The History of the Lhasa Apso

The Lhasa Apso originated in Tibet. Prized as a companion and watchdog by the Tibetans, the Lhasa had to be a hardy little dog just to survive. Weather conditions in Tibet are harsh in the extreme, and vet care is non existent, so only the fittest would have survived in the breed.
Since grooming and bathing their dogs would not rate highly in the priority of the native Tibetans no doubt the glamorous coats we see in the show ring today would be nonexistent in their native country. However, the glamorous show still contains the soft dense undercoat which gives protection from both heat and cold, this being covered by the longer harsher top coat, which would protect them from the snows of their native country.

  Eng.Ch.Cheska Bobette. Bred by Mrs Frances Sefton 

The first Apsos to come to Australia arrived in 1961, imported by Mrs Joan Beard, and at the time of their arrival were registered as Tibetan Apsos ad were classified in the Toy Group. Not to long afterwards the name became Lhasa Apso and they were re-classified into the Non Sporting Group, surely a good move since there is nothing Toyish about them. The Seventies saw quite an influx of imports form the UK, the best known of these would have to be the Famous CHESKA KENNEL. Owned by the late Frankie Sefton and her husband Derek, the Cheskas were already a world renowned kennel situated in England, and the UK's loss was certainly our gain. By this time it was not considered so unusual to see Lhasas featuring in the top awards at shows, the Best in Show won in 1973 by English and Australian Ch CHESKA JESTA.

  Eng.Ch.Tayung of Coburg. Owned by Mrs Frances Sefton.

The 1980's saw not only many more UK imports arriving, but with added interest in the breed, the imports began to come from the USA as well, and Lhasas were becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Non Sporting Group. This trend has continued through until the present day, where breeders can now combine the best of both UK and USA lines, and also some from European Countries. With our quarantine regulations being greatly relaxed, Australian breeders have been quick to take advantage of this, and it would be safe to say that our Lhasas can now compete on even terms with any other country in the World. This has been proven in the last couple of years with Australian Lhasas gaining Championship Titles in USA and Europe.

I am searching for some really nice photo's of some of the original Lhasa's and will be adding to this page in the near future.