It has become apparent that we have a problem concerning the rib cage of
the Lhasa Apso.
The standard did ask for a dog that was ‘well ribbed up’, meaning that
the ribcage should extend well back towards the pelvis region if the dog. This
is necessary in order to accommodate the lungs which need to expand well in
order to breathe properly in the oxygen depleted atmosphere of
However, it appears people, for whatever reason, have been breeding the
Lhasa Apso in order to gain a short back. Our standard
makes it very clear that the Lhasa Apso is NOT a short
backed dog. No where does it ask for a short back. The word ‘compact’ that is
employed in the standard is in reference to the fact that an Apso is a solid
well muscled dog with good bone, packed into a small body. You get a lot of dog
in small package. An Apso feels much heavier than one would expect for a dog it’s size. Another word, though not used in the standard, that is often used
to describe the Apso is ‘cobby’. This word means the same as compact and comes
from the horse world. A Welsh Cob is a compact horse-small but well packed with
bone and muscle.
The standard does make it clear that a rectangular shaped dog is
required when it states clearly that the Apso should be longer than tall. It
would not then also say that it should be short backed by using the word
compact in the way many have misinterpreted it to mean.
Now back to the ribcage-of course ribcages have become too short. They
have no where to go. One cannot breed for a short back and also have an
elongated rib cage. The ribs are attached to the 13 vertebrae that form the
thoracic region of the spine. No breeding plan will alter the number of ribs or
vertebrae. It is fixed.
Selection in breeding can alter the length of these vertebrae but not in
isolation. Attached at the front of the section are the 7 neck vertebrae and
attached at the rear are the 7 loin vertebrae. These sections are dependent
upon each other. One cannot breed for longer neck vertebrae without also
breeding for a longer thoracic region and loin region. The length
of these vertebrae are proportional to each other. The shorter one
section is, the shorter the next section will be.
For the rib cage to extend back enough to offer the dog the required
protection, the angle of the ribs must be such that they reach back. A barrel
ribbed dog, has a rib cage that does not angle backwards. A dog with ‘well
sprung ribs’ also lacks backward reach of the ribs. So in order to have a ribcage
such as is asked for, we need to have the room for it! A short backed dog does
not have the room.
The 7 vertebrae that form the loin are the longest of the vertebrae that
form the spine. They start where the rib cage finishes and ends where the pelvis
starts. The Lhasa Apso requires a loin of sufficient
length to give it the flexibility of it’s spine that it requires for the
terrain which is it’s natural habitat. A short loin takes that flexibility
away. Altering the length of these vertebrae alters the length of ALL
vertebrae: i.e. loin, neck, and thoracic. One cannot alter one set without
altering the other two sets.
The Lhasa Apso should not have a short loin.
The area between the last rib and thigh is called the flank. It is on
the sides of the dog. This area, if the ribs are extending well back, will not
be overly long but neither should it be too short or the dog will lose it’s ability to move well.
The standard also asks for a well laid
shoulder. Many have taken this to mean that the static shoulder should have an
angle of 45 degrees. However, this restricts dog’s movement! Rachel Page
Elliot, in her z-ray cinema of dog movement, has shown that the angle of the
shoulder blade becomes more horizontal as the dog reaches forward. The blade
will move, on a normal moving dog, 15 degrees, so as the dog moves it’s front leg forward, the angle of
the shoulder blade will become about 30 degrees and when the leg moves
backwards, that same angle will increase to 60 degrees. However, if the static
angle of the shoulder blade was 60 degrees, the angle formed when moving
forward would be 45 degrees and when moving the leg back underneath the dog,
the shoulder blade would have an angle of 75 degrees. This allows the dog to
make maximum use of
it’s forward movement with the least effort. Again, because of
the rarefied air and the terrain, the least effort the dog has to put into
moving the better.
Another important characteristic of our breed is it’s
hard coat. The standard makes this point very clearly-an Apso coat should be
hard. It needs to be because of it’s original
environment. A soft
, voluminous coat is the complete
opposite of what is required and is detrimental to the dog in it’s native land
and is not part of the correct type of a Lhasa Apso.
The head description is clear in our standard. It asks that the nose be
about one third the total length of head-from tip of nose to occiput. It
further asks that the nose be about
If we fail to understand our standard, or worse, ignore it, we are going
to lose this wonderful breed. It will become no more than a hairy small show
dog. The signs are very apparent now that this happening. If your preference is
for a short backed, short nosed, soft coated dog, it would seem you don’t like
the Lhasa Apso and would be happier choosing a breed
of dog that matches your requirements rather than destroy an ancient and
wonderful breed.
Tantra Lhasa Apso
