Lhasa Apso
{{Short description|Tibetan breed of dog}}
{{Infobox dog breed
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| country = Tibet
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| maleheight = {{right|approximately {{convert|25|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}{{r|fci2}}}}
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| coat = long, hard
| color = black, red, dark grizzle, golden, honey, parti-color, sandy, slate, smoke or white{{r|fci2}}
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| fcistd = http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/227g09-en.pdf
| note = FCI patronage: United Kingdom{{r|fci}}
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The Lhasa Apso ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɑː|s|ə|_|ˈ|æ|p|s|oʊ}} {{respell|LAH|sə|_|AP|soh}}) is a non-sporting dog breed originating in Tibet.[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=lhasa&searchmode=none Definition of Lhasa apso], EtymologyOnline.com Traditionally the breed has been used as an interior watchdog.
Etymology
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and apso is a word from the Tibetan language. There is some debate over the exact origin of the name; some claim that the word "apso" is an anglicized form of the Tibetan word for goatee ("ag-tshom", ཨག་ཚོམ་) or perhaps "ra-pho" (ར་ཕོ་) meaning "billy goat". It may also be a compound noun meaning "bark-guard" (lit. "ap" [ཨཔ], to bark, and "so" [སོ་], to guard).[http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/%27ab_pa Definition of "ab-pa"], Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan Dictionary[http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/so_ba Definition of "so-ba"], Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan Dictionary {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101050617/http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/so_ba |date=2020-01-01 }}{{Unreliable source?|certain=y|date=April 2021}}
History
The Lhasa Apso is a thousand-year-old breed that historically served as sentinels at palaces and monasteries isolated high in the Himalayas of Tibet.{{cite web |url=https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/lhasa-apso/ |website=American Kennel Club |access-date=23 March 2023 |title=Lhasa Apso Dog Breed Information }} In the early twentieth century some Tibetan dogs were brought to the United Kingdom by military men returning from the Indian subcontinent. These were of mixed types, similar to what would become either the Lhasa Apso or the Tibetan Terrier; at the time they were collectively known as "Lhasa Terriers".{{r|clark|page=294}}
The first American pair of Lhasas were a gift from Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama to C. Suydam Cutting, arriving in the United States in 1933. Mr. Cutting had traveled to Tibet and met the Dalai Lama.{{cite book |title=Lhasa Apsos |first1=Stephen |last1=Wehrmann |publisher=Barrons Educational Service Publisher |year=2002 |isbn=0-7641-1958-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lhasaapsosbarron00step }} At the time, there was only one Lhasa Apso registered in England.{{citation |title=Dog of the Year |work=New York |first=Leslie |last=Aldige |pages=32–34 |date=22 July 1968 }} The American Kennel Club officially accepted the breed in 1935 in the Terrier Group, and in 1959 transferred the breed to the Non-Sporting Group.[http://www.akc.org/breeds/lhasa_apso/history.cfm "Lhasa Apso History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112212659/http://www.akc.org/breeds/lhasa_apso/history.cfm |date=2014-11-12 }}, American Kennel Club In the UK, they are placed in the Utility Group.
The breed was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1960.{{r|fci}}
Characteristics
Dogs stand about {{cvt|25|cm|in}} at the withers, bitches slightly less.{{r|fci2}} The coat may be black, red, dark grizzle, golden, honey, parti-colour, sandy, slate-coloured, smoke-coloured or white. It is thick and heavy, with a hard straight outer coat and a medium under-coat.{{r|fci2}} The eyes are dark and the nose is black, and the ears are pendant. The tail is curved, sometimes with a kink at the tip, and should be carried over the back.{{r|fci2}}
It ranks 68th (out of 138) in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, having fair working-obedience intelligence.{{cite web |url=https://6abc.com/archive/6500108/ |title=Dog intelligence rankings |date=November 12, 2008 |work=6abc.com |publisher=WPVI-TV |access-date=June 16, 2012 |archive-date=December 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218195231/http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news%2Fspecial_reports&id=6500108 |url-status=live }} The Lhasa Apso is a long-lived breed, with many living in good health into their early 20s.{{cite episode |title=Border Collie, Chinese Crested, English Mastiff, Italian Greyhound, Lhasa Apso |url=http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/dogs-101/videos/lhasa-apso.htm |access-date=January 27, 2013 |series=Dogs 101 |network=Animal Planet |date=October 31, 2009 |season=2 |number=5 |time=3:01}}
Health
A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 14 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.{{cite journal | last=McMillan | first=Kirsten M. | last2=Bielby | first2=Jon | last3=Williams | first3=Carys L. | last4=Upjohn | first4=Melissa M. | last5=Casey | first5=Rachel A. | last6=Christley | first6=Robert M. | title=Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death | journal=Scientific Reports | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=14 | issue=1 | date=2024-02-01 | issn=2045-2322 | doi=10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w | page=| pmc=10834484 }}
The breed is predisposed to atopic dermatitis.{{cite book | last=Rhodes | first=Karen Helton | last2=Werner | first2=Alexander H. | title=Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion | publisher=Wiley-Blackwell | publication-place=Ames, Iowa | date=2011-01-25 | isbn=978-0-8138-1596-1 | page=94}}
References
{{Commons category}}
{{reflist|45em|refs=
Anne Rogers Clark, Andrew H. Brace (1995). [https://archive.org/details/internationalenc0000unse_x7g2/page/294/mode/1up The International Encyclopedia of Dogs]. New York: Howell Book House. {{isbn| 0876056249}}.
{{cite book|last= Wehrmann|first= Stephen|title= Lhasa Apsos: Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Behavior, and Training|publisher= Barron's Educational Series|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CFVvb5pwn_QC&q=lhasa+apso+rapso&pg=PT6|year= 2002|isbn= 0-7641-1958-3}}
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{{Chinese dogs}}