Please say hello to Harvey - our gorgeous Lhasa Apso

Jan 28

Written By Tanya H

This is Harvey, our 8 year old Lhasa Apso.

My love for the Lhasa Apso breed is due to my parents, and their love towards the breed - they've owned a few Lhasa Apso's over the years (they currently have 2 beige ones). Lhasa Apso's are aptly known as the Tibetan Guard Dogs, and Harvey fits this reputation quite well - he is a small feisty and strong willed little dog.

The history of a Lhasa Apso is a very interesting one, they originated in Tibet in the Himalayan Mountains hundreds of years ago and were kept in temples and monasteries as a watchdog to give warning barks (Harvey likes to give lots of warning barks when the post man get here, or the window cleaner- sigh). Lhasa which was known as a sacred City, is where this breed was named after, and in return the breed was considered to be sacred. It was only in the 1930s when the Lhasa Apso was introduced to other parts of the world, and its popularity and love for the breed has grown worldwide massively.

Lhasa Apso's have a long coat and the coat parts at the spine and falls straight on either side. You can let their hair grow, but they will need to be brushed about once a day to keep their coats from matting. I opt to cut Harvey's coat short for easier maintenance, and also Harvey does not like his hair getting too long - he gets rather grumpy with it. The bonus with Lhasa Apso's is they really do not malt/shed very much, if at all.

We brought him from an elderly lady who could not afford to keep him anymore and her concern was she lived in a flat and didn't have the space for him, or a garden. He was 6 months old at the time and he was well looked after, his hair was fairly long and very well groomed. He was a little fluffy bundle of excitable joy. He came home with us and quickly settled in, and we love him very much.

Harvey has a great personality, and fits the stereotype of a Lhasa Apso quite well.

For example, we have to get him groomed every 6 to 8 weeks, but he will only allow Emily to groom him - he has had Emily the groomer since he was 8 months old. We discovered his loyalty to Emily when a few years back, she was unavailable for a long period of time, so we had to take him to a different groomer, and within 15 minutes they rang to say he got in such a mess, he was howling and screaming that they are unable to groom him. They suggested that we go to our Vet to get him sedated first and then take him back to get him groomed - I did NOT want to get him sedated. Luckily Emily was back working shortly after this, and we took a very hairy and grumpy Harvey to get groomed - and surprise surprise he was completely fine with her.

He loves to go with us in the car - I keep the window down for him and he likes to poke his head out, taking in all the breeze of the air rushing past - he loves doing this.

He loves snow - he loves to jump and roll around in it.

He likes playing with the kids - chasing them and running around and around (in a large circle), but when he has had enough he just stops abruptly, which means he is finished.

He likes to eat the cat food. - but the cats do eat his dog food. They like to share..

He has selective hearing - especially when I ask him to get off the sofa or our bed.

He likes watching the kids in the bath - he jumps up popping his head over the edge of the bath - he likes to catch the bubbles or the water they splash him with.