LHASA APSO


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".[4] It may also be a compound noun meaning "bark-guard" (lit. "ap" [ཨཔ], to bark, and "so" [སོ་], to guard).

The Lhasa Apso originated in Tibet. 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 either to what would become the Lhasa Apso or to what would become the Tibetan Terrier; they were collectively known as "Lhasa Terrier".[7]: 294 

The original American pair of Lhasas was 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.[8] At the time, there was only one Lhasa Apso registered in England.[9] 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.[10] In the UK, they are placed in the Utility Group.

The breed was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1960.



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