has the instincts to know what to do, but in some cases, particularly if this is her first time, labor may be long and tiring for her, and she may be too tired to properly finish cleaning each puppy up. You will have to help her and it is a good idea to have a pan of warm and cold water present during delivery in case you have to revive or bring a puppy to life. Yes I have had to do this. A warm wash cloth, and contiually washing the puppies face, may bring a smaller, stillborn puppy to life. It did for me.

Some procedures I will not recommend are these. Do not put your female outside and expect her to just give birth alone.  Do not allow neglect to occur while she is pregnant or lactating. Do not give the female vaccinations while she is pregnant nor while she is nursing. Be current on her shots before you breed her. Do not use a male that you can not determine the lineage of. Do not use a male that is not curreently groomed, nor current on shots. Always insure the male is healthy and require the breeder to show proof of a examination prior to the breeding. All studs need to be vet checked and certified prior to using them for breeding. Same goes with the female. She needs to be checked by a veterinarian to insure she is capable of breeding and in good health prior to breeding her.  Never keep any of the offsping of your litter unless you spay or neuter them. Accidental pregnancies between sires and damsels of the same lineage do occur. Don’t take that chance. Do not force any breeding to occur. Do not sell any puppies that are questionable on health or defective. Above all, responsible breed, at the most, every other time the damsel comes in season. After 6 yrs of age, your damsel may not produce live puppies, and or defective puppies so it is a good idea to spay her when that age comes around. Do not breed the female if she is obese. Encourage the customers you have cultivated and screened to practice sound practices by spaying and neutering their puppy. Educate them about the dog they are purchasing or recieving from you as a gift. Always insist that puppies have the first shots prior to the adoptees taking them home. I personally recommend screening applicants for my puppies, and in some cases I turn some down if they do not have proper facilies for my puppies.  If you do not have a puppy for someone to buy and are contacted, I do recommend you refer them to a good Rescue facility or Human Society that does not destroy the animals.  Get to know other breeders, and other operations in your area so you can refer when you do not have a puppy available. Always educate the prospective new owners about the breed they are considering and the traits associated with them. Please remember one last thing. When the little girl or boy’s service days are over, please do not throw them away. Keep them for the rest of their life and treat them well.

Any comments or questions can be directed to me in my blog here.  I will strive to answer all questions in detail if asked.

The spirit of the Lhasa too is something that needs to be nurtured and cared for. These little dogs have been dubbed “personalility plus” for a reason. The male spirit is very gregarious in most instances, and very entertaining. This spirit is easily crushed with the wrong kind of treatment and lack of care. The male Lhasa will entertain you, and do tricks like my little daddy dog does. The male Lhasa will also enjoy lots of attention and want to be the center of attention. He will do very cute tricks and will do them more consistently if you praise him and laugh at him for these antics. The male Lhasa has a disposition that is very easily influenced also. If you are a person who is wary of strangers, your male Lhasa tends to be the same way. If you decide you want your Lhasa, either male or female, to be your protectors, they are easily trained to this. The female Lhasa is more instinctively like this than the male, but the male Lhasa can and will be a protector too. If you want your Lhasa to be more docile and a family dog, then you need to expose them to children younger in their lives. Having a lot of people around the Lhasa from the time they are puppies on up will make them more outgoing to strangers. Be careful with this, as this can lead to dognapping of your Lhasa Apso. Your Lhasa is a very unique and very desirable dog, and many have been stolen from their owners. Where I live, the dogs that turn up missing more often, are the Lhasa Apso.

The female Lhasa is, as I stated, more of a protector of your family. The female tends to be more territorial, more aggressive, and less entertaining than the male. Given the right conditions, the female Lhasa Apso will keep you from harm. She tends to be a one person dog. This little dog also tends to make a better protector for a widow or widower than other species, particularly if you follow certain procedures while she is young. From experience I can tell you that female Lhasa’s are more of a sentry dog if they are never allowed to come into season and spayed before they are in the first season. Two of the female Lhasa’s I have raised and sold, Misty Ann and Gigi, were both spayed before they were 6 months old and both of these little girls were strong protectors for their widowed owners. Misty Ann would even go so far as to stand between the person she was guarding, her owner, and the other person approaching and warn the other person not to come forward. Yes the female Lhasa will snap and bite if you refuse to heed the warnings. The female Lhasa can be very vicious, and naturally so with no formal training.

