T.T. STANDARD

 

TIBETAN TERRIER FEATURES

Although the breed was classified as a terrier, the name does not fit their character and their appearance which resembles more to sheepdogs. The Tibetan Terrier is medium sized, profusely coated, robust, quadratic and has a resolute look.
The dog can be described as friendly and extremely family-oriented. His character dictates his need to have constant control over everything that goes on around him. They never have the urge to bark constantly and they are not aggressive towards humans whatsoever. Their calmness inside the house is diametrically opposite to the activity and liveliness they express to the fullest once they are out in the open. They enjoy playing with both their owners and other animals. Due to the strong feeling of the belonging to their owners they do not have the hunting instinct. Regardless of the their feeling of belonging they still need to be intensively trained to follow their owners in addition to teaching them to pay as much attention to them as possible. They are enjoyable travelers and express affection for travel during long car drives. Tibetan Terriers are truly perfect animals for us to have fun with in every imaginable way.

The head of the Tibetan Terrier is neither broad nor coarse. One half o the scull is made of the head while the other half is made of the snout, if the measuring begins at the tip of the nose and ends at the corner of the eye and the top of the head. His eyes are dark and round and are located at the center of the head. The ears are not big but are shaped like the letter ‘V’ and are heavily feathered.  They are not collapsed but are positioned in a pendant manner.
His hair is very thick and his build is powerful and characterized by a well-feathered tail swirled up and ending on its back. The dog is graciously proportioned, well-postured and compact when looked from the side. Its neck is proportional to the body and the head. Both its legs and chest are well coated with hair. Its shoulders have to be sloping, well muscled well laid back. The legs are straight and strong from the en-face perspective. Its hind legs are hairy and somewhat longer than the forelegs. The ankles are low-positioned and are not out or in-facing. 
Tibetan Terriers have doublecoats made of fine underhair and long straight or wavy hair. The name Tibetan Apso would be far more appropriate for the breed because the word ‘apso’ means ‘entirely covered with hair’. However, regardless of this feature, it is virtually impossible to find hair in your apartment as its hair does not fall out, and its excess underhair accumulates among the coat’s roots. This can easily be removed by regular brushing. It is important to groom the dog regularly; otherwise small tangles are bound to appear which will make maintenance more difficult both to us and our dog. Tibetan Terriers should be brushed on a daily basis until they reach their maturity; afterwards weekly grooming should suffice. Any color is acceptable, ranging from white, golden, light brown to grey and black and the dogs are available in any combination of particolor or tricolor. Their weight ranges from 8 to 14 kilograms and their height from 35.6 to 40.6 centimeters, given into account that females are slightly smaller.
Tibetan Terriers are characterized by longevity with an average lifespan of over 16 years. The breed is not prone to food allergies or sensitivity to cosmetic products. However, Tibetans are quite sensitive to flea bites, so the owners have to make sure their dogs do not have them.
Tartar can be prevented by regular teeth maintenance, including cleaning and adequate diet. The dogs do not eat much and the food should be bought in specialized shops. Given the fact that they like eating fruit and vegetables, it is permitted to give them a small ‘desert’ from time to time.
Tibetan Terriers are usually bathed every three weeks, given into consideration that young dogs need more frequent baths, not only because of their hair but also to get them used to grooming. This will make regular bathing and brushing much easier both for the dog and the owner. Tibetan Terriers are well-mannered and tidy dogs by nature, and it is not complicated to housetrain them. 

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THE HISTORY OF TIBETAN TERRIERS

Like the name suggests, Tibetan Terriers originate from Tibet. The breed falls under the group of the oldest ones in the world, with historical backup in the form of graphs and other excavated objects dating from the year 3900 BC.  The breed was brought to life by the lamas in the ‘Lost Valley of Tibet’, which was cut off from the rest of civilization by a great earthquake. The dogs lived with them inside the walls of convicts. When any of the monks left the site they would be given a Tibetan terrier that had the role of ‘bringing peace’. The dogs were later renamed from ‘Bringers of Peace’ to ‘Bringers of Luck’.  Males were usually given as a gift to meritorious people, as females were considered far more precious.

