When I first saw a lhasa apso it was in a pet store and of course it was a puppy.  There is nothing cuter than a lhasa puppy, all fluff and personality plus.  I purchased a book on lhasas at that store and went home and started my long journey into the land of research into this breed.  This breed is not for everyone; it takes a lot of upkeep, lots of understanding of the breed ways and temperament, and lots of time devoted to the dog itself.    A lhasa is a very smart dog, and if you are not very careful the dog will win and you can create problems with training, habits and everything else along the line. 

My first lhasa was purchased in Sunnyvale California; I was living in Florida at the time and came home to purchase her here as there were very good quality dogs in this area.  I was looking for a pet, a well-bred sturdy healthy pet; Tisha (Nyma Tisha Cheng La Chung) was from the Hamilton line (which was one of the original lines brought from Tibet).  I considered for a very brief time showing Tisha; until I went to my first dog show and compared show dogs to my dog deciding that maybe this was not the one for show.  The show dogs had a dense hard straight coat to the ground and were larger than my beloved Tisha.  So, for the time being I gave up on showing and Tisha was just a wonderful pet and companion.  Tisha would guard my young son, sleeping in the hall between both of our rooms to keep an eye on all.  One day I had been caring for a friends son that was about 1 yr old and while it was fine with her for the dad to go down the hall during the day when we were all up and around it was a different story at night when the kids were asleep.  He came to pick up his son, heading down the hall and was met by a 10 pound lion protecting her kids; needless to say he decided that maybe I should go retrieve his son.  Lhasas are not best suited for small children unless the children know how to treat a dog and will not tease it at all but Tisha knew instinctively how to treat the different ages.  She put up with their touching and sometimes pulling of hair, as they aged a bit so did her rules.  It went from backing off away from the child to soft warning growls and when they were old enough to understand she would show teeth or hold their wrists telling them “cut it out”.  The children were taught from the time they could understand just how to treat a dog, we never had a problem with the kids or the dogs---there was great understanding and respect. 

Tisha was my first lhasa, Chico (a hand me down used dog) was my second after losing Tisha at 10 years old.  Tara-Mi (Tara-Mi-Ching Lea)  was my next puppy who provided much joy to my life, my sons lives, and Chico’s life (keeping him young playing all the time).  After losing Tara-Mi at a very young age (5 years old) Chico went on to live to be 19 years old.  He was the favorite dog of my granddaughter who was just a toddler at the time, we couldn’t keep the two of them apart and she was always wrapping her arms around his body and he always headed right for her each time they came over.  Shortly after losing Tara-Mi I began searching for my next lhasa, a good quality lhasa is not readily available and friends and family tried to talk me into another breed.  I knew that a lhasa was what I wanted, and that was that, however long it took.  I was looking for a healthy, well-bred dog for my future pet having pretty much given and forgotten about showing.  I had a name, toys, beds and every possible thing you could purchase for a dog but no puppy.  I had called many people and had a phone bill to show my trail of the search for this special puppy.  Finally a contact person that I only knew via all of the phone conversations called me one night and informed me that she thought maybe she had found a pup for me.  This puppy was also in Sunnyvale, with a show breeder.  Miki was 5 months old and was already named (Robbee’s Miki O’Mine) so the name was put on the back burner for a dog at a later time.  Miki was sold as a pet/show prospect depending on what I wanted to do with her.  I decided to try the show thing and if the dog    liked it and I liked it that would be a dream that I had given up on years before coming true.  Miki is still with me at 16 years and going strong, she is my first champion and my special dog.  Since I first brought my first lhasa home I have had 14 of these magnificent individuals—not counting puppies I have bred and not kept. 

A Lhasa Apso is a very intuitive dog, they seem to know long before we do what type of person someone is.  To fulfill his function as a sentinel, the Lhasa Apso needs to be a calm, intelligent, alert, and independent dog.  The suspicion of strangers is an attribute prized by the Tibetans.  With friends he can be extremely sensitive, affectionate and playful but at the drop of a hat he can become the guard dog.  Once Miki was in bed as was I when my oldest son walked in, he had dropped by to bring something over to the house.  Miki took up post right by my head; my son who had left home prior to Miki coming in the household had never been around her much and was dressed much differently than normal for him.  He seemed to think it funny how she was protecting my guarding right by my head watching his every move.  The dog would not let him near me until I told her he was fine, partly this was due to the fact that I was in bed and partly the manner in which he was acting.  Another time a workman had been in the house during the daytime and it was okay with her and then he came one evening to check something out in the heater that he was not okay… I could sense no difference in him but she could, turned out he had been drinking and she as well as 3 other dogs decided to barricade him away from me as they felt he could not be trusted….later I agreed with her.  Lhasas are very sensitive and intelligent as well as understanding of feeling and actions. 

If you wanted to buy a lhasa I would advise going to a dog show, talking to the handlers and first off decide if this breed is really for you.  I would never suggest trying to talk anyone into this breed if they were not committed to and very well informed about the breed.  This breed is not for everyone and you need to understand what you are getting into from the beginning for yourself as well as for the dog.  Lhasas come in every color that hair can grow in; (they have hair not fur) and the color quite frequently changes as they age.  I have a female that was very red for the first 1-½ yrs of life but now is more of a honey gold color; there are others that darken as they age.  According to the standard all colors are equal as far as show ratings but the cream with or without black tips are what you will see mostly in the ring.  It depends on what line (or family) as to what colors you will see.  I like any of the colors as the structure is what you would look at in picking a dog but I personally love the dark tippings on any of the colors except of course blacks which is going to be black. 

 As far as luck goes, don’t know if they bring luck but I do consider myself lucky to have such wonderful companions as  lhasa apsos surrounding me.