The male Lhasa, on the other hand tends to be what I call a “Mighty Mouse” type in most instances. He can bite, but most times won’t if not provoked. At one time I had a male Lhasa Apso, “Teddy Bear” that was such a “Mighty Mouse”. If I came into the house he would bark and bark if he did not see who it was, and at the same time hide under the bed while barking. This is very typical of the male Lhasa Apso. Teddy was a male that had not been raised around children, and had not been exposed to strangers very much. As a result this little boy was very wary of strangers and would not let them touch him until he checked them out first. He was more of a personal baby to me. Another male Lhasa Apso I had, the first one in my family, Moppit, was not raised around children either. He would run and hide from children when they came around and try to avoid them first. He did bite small children if they got abusive with him and hit him. The Lhasa Apso breed does not respond well to abusive people. As stated earlier these Lhasa’s will take on characteristics you want them to take on if exposed or not exposed to others.

The female Lhasa, after having puppies, tends to be a very sweet docile little girl however. I discovered early on, with my first female Lhasa, that I could take some of the territorial and aggressive behaviour out of her by breeding her. That seems to cure a lot of the territorial behaviour. Beware however when the female has had her puppies that she is not docile while these puppies are under her care. She is very protective of her babies, and yes she can and will bite if she feels there is a threat to her babies. The only person who should pick up the puppies of the mother is the owner of this Lhasa. The mother dog will allow you to pick up and help her care for her puppies. If a child or a stranger however goes to reach into the box or pen to pick one of the little ones up she can bite! Always be sensitive to the mother dog’s mood and don’t allow strangers to initially pick up the babies. Handing the baby to someone will not offend the mother dog if they have their eyes open. Please dont let anyone handle the puppies, except the vetrinarian, prior to the eyes opening. After the puppies get older and she starts weaning them, then your female tends to relax and be more sweet and docile. If she has had some visitors to come see the babies this helps her accept people easier and be less territorial, particularly if she is repeatedly told she has such beautiful babies by you and others, and you make each visit positive. This will help your female in the long run to be more nice to strangers if she has had positive feedback from you and others while caring for her puppies.

The male Lhasa, in some instances, will even go so far as to be a surrogate mother to the puppies after the female weans them. My male Lhasa Apso, Teddy Two, is one such male. After mommy decides she does not want to give them care anymore, and starts to wean them, then daddy will step in and begin cleaning and washing the babies and nurturing their little personalities while they are little. I have pictures of my daddy dog in the playpen with his puppies caring for them. This is something I do not see in other breeds of dogs. Most male dogs just ignore or want to be aggressive with the young offspring. Not so with the male Lhasa Apso. There again, this depends on what you project to these little dogs, what is acceptable and what is not. The momma dog however will not allow the daddy or any other dog to get near her puppies for several weeks while they are still very fragile.

Caring for your Lhasa’s physical needs is not very difficult. They have naturally dry skin, so a shampoo with natural oils in it, like tea tree oil, helps promote shine luster and managability. A slicker brush is the proper brush to use when brushing out your Lhasa. Being dogs that dont shed, their hair grows fast. Every 3 months or so, I tend to give my Lhasa’s a hair cut. In the interim, I brush them out nightly when the hair grows longer. They will tend to matt up if you do not brush them and make it miserable for you and them. Puppy Lhasa Apso’s need to be introduced to the brushing at an early age. I always started brushing the puppies when they were 4 weeks old. They will get used to being handled and brushed if you start early. They will enjoy this if you talk to them and make them feel loved while you are brushing them. At about 4 months of age, you may see some rebellion in the Lhasa while brushing them, if they have not gotten used to being brushed on a regular basis. Scolding them, and speaking strictly to them, is all that is needed to stop this behaviour. If you get physical, and attempt to hit them, you will find out that they will not respond good at all to this. Depending on the personality, they may even bite you if you get mean to them. Praising them, as you slowly, gently brush them will get you the best results. This will encourage them to trust and even want the brushing. If the Lhasa however does become matted, due to lack of time needed to care for their coats you will have to have a different type of brush. I will go into that in another post soon entitled Grooming your Lhasa Apso.

When feeding your Lhasa, particularly the female lactating, to help maintain her coat and her thickness in the coat, She needs good high quality puppy food, and she needs a raw egg at least twice weekly to maintain her coat. This will not harm the female Lhasa. After she has puppies, additonally she need special milk producing foods. Vitamins, calcium, and cultured dairy products like cheese and cottage cheese are good for your Lhasa both male and female. I have even allowed my Lhasa’s to have some buttermilk, but of course very sparingly. Goat cheese, is additionally very good for the lactating female. She will want this and will devour it quickly when given it.

