Lhasa Apso Research Paper

The original name for the Lhasa apso was “abso seng kye”, which meant the bark lion sentinel dog (Club). The Lhasa apso came from the mountains of Tibet, and the new name came from the holy city of Lhasa. The Lhasa were bred mostly by monks and nobles of the time to act as a guard on the inside of dwellings. When the Lhasas were born they were considered good luck by the monks and they were hard to purchase because they were watchdogs in temples and were considered sacred. Lhasas were not allowed to leave the country at this time unless they were given as gifts by the Dalai Lama, who is a monk of the Gelug School (Club). Lhasas that were given to travelers began to spread all over the Eastern Hemisphere. In 1933, the first recorded Lhasa apso
entered the United States. The thirteenth Dalai Lama gave C. Suydam Cutting, a noted traveler, the gift of two Lhasas to be the foundation for his personal kennel. Two years later, the American Kennel Club recognized the Lhasa apso as its own breed. The American Kennel Club classified the Lhasa in the herding group and then the American Kennel Club non-sporting group.