Breed Standard Lhasa Apso

Breed Standard Lhasa Apso
F.C.I.-Standard No. 227 / 30.11.1990
	Origin: Tibet Patronage: Great Britain

General Appearance	Well balanced, sturdy, heavily coated
Characteristics	Gay and assertive
Temperament	Alert, steady but somewhat aloof with strangers
Head & Skull	Heavy head furnishings with good fall over the eyes, good whiskers and beard. Skull moderately narrow, falling away behind the eyes, not quite flat, but not domed or apple headed. Straight foreface with medium stop. Nose black. Muzzle about 4cm, but not square; length from tip of nose roughly one third of the total length from nose to back of skull.
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
Mouth	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.
Neck	Strong and well arched
Forequarters	Shoulders well laid back. Forelegs straight, heavily furnished with hair.
Body	Length from point of shoulders to point of buttocks greater than height at withers. Well ribbed. Level topline. Strong loin. Balanced and compact.
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.
Tail	High set, carried well over back but not like a pot hook. Often with a kink at the end. Well feathered.
Gait - movement	Free and jaunty
Coat	Top coat long, heavy, straight, hard neither woolly nor silky. Moderate undercoat.
Colour	Golden sandy, honey, dark grizzle, slate, smoke, black, parti-colour, white or brown. All equally acceptable.
Size	Ideal height: 25.4 cm 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.
Note	Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.