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Tibetan Spaniel

The breeds · companion

AKC Non-Sporting · UKC Companion · FCI standard 231

Tibetan Spaniel.

UKC: cherished by the Tibetans as a bed dog thought to bring good luck; in the monasteries, companions and lookouts that lay on the walls to bark a warning; given as tribute to emperors. 'Tibetans are not true spaniels', so named to distinguish them from the Tibetan Terrier. FCI 231: utilization Companion Dog, without working trial. RKC: favoured by Tibetan monks as companions and watchdogs, found together with the Lhasas; the 'spaniel' title was given by early European visitors who likened it to a toy spaniel. Wikipedia: not a spaniel in the original sense and not a gun dog; a companion; sat on monastery walls as lookouts and alarm barked to alert the monks and the Tibetan Mastiffs below; trained to spin prayer wheels; slept with the monks for warmth..

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.

15.2YRMedian lifespan14.8 to 15.7, measured on real dogs.
10INHeightall 10. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
9–15LBWeight, all linesbreed 9 to 15 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

10 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC, UKC and FCI all print about 10 in; no range printed. Wikipedia's 'slightly larger outside the show ring' is editorial and unquantified.

Weight

9 to 15 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard

All sources print the same ideal band, so center is left blank. Both-sex row; no source splits weight by sex.

Coat

AKC: double coat, silky, smooth on face and front of legs, moderate length on body, lying rather flat; ears and back of forelegs feathered; neck mane or shawl, more pronounced in dogs; all colors and mixtures allowed. UKC the same, no trimming except the bottom of the feet. FCI 231: fine dense undercoat, all colours permissible except merle.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 3 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

3 of 5 · AKC standard: double coat, silky in texture, moderate length, lying rather flat, with a mane or shawl more pronounced in dogs; muzzle of medium length, blunt, free from wrinkle. UKC and FCI 231 the same. Wikipedia: short blunt muzzle, domed head; a weeping-eye tendency from the face shape.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (moderate flat-lying double coat = 3) on a 9 to 15 lb dog. Not described as brachycephalic by any source read; the blunt muzzle and short face are noted in the standards, and no source read states a heat-risk finding for this breed.

How long they live, and what they cost

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

Median lifespan

15.2 years (14.8 to 15.7)

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. One of the highest medians in the table. 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 4 of 5, adaptability 4 of 5, barking level 3 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day. Wikipedia: a social breed that needs regular contact with its people and does not respond well to long periods alone; independent and stubborn, with a tendency to wander off and explore rather than come when called.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure. Wikipedia temperament lines are editorial.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: grooming more than once a week; medium coat length; sheds. AKC page: coat grooming frequency 2 of 5, shedding 3 of 5 (AKC bands). AKC standard: silky double coat of moderate length lying rather flat; presented unaltered, no teasing, parting or stylizing; trimming or clipping severely penalized; hair between the pads may be trimmed for safety.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by the library rule (more than once a week = 3).

The work

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

Role

UKC: cherished by the Tibetans as a bed dog thought to bring good luck; in the monasteries, companions and lookouts that lay on the walls to bark a warning; given as tribute to emperors. 'Tibetans are not true spaniels', so named to distinguish them from the Tibetan Terrier. FCI 231: utilization Companion Dog, without working trial. RKC: favoured by Tibetan monks as companions and watchdogs, found together with the Lhasas; the 'spaniel' title was given by early European visitors who likened it to a toy spaniel. Wikipedia: not a spaniel in the original sense and not a gun dog; a companion; sat on monastery walls as lookouts and alarm barked to alert the monks and the Tibetan Mastiffs below; trained to spin prayer wheels; slept with the monks for warmth.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC, RKC and Wikipedia all say it is not a true spaniel. The UKC and Wikipedia accounts differ on the origin of the name (UKC: to distinguish it from the Tibetan Terrier; RKC: early European visitors' resemblance to a toy spaniel); both stand.

Also used on

Wikipedia: spun monks' prayer wheels; slept with the monks at night to provide warmth. UKC: given to emperors and important people as tribute.

EditorialWikipedia

Single editorial source for the prayer-wheel and warmth lines.

Field trial standard

FCI 231: Group 9, Section 5 Tibetan breeds, without working trial. No working test is named by AKC, UKC or RKC pages read.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 231

How common the problems are

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

Hip dysplasia

12.6% · 430 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 12.6% dysplastic (mild 11.2, moderate 1.2, severe 0.2; 85.8% normal). OFA rank 104 (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.

Elbow dysplasia

9.2% · 120 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 9.2% abnormal (grade 1 6.7, grade 2 2.5, grade 3 0.0; 88.3% normal). OFA rank 54.

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: progressive retinal atrophy (generalized PRA; DNA test available since 2013), portosystemic shunt (liver shunt, rare), allergies, cherry eye (prolapsed third eyelid), and weeping eye from the face shape. RKC: Best Practice tests are the PRA3 DNA test and the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme; Good Practice lists prioritising genetic diversity; Breed Watch category 1.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia is the only source for the disorder list (its citations, including Downs and Mellersh 2014 on the PRA mutation, were not read). RKC lists tests, not prevalence.

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 4; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

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. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Tibbie, Tibetan Spaniel

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