"What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will never fade."
Emmy:
So… You Want Another Lhasa!
by Joyce Johanson
Oh, I totally understand wanting more than one Lhasa! After we bought our first Lhasa, Pheebe (on the right in the photo), in 1973, we fell in love with the breed and HAD to have another one. We bought a second female, Buffy (on the left), a month later and the two girls grew up together. We were very lucky that our two Lhasa girls grew up liking each other and not fighting to be "alpha." Of course, at the time we bought Buffy, we had no idea about "alpha dogs" and "pack leadership." We were just charmed by Pheebe and wanted another Lhasa to love.
First, I discourage doing what we did and buying two puppies at the same (or nearly the same) time. Puppies raised together tend to bond more to each other than to their human family. Each may decide she deserves the alpha role.
Second, I learned over the years that not all females share an affinity for each other. The girls tend to be bossy and opinionated. Some (not all) vie for the alpha role, challenging the other girls, throwing their weight around, and even starting tooth-and-nail fights to prove who is the boss. Some females will let it go, kowtow to the alpha, and live a happy life together. Others? Not so much.
But what happens if you get two who want to be the boss? For example, one of my friends had a strong-willed Lhasa female (I'll call her "Mopsie") who knew she was the top dog. My friend's second Lhasa ("Roxy") was a happy-go-lucky, even-tempered girl who was willing to let Mopsie be boss.
Then a young puppy ("Mindy") joined the group. One look at Mindy and Mopsie knew she would have a challenger. And Mopsie was right! However, my friend was adamant about the girls getting along, but they each had their own agenda and quite different ideas about what "getting along" meant to them. Each wanted to claim the alpha title.
So as Mindy grew up the battles and skirmishes began, some more serious than others. Still my friend insisted on keeping them together. One day, she was standing on her deck chatting with a neighbor, Mopsie on one side of her and Mindy on the other, when the girls attacked each other. Who knows why? Perhaps one disliked the way the other looked at her! The result was a trip to the emergency clinic and a nearly dead Mindy.
Now I know that some of you are saying, "But my two female Lhasas get along great together." You are very lucky. So were we with Buffy and Pheebe. So are we now with the majority of the Lhasa girls we have had over the years. However, a firm believer in risk management, I advise people who come to me wanting a second pet Lhasa to "Get one of each sex" or to "Buy two males."
There are always exceptions to the rule, but generally a male and female will get along just fine. The boys tend to let the girls take over and boss them around and the girls, of course, think that is as it should be! When owners of a male come to pick up their new female puppy, I tell them, "Just watch, she's going to rule the roost in no time at all." I chuckle when I get the call or email saying, "You were right! He lets her do whatever she wants."
We have also found that our puppy buyers (with three exceptions that I am aware of) have had great luck with two males as long as both are neutered. One exception involved a dog who was so attached to his owner that he just did not want to share her affection. He resented any attention she paid to the new puppy, who eventually went to a different home for his own protection.
Another strong recommendation: When you have two Lhasas, give each his/her own crate to sleep in and feed them separately (i.e., don't require them to share a food or water dish). Don't give them a reason to become upset with each other over resources such as food, water, toys, bones, AND family members. Sure, you might find them sharing these things willingly, sleeping in each others' crates, or sleeping in one crate together, but that needs to be their choice, not something you force on them. Sharing is hard - ask any toddler (and even some adults!).
So, should you get two Lhasas? More than two? By all means if that is your desire! Life is great when you have a Lhasa to love you! Two just doubles the pleasure!
Please note: Permission to reproduce and/or circulate information in this article is granted. However, the article must be disseminated in its entirety and credit must be given to Joyce Johanson, Joyslyn's Lhasa Apsos. Thanks!
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I received a nice surprise--an email from Kathy M about her Jampa. She wrote, "It's been a long time since I last wrote to you! Jampa is doing great. He turned 6 in March this year and is as energetic as ever. He enjoys playing with his toys (shakes them hard to "kill" them, then proceeds to rip them apart!). We have a nice big pen for him in the yard where he runs and plays, chases his fabric frisbee and a ball or two. He's not a retriever, never brings anything back, just waits for us to throw it again. :-) He enjoys the snow in the winter as much as the grass in the summer, rolling and running around. I brush out his coat daily and brush his teeth regularly and he goes to the groomer every 6 weeks for a trim. They like him at the groomer and they say that he's very good for them. I think they are very good to him, too. He comes out looking smart and happy...Thank you so much for Jampa! He gives me lots of joy and companionship. And I attribute a lot of his temperament and good behavior to your skillful breeding and puppy raising! I hope you are enjoying your retirement from school and your continued work with your glorious Lhasa Apsos."
Kathy also wrote that Jampa had 2 broken teeth that had to be removed so they are now not giving him the antlers to chew on and have stopped playing tug with him. I have probably written before that our Josh lost teeth for the same reason. In his case the culprit was a choo hoof. He loved those things and chewed long and hard on them. Here are Jampa's photos:
Nanda sent this photo of Gigi and Ty.
Lynn K sent photos of Autumn (who is Emmy's mom) after she was groomed. Here is one of them.
Gigi wrote about Cinder: She was groomed yesterday. Isn’t she beautiful?! And with my MuffinAnn (a lhasa) and Sugar Bear (a Scottie), she is the smartest dog! We are down to one dog now, and that’s hard.
From the Archives
CH Joyslyn's Moonlight Beckons (Bekka)
CH Joyslyn's Moon Shadows (Chance)
CH Joyslyn Golden Tu Karlyn Fire N Ice (Gabby)
The next pictures are of the same Lhasa at different stages of her show career.
(Yes, the same Autumn now owned by Lynn K. Never be afraid to add an adult Lhasa to your family. They make life better also!)
All of you have stories about the good-bad-ugly-funny-
Marsha S. had some Oreo stories she shared: "One of our forays into an obedience trial novice A class was a great lesson in proofing a dog to unexpected things happening. We were doing our off leash heeling exercise and as we are going around the ring, a voice from the next ring says “Sit”, then a bit louder and finally an extremely loud “SIT” is heard. I kept walking even as I hear some laughter……turns out Oreo SAT on the third call for sit and I kept marching. When I turned the corner, I saw him sitting so beautifully; if only it was the sit/stay exercise! We did not get our qualifying leg of course.
In the agility ring, local club members enjoyed watching Oreo and me try to navigate the
course. He discovered that if he pranced between obstacles and looked at the crowd on the other side of the ring barrier, they would smile and laugh at us. This became a habit of his. Another time he noticed the spectators when he got to the top of the dogwalk…..he stopped and wagged his tail while the crowd giggled.
life and brought Joyce into my life. Thank you Oreo! Thank you Joyce!"