When you address the physical nutritional needs, and the emotional needs and traits of these little dogs, you end up with a very well balanced loving, sweet, protective, member of your family. Ignoring the needs of these special little dogs will not give you anything more than a problematic little creature. Next time I will tell you about the grooming needs of the Lhasa Apso. Until then please leave me a comment if you want to know something in particular.

Thank you for reading, Marlena Tarrell

First let me give you as little backgound on the Lhasa and their build. These little dogs are long bodied and low to the ground. The build is heavy in the chest and slender if fed properly. Because of the build there is inherent physical problems for the Lhasa Apso later in life if not addressed early on. It seems almost a natural phenomenon that the Lhasa has a predisposition to Hip dysplasia, and back problems. If you are like most people and allow your Lhasa to jump up, and on to things then he or she may face physical problems later on. Not knowing the background of the species, a lot of people will not discourage the Lhasa from jumping up and down from their lap or their furniture. But don’t lose hope. Later on in life, as the Lhasa ages the back and hip problems can surface unless you use preventative measures while they are young. I know from experience of having a senior Lhasa what they can suffer with. The last few years of my old man’s life, “Moppit” he suffered with back pain unless I gave him supplements. Please don’t make the mistake I made of waiting until they are already facing problems. When a Lhasa gets to be somewhere around 6-7 yrs of age, they really should be put on food that has Glucosamine incorporated in it. Also the aging Lhasa has the tendency to gain weight as they get older too, particularly if they are neutered or spayed. Feeding your Lhasa a good quality nutritious diet along with Glucosamine can prevent a lot of problems and suffering on their part. As the Lhasa ages, the coat also has a tendency to slow in growth and get finer too. When my old Moppit started slowing down I went to a senior formula of Science Diet dog food with Glucosamine in it. I should have done this sooner than I did, but I still spared him a lot of pain by doing this.

The Lhasa has a natural underbite, in a lot of cases, and this poses another nutritional need. As they age it becomes harder for them to chew up the dry food too when the teeth start loosening. This will happen over time if they do not go to the vet on a real regular basis for dental care. As this occurs, you will want to consider the comfort of the dog. When my old male, Moppit, got older I took him off of commercial dog food entirely and started feeding him something better for him. I personally cooked wild rice, and added small bites of chicken in with it into individual servings for him. I added glucosamine powder to the mixture so that he got the benefits he needed of the glucosamine. Standard glucosamine in capsule form for human consumption can be taken out of the capsule, and given to your dog in smaller quantities for his or her care. Mix it right in to the food you prepare for them. It will not harm your pet. As the Lhasa ages, the dietary needs change so it is best to be prepared to give them added care as they age.

The female breeding Lhasa, during her birthing years also has different nutritional needs. It is almost a no brainer to feed her the best quality food you can to insure healthy puppies and quality puppies. When she is pregnant, and or nursing, she needs to be eating a higher protein diet. This supplies her with better milk supply and more nutrition for the puppies inside of her. After birth she needs to continue on the puppy food while lactating. In addition, if you want to insure good healthy puppies at time of birth, the female should be fed vitamins and calcium supplements. I always feed my mommy dog Petvites, and Calcium supplements while she is pregnant and nursing. It shows in the amount of milk and the health of the puppies too. In addtion, if you have a large litter of puppies, as my little girl has, you need to be prepared to give her a little extra support for milk production. When my little girl had 7 puppies this time I knew there would be a big challenge for her to have enough milk for them. As an added measure I fed her 4 ounces of cottage cheese each day to help her with milk production. Be aware, that cultured dairy products will not harm your female, but never give them non cultured dairy, like cow’s milk. This can produce the runs on a dog. Trust me on that one. Been there and done that by mistake. Cow’s milk is a physic to be used only if you have an accutely constipated dog. As the puppies get older that your mommy dog is caring for, you will need to adjust her diet to prevent her from additional weight gain. When the puppies are between 3-4 weeks old, it will not be necessary as much to feed her the supplements because soon the puppies will be weaned. Don’t keep feeding mommy puppy food beyond the 4th week of the puppies age. This will cause her to gain weight. Female Lhasa’s already have a predisposition for weight gain, particularly if they get too much puppy food. Also, because the females coat can suffer while she is pregnant and lactating there is one other thing you can give her to stem the coat loss. A raw egg fed to the female Lhasa twice a week will help her coat. Don’t give her too much however because of the obesity factor here. Raw egg is something the female will naturally enjoy if you feed her one stirred up good. It is real high protein and it is good for the shine and thickness of her coat.

