LHASSA APSO

ORIGIN : Tibet.

PATRONAGE : Great Britain.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 24.03.2004.

UTILIZATION : Toy Dog.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. :
Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs.
Section 5 Tibetan breeds.
Without working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Well balanced, sturdy, heavily coated.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Gay and assertive. Alert, steady but somewhat aloof with strangers.

HEAD : Heavy head furnishings with good fall over eyes; good whiskers and beard.

CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Moderately narrow, falling away behind eyes, not quite flat, but not domed or apple headed.
Stop : Medium.

FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Black.
Muzzle : About 4cm (1 1/2 ins), but not square; length from tip of nose roughly one third of total length from nose to back of skull.
Foreface : Straight.
Jaws/Teeth : Upper incisors close just inside lower i.e. reverse scissor bite. Incisors in a broad and as straight a line as possible.
Full dentition desirable.
Eyes : Dark. Medium size, frontally placed, oval, neither large nor full, nor small and sunk. No white showing at base or top.
Ears : Pendant, heavily feathered.

NECK : Strong and well arched.

BODY : Length from point of shoulders to point of buttocks greater than height at withers. Balanced and compact.
Back : Level topline.
Loin : Strong.
Chest : Ribs extending well back.

TAIL : High set, carried well over back but not like a pot-hook. Often a kink at end. Well feathered.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs straight, heavily furnished with hair.
Shoulders : Well laid back.

HINDQUARTERS : Well developed with good muscle. Good angulation. Heavily furnished with hair.
Hocks : When viewed from behind parallel and not too close together.
FEET : Round, cat-like with firm pads. Well feathered.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : Free and jaunty.

COAT

HAIR : Top coat long, heavy, straight, hard neither woolly nor silky. Moderate undercoat.
COLOUR : Golden, sandy, honey, dark grizzle, slate, smoke, parti-colour, black, white or brown. All equally acceptable.

SIZE : Ideal height : 25.4 cm (10 ins) at shoulder for dogs; bitches slightly smaller.

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.