What makes a Lhasa Apso? In a word, Tibet. Many breeds are obviously man made, showing little evidence of natural selection for a particular environment. The Tibetan breeds are more obviously the products of nature. There are four recognized Tibetan breeds. Of these, the Lhasa Apso most clearly displays the "Made in Tibet" stamp.

Tibet is situated on a high plateau (mostly above 12,000 ft. or 4,000 meters), bounded in the south and west by the Himalayas, (29,000 ft. / 8700 meters), and north, by the Kunlun Shan, (25,000 ft. / 7500 meters). Since the latitude of the plateau is from 30 to 35 degrees, the same as northern Florida, the intense solar radiation is sub-tropical while the altitude keeps the temperatures sub-arctic. The climate of the entire plateau is arid and cold varying from a short grassland steppe in Amdo, to a true high desert on the Chang Tang Plateau in the north. The only agriculture takes place in the valleys, watered year round by glacial runoff from the surrounding ranges. For uncounted centuries, the Tibetan people have lived and developed their domestic animals in this inhospitable land; a life ruled by the mountains.

We know little of the prehistory of Tibet, but it is believed that this vast area, over a million square miles, was inhabited by tribes of nomadic herders and hunters. These people had contact, quite early on, with the other people of the surrounding areas and established trade routes linking China, India, Mongolia and Russia.

Tibet's history began in the 6th century with the establishment of the kingdom of Yarlung in the south. Srongtsen-Gampo, a powerful chieftain of that time, expanded his territory into parts of Nepal, Kokonor, Turkestan and China. Srongtsen-Gampo married the Tang dynasty Chinese princess, Wen Ch'eng, who, with help of the Nepalese Princess, Bribstun, was instrumental in introducing Bhuddism into Tibet. Bhuddist monasteries began to appear toward the end of the 8th century.

In 1206, Genghis Khan invaded central Tibet, By surrendering, the Tibetans preserved their right to self-government. Under Genghis' grandson, Kublai-Khan, Tibet lost most of its independence and was ruled from the new Chinese capitol of Beijing. After Kublai Khan, there was a gradual decline in Mongol power over Tibet. In the 16th century, the office of the Dalai Lama was created by Altan Khan, to establish some control over the tribal factions in Tibet, and a period of relative peace settled in.

In the 18th century, the Chinese again invaded Tibet and occupied Lhasa. Shortly thereafter, the Bhutanese invaded, and still later the British. The first British exploratory mission, in the late 1800's. was to the Trashi Lumpo monastery. Later, in 1904, another British expeditionary force reached Lhasa, to enforce the signing of trade agreements. Lhasa Apsos began appearing in Britain in considerable numbers shortly thereafter. When the Chinese Republic was proclaimed, the Dalai Lama expelled the Chinese garrison, and declared the independence of Tibet. The Chinese never recognized Tibetan independence, and as we all know, reasserted their claim by invading Tibet once again in 1950 and 1959.
Prior to the 1920's several British observers visiting the area, and living in the southern edge of the Himalayas, in India, brought back accounts of the fascinating dogs of the region. One of these early descriptions, appearing in a British magazine in 1904, formed the basis of our present day standard of the Lhasa Apso breed. In the late 1920's Col. F.M. Baily, a member of a political mission to Tibet, imported a number of Lhasa Apsos to Britain. An American friend of the Bailey's, Suydham Cutting, visited Tibet in 1930, and brought back several Lhasa Apsos to the US. Several more importations were made by the Cuttings, establishing the Hamilton line of Lhasa Apsos in this country. In England, very few if any descendants of the original Bailey imports remain unmixed with lines from other sources, but a number of Americans continue the breeding of an intact line of descendants of the original Hamilton imports. Their objective is to maintain the unique qualities and characteristics of the breed as it was when Bailey and Suydham Cutting first saw it in Tibet.

As a biologist and physician, and for the past 33years a breeder of Lhasa Apsos, I have always been fascinated with the physiological and evolutionary aspects of the Lhasa Apso. How did this little dog come about? So the first thesis of my presentation is that the Lhasa Apso is a truly unique product of his environment . . . in much the same way as are the Eskimo breeds. Secondly, I hope to show you how the Apso's physical and mental characteristics represent a survival strategy. Last I will attempt to demonstrate the importance of these survival strategies to the various characteristics which comprise breed type, and the need to maintain those natural characteristics which evolution has conferred on this breed.

The altitude, extremes of temperature, lack of rainfall, and the rugged terrain itself, make the Tibetan Plateau perhaps one of the harshest inhabited areas on earth. Each of these factors exerts its own influence on all the creatures that live there. Domestic animals of Tibet, and the entire Himalayan region are very little different from the wild forms from which they came. The reason for this is undoubtedly that the environment allows very little tampering with Nature. (The Yak is certainly not a creature that one would chose to create as a beast of burden. Yet in the high passes of the Himalayas, this domesticated wild ox, is the only animal capable of the job.) We will therefore examine each one of these challenges of nature, and its influence on the structure and temperament - the essential "type" - of the Lhasa Apso.