The last part here will deal with the Lhasa Apso puppy. If you have a good mommy dog that is able to feed her puppies well, then you are lucky. This litter I just had produced my largest litter. My mommy dog, through no fault of her own, did not have enough nipples to feed all 7 of her puppies at the same time. I had one little one that was quite a bit smaller than the rest of them that did not get to feed like the rest of them. The unthinkable happened finally. What all breeders dread happened with this litter. One puppy had to be bottle fed. If you face this, don’t lose hope. I had no experience prior to this litter with bottle feeding, but that does not matter. It is not that hard. Laying the puppy on his or her back and a standard baby bottle filled with 1/2 goats milk, and 1/2 purified water warmed to the lukewarm temperature will suffice. Be aware the puppy may not take much milk at one time. Goats milk is the most like mommy’s milk. It does have to be mixed however and kept refridgerated. Gently introducing the puppy to the nipple, not forcing it into the mouth, the puppy will naturally go after the nipple and suck on it if you hold the puppy right and if the milk is neither cold nor hot. Room temperature, to luke warm is the best. The idea here is to make it as close to mommy’s milk as possible. I had a bottle on hand, and goats milk before the puppies were born, knowing that this can happen. Sometimes the mommy dog will have to undergo surgery, and if that occurs then you will end up bottle feeding puppies. Sometimes the mommy dog will reject a puppy if she feels it is inferior to the rest also. You will end up bottle feeding that puppy if you want it to live. There is a multitude of reasons why you can end up bottle feeding puppies, and it is best to be prepared before the big day for this. As the puppy gets older, and is weaned, it is imperative you feed them a high quality food. As a breeder who has a lot invested in my puppies for sale, I always include a bag of puppy food with the puppy. From the time they are weaned until they go to new homes, I feed my puppies Science Diet puppy food small bites. I include a bag of this for them when they go to the new owners to get them off on the right start. If you decide you want to feed the puppy something besides what the breeder has been feeding them, then do it very slowly. Never take them off of a certain food and feed them something else entirely right away. The results will be noticed in their bowel movements, particularly if it is a conversion from moist food to dry, and or dry food to moist food. The latter will produce a looser stool on the puppy. Now that my puppies are 5 weeks old they are eating dry food, having a bunch of teeth already in their little mouths. If you take a puppy off from say Science Diet and feed them Purina, for instance, I recommend making the transition through a 1/2 and 1/2 mix intially, gradually increasing the amount of the food you want them to be on over a 2 week period. The results will be less stressful for your puppy. Also be sure to always have fresh clean water for your puppy at all times, even if they are on moist food. Puppies need water. If you and your puppy are going to travel, be sure to take water from home or purified bottled water for them also. Strange water from all over the country can be detrimental to your puppy. My puppies always get purified RO water until they go to their new homes, and I do encourage new owners to keep them on this for the first few weeks, gradually transitioning them to your own kind of water. Your puppies health and good looks will be maintained if you give them the proper nutrition they need. Oh one last thing, please do your puppy a favor and don’t feed them table scraps for food. They may be cute when they beg but this is not healthy for your puppy and they do not know what is best for them. Please be responsible and give them what you know is best for them. I am not against feeding them human food entirely, but that first year they really need the nutrition of high quality puppy food to get them off to a good life.

If you have questions or comments about this article please feel free to leave me a message I will get back to you if you leave me an email address.

The skin of the Lhasa is very sensitive and burns easily. If you have ever seen a “shaved” Lhasa you will immediately notice how pink the skin is. They are used to having hair.

If you take your Lhasa to a groomer, make sure your Lhasa is well brushed first and there are no mats in the hair. If you brush your Lhasa Apso at least every other day when their coat is long you will reduce the incidence of matting. If a professional groomer however comes across a heavily matted Lhasa there will be no choice on what she/he has to do. Shaving will be the only option after having to scizzor cut them most of the way. This will end up costing you a lot more also if the dog is heavily matted.

The brush that is the easiest to use on the thick coat of the Lhasa is the “slicker” brush. Unlike the “pin” brush the slicker brush can get deep in and thoroughly remove any clumping in the hair. Short quick strokes starting from the bottom up is the easiest on you and your Lhasa. Talking to your Lhasa as you groom him or her helps also. These little dogs are intelligent and will not fight the brushing if you talk to them during the whole process. Telling them things like “hold your head up” and “hold that foot out” and “You are such a good dog” will get you a lot more cooperation with these little dogs. They love affection while you are brushing them and will do just about anything you direct them to do, if you use affection with them while brushing them.

