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Lhasa Apso

The breeds · companion

AKC Non-Sporting · UKC Companion · FCI standard 227

Lhasa Apso.

AKC standard: an indoor sentinel on the Tibetan Plateau. UKC: valued as a companion and watchdog; kept as good luck talismans and given as gifts to those the lamas esteemed. FCI 227: utilization Toy Dog, Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs, without working trial. RKC: kept by Tibetan monks in isolated monasteries as companions and watchdogs, the 'Talisman Dog'. Wikipedia: traditionally an interior watchdog; sentinels at palaces and monasteries high in the Himalayas..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

14YRMedian lifespan13.9 to 14.2, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
12–18LBWeight, all linesbreed 12 to 18 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a flat or apartment; town or country; small or medium garden.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

9.8 to 11 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Center left blank: the standards print different ideals (AKC 10 to 11 range, UKC about 10, FCI 25 cm). No source gives a number for females, only 'slightly smaller', so one both-sex row; low/high span AKC and FCI.

Weight

12 to 18 lb

Breed clubAKC

Single source (AKC breed page header); no standard states weight.

Coat

AKC: double coated, heavy, straight, hard, dense, not woolly or silky, of good length; all colors equally acceptable. UKC: heavy, very dense, hard straight topcoat with moderate undercoat; very heavy head furnishings; faults woolly or silky coat. FCI 227: long, heavy, straight, hard topcoat, moderate undercoat, never impeding action; golden, sandy, honey, dark grizzle, slate, smoke, parti-colour, black, white or brown, merle unacceptable. Wikipedia: thick and heavy, hard straight outer coat and medium undercoat.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 1 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · AKC standard: heavy, dense double coat with good headfall and feathered legs that protected the dog against extreme temperatures in Tibet. UKC: heavy, very dense, hard topcoat, moderate undercoat. FCI 227: long, heavy, hard coat with dense undercoat that insulates in winter; fall of hair over the eyes protects them from wind, dust and glare.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (heavy long double coat = 2) on a small dog. No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

14 years (13.9 to 14.2)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population; the median is across dogs that had died plus censored dogs per the paper's method. The AKC page 'Life Expectancy' band is a registry band and is not used here. Not in Teng et al. 2022.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a flat or apartment; town or country; small or medium garden.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule (up to 1 hour = 60).

Exercise need

AKC page energy level 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 3 of 5, playfulness 3 of 5, adaptability 5 of 5, barking level 3 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day; long coat; does not shed. AKC page: coat grooming frequency 3 of 5, shedding 1 of 5 (AKC bands). AKC standard: heavy, straight, hard, dense double coat of good length, not woolly or silky, parted in the middle from head to tail, with heavy head furnishings (headfall) and well-feathered feet and legs.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by the library rule (every day = 4).

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: an indoor sentinel on the Tibetan Plateau. UKC: valued as a companion and watchdog; kept as good luck talismans and given as gifts to those the lamas esteemed. FCI 227: utilization Toy Dog, Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs, without working trial. RKC: kept by Tibetan monks in isolated monasteries as companions and watchdogs, the 'Talisman Dog'. Wikipedia: traditionally an interior watchdog; sentinels at palaces and monasteries high in the Himalayas.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Not a hunting dog; the historic work is indoor sentinel and companion. AKC, UKC, RKC and Wikipedia agree.

Search pattern

Wikipedia: sentinel (watchdog) work indoors at palaces and monasteries; a bark-guard (Tibetan 'ap so' read as 'bark-guard' in one derivation Wikipedia flags as an unreliable source). AKC page barking level 3 of 5, watchdog/protective nature 5 of 5.

EditorialWikipedia

Single editorial source for the bark-guard reading; no source states a field search pattern.

Field trial standard

FCI 227: Group 9, Section 5 Tibetan breeds, without working trial. No Lhasa Apso working test or trial is named by AKC, UKC or RKC pages read.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 227

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

7.7% · 939 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 7.7% dysplastic (mild 4.9, moderate 2.2, severe 0.5; 91.3% normal). OFA rank 153 (ranks run from the highest dysplastic rate down).

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners and breeders submit films, and poor results are less likely to be submitted), so this is not the rate across all dogs of the breed; the true population rate is not known. Ask any breeder for the sire and dam's own OFA or PennHIP results.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: predisposed to atopic dermatitis (citing a veterinary consult text not read). RKC: Good Practice test is the DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy (PRA4); Best Practice is eye testing under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme; Breed Watch category 1 (no breed-specific points of concern for judges).

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia is a single editorial source for the atopic dermatitis claim; RKC lists tests, not prevalence. No VetCompass or club health survey was read for this breed.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 5.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Apso, Lhasa

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