I very much enjoy hearing from you and it has occurred to me that, perhaps, it would be a good thing to spend a couple of weeks devoting this column to such questions.
A good many of the questions I receive involve behavioral issues. This is a source of constant interest because Lhasa Apsos are very intelligent and, therefore, very challenging.
I would greatly appreciate it if you would email me at kathi@lhasas.org with any questions or comments you may have regarding your fur kid or Lhasa Apsos in general that you would be agreeable to having in this column.
I will answer the questions in the next week's column and the following week if sufficient questions are posed.
For the moment, I will briefly touch on the issue that seems to be the most in demand. When dealing with any Lhasa Apso you must always adhere to the "iron hand in the velvet glove" tenant. As I have mentioned many times in my columns, Lhasa Apsos are extremely intelligent and in many ways conduct themselves much like human children of about two years old (ah yes...the terrible twos, but they are still canines and still exhibit all of the instincts of the canine species. Granted, some are more pronounced than others and most are affected at a much higher level of comprehension than many other breeds due to their intelligence; still we must not lose site of the fact that instincts play a major role in their existence. Because they are so intelligent, they frequently get the idea that they should be in charge. Now this is just fine to a point, and while I joke about my fur kids owing me, the bottom line is that if you want to share the same space with a Lhasa Apso, you have to be the "Alpha Dog." That is to say, you must maintain your position as the pack leader unless you want total chaos to reign. ALL Lhasa Apsos want to be Alpha...there are no exceptions! Since this is not a viable option, you have to make sure that your Lhasa Apso(s) recognize you as the Alpha Dog at all times. Failing to achieve this results in serious behavior problems both with humans and other fur kids. We will get into more specific detail about how to achieve this dominate position and how to deal with disputes among the remaining pack in the next couple of columns.
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