If you are planning to show your Lhasa, you will want to have warm oil available while brushing them to decrease the fly away nature of the hair. A little oil in the palm of your hand, and working it into the coat before the final brushing will make the coat more manageable and lay properly. This will also condition the Lhasa’s skin too, which will keep their hair and coat shinier and more manageable between groomings.

One note here to consider is this. If you plan to keep your Lhasa’s hair long and in show condition then choose your groomer carefully. Only professionals that have had experience with grooming Show Lhasa’s should be used. When selecting a groomer be sure to get references and detail to them exactly what you expect. Some groomers, like me, are not capable of maintaining show standard cuts. If my dogs need a show cut, I find someone like Carmen Baker in my area to groom them. She is a professional with a lot of experience in this area.

Proper care of your Lhasa’s hair at home will save you a lot of money and grief and possibly hard feelings with the groomer. Yes I have had customers that brought a Lhasa to me that was completely matted from head to toe. I have experience the suffering of these poor little animals in this condition. Before you buy a Lhasa, be commited to high maintenance hair.

When I was showing one of my Lhasa’s I used to brush his hair every evening for an hour. He was never matted and he was extrememly obedient and enjoyed the nightly ministrations given to him. He enjoyed the special love bond between us while I was brushing him. All Lhasa’s will love this time if you give them the proper encouragement.

When getting to the top portion of the Lhasa’s coat it is necessary to have a comb to part the hair. The Lhasa hair is parted strait from the eyebrows down to the tail. Center the part down the middle of the head, neck, and back. The coat should lay nicely if you have the oil needed to do the finishing brushing. Be sure to part the hair straight.

If you do not plan to keep the little dog indoors, and want them to remain outside while you are gone in the summer, I strongly recommend getting them regular short hair cuts. There again I cannot stress enough to have the dog brushed before taking him or her to the groomer. You will not be happy if the groomer has to “shave” your Lhasa. Sunburning will ensue.
If you decide to tackle the job yourself of grooming your Lhasa’s, which a lot of us do, then start early on your puppy brushing and getting them used to scizzors and comb and brush and clippers. The best clippers I have seen are the rechargeable Oster Vibrating clippers. Being portable and no cord to them, helps to keep grooming more pleasant for you and your Lhasa. Be prepared to invest a good amount in the clippers and have at least 2 blades on hand when grooming. Prices vary for the Oster’s from place to place, but reputable catalogs will have all the grooming supplies you need. I personally use Jeffer’s pet supply catalog for my grooming needs. There are many supply places available.

If in doubt about whether you want to groom your Lhasa or send them out, then start slowly and read as many publications as you can on this subject. A simple google search on “grooming a Lhasa” will give you plenty to read. Remember to go slowly at first while getting to know your Lhasa, to build your relationship. It will take about 2 1/2 hours to totally bathe, dry, brushout, clip, and rebathe and dry your Lhasa. The first time is always the hardest time, so it will take longer, until you and your dog get used to the process. Don’t lose your temper with your Lhasa while grooming them and yell at them. This will cause your Lhasa to dread the grooming and be uncooperative. Lovingly is always the approach to get the best from your Lhasa.  Please be sure and compliment your Lhasa after the grooming, telling them they are a pretty boy or pretty girl afterwards. This makes for an easier time for both of you afterwards.

Lhasa’s like ribbons and bows also, and if you train them early on to accept the bows they will leave them in for several days. If you are going to maintain the long hair, then please be kind to your Lhasa and pull the “top knot” up into a pony tail when not showing them.  Also, some shows are now allowing the hair to be parted and pulled back to the side of the ears on the Lhasa’s too. Check with the local officials in your area to find out specifications before taking your little show winner there.

When you are finishing the grooming on your Lhasa, and doing the final touches, be sure to be minimalistic on the amount of “cologne” used on your Lhasa. The skin can be sensitive to these things. If in doubt about the sensitivities it is best to use no cologne.

Dental care is also a necessary grooming part. If you use a baby tooth brush and dental chews on your Lhasa it can save your Lhasa a lot of grief later on. Dry dog food, and plenty of fresh water will help to maintain your Lhasa’s teeth and breath. Gently brushing your Lhasa’s teeth from the beginning will get them used to this. I always started out by massaging my Lhasa’s gums with my fingers while they were teething and in the chewy stage, and progressed to the tooth brush after they became used to something going in their mouth. Judges in show do judge the teeth of the Lhasa so dental hygeine is an absolute must and it is just common sense besides.