Given the fact that weather conditions of Tibet are extremely cold and windy and the landscape is predominantly rocky, Tibetan Terriers have a fair amount of undercoat while evenly spread hair on their necks and heads protects the eyes and the ears. The tails of Tibetan Terriers are also well-covered with hair. They are medium-sized, have long hair which, however, does not reach the ground. Their hind legs are longer than the fore legs which makes them excellent climbers. Historical data shows that Dr. Agnes R. H. Greig is the one that brought the breed to the West. She was working in one of the hospitals in the vicinity of Nepal when she spotted Lilly, the mother of her first Tibetan Terrier. Her owners came with her from Tibet and Lilly was gravid at the time. After one of the family’s members had an operation and successfully recuperated at the hospital Dr. Greig worked in, she was offered one of Lilly’s puppies as a sign of gratitude (puppies were whelped on October 3rd 1922). Dr. Greig chose a gold and white female and named her Bunti. 

Following Bunti's first birthday, dr. Greig wanted to take her to a show so she spoke to the Indian Cynology Association in search of advice regarding what breed should the dog be registred under. This resulted in the Association’s suggestion she should register the dog as a Lhasa Terrier. The judges however, did not conquer with the Association’s suggestion and added they had never seen a dog like this. Dr Greig was suggested to by the Indian Cynology Association to find a matching male for Bunti to  try and breed the dog through three generations in order to see if their offspring would match the breed.
Dr. Greig found a matching male called Rajah with the help of her friends. The first litter was born on Christmas Day in 1924 and the second one was born on July 25th 1925. After three successfully raised generations Dr. Greig took her dogs to a Delhi show where they were given the name Tibetan Terriers. The British Cynology Association followed the Indian recognition in 1931 and started the process of registering the breed under the same name.   
Prior to her return to the United Kingdom Dr. Greig was using the name of her mother’s kennel ‘Ladkok’ but started breeding the dogs under her own name ‘Lamleh’ in 1930. Hence the name - the Lamleh Line. She succeeded in breeding two types of breeds: Nomadic and Covent.  The two differentiated by consittution.
Prior to her death Dr. Greid suceeded in sending off some of her best dogs to the United States. This was the starting point of the lamleh breed in America from where they entered other countries. At the time of her death Dr. Greig owned about one hundred dogs. A large portion was killed but a number of them were adopted by her friends who continued the breeding process under the name of Lehlam.

A police officer John Downey found a small furry dog on the docks of Liverpool in 1953 and decided to take it home and name it Dusky (his family owned a kennel called Luneville which was oriented to breeding Pointers).

 

At the time the British Cynology Association allowed direct registration of dogs providing that a number of judges agree that it is a breed the owner suggests. Dusky was registered as Trojan Kynos in April 1953. Dr. Greig never acknowledged the Luneville line because she did not consider it to be a purebred line. Even today we are not certain about whether Trojan Kynos was actually a breed.
Dusky and Dawn, a puppy from Dr. Greig’s litter became a breeding pair of the Luneville Kennel in 1995. Dawn’s mother Princess Khan was bred with Dr. Greig’s dog called Pa Sang of Lamleh and gave birth to eight puppies one of which was Dawn (Princess Aureus).   

The pair achieved high results and their appearance slightly differentiated from Lamlehs who were a bit taller. They reached maturity quite early and were ready to go to shows at an earlier age than usual. They were even heavier coated and their hair was more beautiful which resulted in a much more appealing appearance resulting from grooming. Their feet were bigger. Lamlehs were, on the other side, never groomed because Dr. Greig’s opinion was that they should look as natural as possible and they reached maturity at a later age. After Dusky died all that was left were four females and a male (mother, three sisters and a son). Following numerous discussions Dr. Greig agreed to give one of her females called Luneville Lady Penelope (Trojan Kynos & Princess Aureus) to breed with a Lamleh male called Kala Kah of Lamleh. This resulted in giving birth to five puppies in October 5th 1960.
Croatia alonside many other countries has both lines equally represented.

