AKC registration papers are a guarantee of pure breeding, not a guarantee of quality. A responsible, experienced breeder carefully selects the parents of each litter to emphasize desirable attributes and minimize faults in their progeny. A breeder should be committed to improving breed soundness -- that is, physical and mental health -- with every new generation.
The Lhasa Apso standard is an attempt to define an ideal specimen and is a word pattern by which a Lhasa Apso should be judged. The standard is not designed for the person who has never seen a Lhasa Apso but meant as a description for those who are familiar with the breed and dogs in general. It is important, therefore, to offer a guide, a more in-depth study of the unique qualities that set the Lhasa Apso apart from other breeds and, at the same time, capture the concepts that cause Lhasa Apsos to look alike.
For further ALAC comments on the standard click on the individual characteristics.
Character: Gay and assertive, but chary of strangers.
Size: Variable, but about 10 or 11 inches at shoulder for dogs, bitches slightly smaller.
Color: All colors equally acceptable with or without dark tips to ears and beard.
Body Shape: The length from point of shoulders to point of buttocks longer than height at withers, well-ribbed up, strong loin, well-developed quarters and thighs.
Coat: Heavy, straight, hard, not woolly or silky, of good length, and very dense.
Mouth and Muzzle: The preferred bite is either level or slightly undershot. Muzzle of medium length; a square muzzle is objectionable.
Head: Heavy head furnishings with good fall over eyes, good whiskers and beard, skull narrow, falling away behind eyes in a marked degree, not quite flat, but not domed or apple-shaped; straight foreface of fair length. Nose black, the length from tip of nose to eye to be roughly about one-third of the total length from nose to back of skull.
Eyes: Dark brown, neither very large and full, nor very small and sunk.
Ears: Pendant, heavily feathered.
Legs: Forelegs straight; both forelegs and hind legs heavily furnished with hair.
Feet: Well-feathered; should be round and catlike, with good pads.
Tail Carriage: Well-feathered, should be carried well over back in a screw; there may be a kink at the end. A low carriage of stern is a serious fault.
Approved July 11, 1978