Welcome to the official blog of the American Lhasa Apso Club (ALAC) … the AKC parent breed club for the Lhasa Apso.
Pull up a crate, grab a beverage (adult or otherwise) and learn about this ancient breed through articles, photos, personal accounts, content pulled from the archives of our long-standing breed club (since 1959), and items of interest snagged off the web.
An ancient breed, the Lhasa Apso was bred as an interior sentinel in the Tibetan monasteries. While the Tibetan Mastiffs stood guard outside, it was the Lhasa Apso that patrolled the rooms and hallways of the monasteries, sounding an alarm if anything was amiss.
A “land race,” the Lhasa Apso’s physical characteristics were formed by the very terrain it lived upon … head fall to protect the eyes from the elements, a longer muzzle to warm the frigid air before hitting the lungs, an oval-shaped rib cage for larger lung capacity in the thin air, an efficient movement to conserve energy, a tail that curled over their back for warmth and paws larger than one would expect on a dog of this size, all the better for traversing the mountain trails and boulders. Form follows function!
Join us as we delve into the history of the breed, the many ways in which it has enriched our lives, and the connection between Tibet, its people, their culture and religion.
Lhasa Apso Blog 