We Are All Different

Although lhasa apso do have a number of character traits that all members of the breed share, they are each very different, very much individuals. Even litter mates raised in the same household with the same humans are unique unto themselves.

One is a clown, one is a cuddle bunny, one is brave and one is shy. It goes on and on. There is such an immense magnitude of combinations, like human children, no two are alike. While all lhasa apsos are affectionate and loving, some are constant cuddlers and some want to be held only on their own terms.

It is amazing how much lhasa apsos resemble human children. They can have temper tantrums, refuse to eat, be naughty and manipulate just like their human counterparts. They also learn quickly what buttons to push to get the reaction they want. While one beseeches and pleads another demands and scolds. Often to achieve the same results.

Some are talkers, verbalizing their wants and opinions frequently and sometimes loudly, while her sister may seldom make a noise. But the same quiet sister may bark incessantly at the repairman while her vocal sister peeks out from behind her in total silence.

There is no such thing as pegging a lhasa apso, every time you think you have one figured out, they will do a complete turn around, just to keep you guessing. You may be able to determine that one is a talker and another is the quiet type but you will never be able to predict when they will act completely opposite of the way you thought they were going to.

It can come as a real surprise to people who share their lives with more than one lhasa apso how far off base they can be in their predictions of behavior. The tiny, quiet one that appears to be such a lady will turn out to rule the rowdier sibling with an iron paw. The hyper-rowdy one will turn out to be the dainty eater while the quiet sibling will remind you of a Hoover vacuum.

About the time you determine this, the vacuum will suddenly become unbelievably picky about what she eats, if she will eat at all, while the dainty sibling will suddenly decide to eat everything she can get her teeth one whether it is edible or not.

They are extremely intelligent and understand more than most people give them credit for. However, they do not necessarily heed what they hear. The same lhasa that can hear a can of Vienna sausage being opened two rooms away through a closed door will not be able to hear you inform her it is time to come inside when she is sitting two feet away from you. They hear and understand a whispered conversation about giving them a bath while in a sound sleep on the other side of the house and instantly waken and hide, but they find it impossible to understand the single word no, even though they have heard it hundreds of times.

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