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TIBET

Tibet is a broad mountanious region in Central Asia. The word 'Tibet' stands for  'Thesaurus of the Earthly Wealth in the West' in the literate translation. Chinese formal standard language recognizes the word as 'The Autonomous Area of Tibet. The region is protected from monsoons originating from Southern Asia with the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. Tibet is situated on a plateau ranging from 3500 to 6000 meters above the sea level between ice caps sometimes exceeding the altitude of 8000 meters. That is why Tibet is commonly nicknamed the Roof of the World.

The Tibet Plateau is predominantly arid land with little or no vegetation and the driest part is the Chang Tang Desert (on the northern plain). The area is dry because the Himalayas are blocking the rain coming from India. The original Tibet stretches across 2,5 million square kilometers and it is divided into three provinces: Amdo (Northeast), Kham (Southeast) and U-Tsang (West and Central Tibet).
Today Tibet is inhabited by 7.5 million Chinese people and 6 million Tibetans and the capital named Lhasa is also the heart of the country. Tibet has been occupied by China and alongside the ancient temples of Lhasa glass sky scrapers are commonly built. The Tibetan people are more and more assimilated into the Chinese culture which tore down almost all of the 6000 convents, killed almost a million and banished over two million Tibetans.

The first historical proof of  Tibetan existence dates back to the 2nd century B.C. They are commonly described as belligerent nomadic tribes. The earliest proof of the royal dynasty and the great monarch Songsten Gamp who was the first to build grandiose temples across Tibet dates to the 7th century B.C.  Ninth century B.C. saw the first Chinese-Tibetan agreement according to which Great China rules the East and Great Tibet rules the West, while no conflicts can occur between them. Buddhism was not accepted until the 9th century B.C. when Lhasa saw the foundation of the first Buddhist temple. The religion was thriving and many religious schools came into being. The entire Asian continent was conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century and upon their return they travelled through Tibet and became interested in Buddhism. They accepted the religion as their official state belief and formed a protective religious pact with the Tibetans. A new Buddhist order called Gelugpa appeared subsequently and was founded by Tsongkhapa who is considered to be the first Dalai Lama. The dynasty survived thanks to the tradition saying that the Dalai Lama will announce the place and the form of his next reincarnation prior to his death. When he died a number of experts would search the country for a person that matched the description and promulgate them the new Dalai Lama.

The fifth Dalai Lama was important because he succeeded in establishing the spiritual and political leadership of Tibet in addition to building the famous Potala Palace in the 17th century. The palace had 19 floors and managed to hold on to its title of the highest edifice ever build for two centuries. Riots occurred in mid-17th century and China saw the rise of the Manchu Dynasty which succeeded in occupying Tibet. The chaos regarding the dominance over Asia brought by the English and the Russians finally diminished in 1911 with the last Tibetan independence proclamation. The 13th Dalai Lama tried to modernize and alternate the untouched Tibetan culture, but his efforts did not bring positive results.

New riots regarding China's inerest oriented to Tibet took place during the fifties. The majority of Tibetan territory was occupied by the absolute ruler of the new Communist China. The Chinese army had no difficulties conquering Tibet due to the weakness of its soldiers. The action was later named 'The Liberation of the Primitive Region belonging to the Great Mother of China’. The 14th  Dalai Lama was forced to escape to India where he established the Government of the Independent Tibet. He has spent the last 45 years fighting for the liberation of his country using peaceful measures which secured him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Dalai Lama does not necessarily demand his country to be independent, but hopes it to be proclaimed the Peace Zone and prevent any further Chinese colonization of Tibet, as there are more Chinese people than Tibetans as it is. Furthermore, he is persistent in reintroducing human rights, democratic freedoms and environmental preservation, including the halt of the nuclear waste dumping in Tibet.

Despite the fact that Potala has been empty for more than half a century, it became the symbol of fighting China. The most sacred and the most active temple is the Jokhang, the Lhasa spiritual center. The city is also the strongest reason why many travelers fall in love with Tibet.

 

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