In sumation, there is a lot to proper care for your Lhasa, but if you love the breed and your pet, as I do, this will be a “labor of love” for you and your Lhasa Apso. Next time I will address the nutrition of your Lhasa and some of the preferred methods for giving your dog a long happy healthy life.

It all started in Sioux Falls, S.D. at a local humane society. I had been in this humane society many times. Nila Sando knew my husband and I. On a sunny October day, in 1992, we went in there to see what kind of dogs Nila had in the shelter. When we went in there we discovered that a whole kennel had decided to go out of business. There was probably 50 Lhasa Apso’s there. They ranged in age from 6 months to 8 years old. In the middle of all these dogs was one in particular that caught our eye. Moppit, a beautiful multi-colored Lhasa was there. This guy was long haired and gorgeous. We were looking for a playmate and friend for our Poodle at the time. His tail went in circles and he seemed so happy to have someone pay attention to him. This guy was really gregarious. He was also very smart and obedient. When I looked at him and told him to quit barking he did just that. We left the shelter without taking any of the dogs, with the promise we would talk about all of them and come back. That evening we decided that this little guy would make a perfect addition to our home. All that evening we felt guilty about this poor little guy having to sleep at that shelter.We knew we had to go get him as soon as the shelter opened up.

The next morning we were there real early. We had gone and gotten a collar and leash for him before going to get him. So began my love affair with these Lhasa Apso’s. Over the course of the next few weeks a standoff began and continued between the Lhasa and the poodle. During this time the poodle all but ignored this Lhasa, knowing he was different than her breed. This little guy wandered around the house and explored, and totally ignored this little female poodle, Trixie. I could see in a very few days he was a very laid back dog, and I could see that he would not push himself on her or visa versa. Trixie seem to be the one who did not want to accept. Moppit on the other hand just played it cool, letting Trixie decide how the relationship would go. This little guy was proving to me that Lhasa’s were easy going and people dogs. He continued to show off for my husband and I over the course of the next few weeks while Trixie just watched him. He was proving to be quite an entertaining boy. He loved the attention he was getting from his dad and I, and rewarded us with some very funny antics. The way he would roll on his back and squiggle while his tongue hung out to the side made us laugh and laugh. I began to see why some called these little dogs, “Personality Plus”. He was really very delightful to watch and play with. All this time he ignored Trixie, making sure she made the first move on establishing a relationship with him.

After owning this dog for several week, I started reading about the breed. I wanted to know more about them so I could give him the right kind of care and such. I learned very early on that the hair is a high maintenance issue with these little dogs. Being straight, and long and very cottoney, it would matt up easily. I found I had to brush him almost every day. He took the brushing good naturedly, tolerating the pulling and long strokes with the slicker brush. I had found that a pin brush would not be suitable for these little dogs. He also seem to like the affection he got from me as I brushed him. He was very obedient from the start and would come to me when I called him onto my lap so that I could give him his brushing for the day. His underbite, which was quite pronounced, did not seem to deter from his good looks either in my opinion. I would find out later that this was one of the characteristics of the breed. His short long body gave new meaning to the phrase, “one young low slung bum”, which I later referred to that breed as.

So my love affair with the Lhasa’s began with this adorable, entertaining, “Personality Plus” dog. Finally after seeing he was going to stay with us, Trixie decided to accept him. We were there when she finally loosened up. She jumped down from the couch, after watching him move around and while he was squiggling on his back again. I guess she got tired of him “stealing the show”, and getting most of the attention, so much of the time. This tiny 5 pound poodle went on the attack, so to speak in a playful manner. She made a mad dash at him and grabbed hold of the hair on his tail and proceeded to start pulling and tugging on this very long haired little dog, who was more than 3 times her own size. His response was not what I expected. He just laid on his side and let her tear at him, playing back but very gentley. They were indeed gonna be friends! This really eased my mind and made it easier for me to learn about this breed. I had owned poodles for years, knowing their traits and much about them after having had 2 other poodles prior to trixie. The Lhasa was a break from tradition for me. I am not sorry, nor will I ever be, that I started out with this breed. So began my journey into the world of Lhasa Apso’s. Next time I will give you some helpful history on this breed and why I feel they are the most awesome protectors to be had.