August--My Favorite Month

 

Why is August my favorite month? Because it is my birthday month. This year I am 75. That sounds so old!! I am glad I don't feel as old as it sounds.

For the last few months, our lives have centered around the nine puppies. As I write this, the remaining three are playing around my feet and frequently disappearing into the next room so I have to get up and see what chaos they are creating. 

We have three unclaimed puppies. People who had been waiting for months backed out just when the puppies were ready to leave. I am sure they had good reasons. Once again I was reminded not to "count my chickens."

Anyway, if you are looking for a male or a female puppy, I have one for you. 

Here is a photo of the male:

And here is the female:

As I was browsing through some old issues of the Lhasa Tales publications, I found the following article and it made me decide to share it so readers could know what navigating through our family room has been like for the past couple months.

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Here is Haven chilling out at a recent dog show.

I have not yet told her I am taking Deacon to the show in MN and leaving her at home. She will not be happy!

We also will soon have an adult female available to a loving pet home. She is currently waiting to have stitches removed after her spaying surgery. UP-to-date vaccinations. She is a cutie who is submissive with people but bossy with other dogs. Here is Emmy when she was being shown. Now she sports a clipped down summer cut.

Thanks Judy G. for our new Lhasa lawn ornament! I had it in 3 different places before I found the "perfect" one.

Notes and Photos

Mary R. sent this picture of her Rafe sporting a new hair style.

Michelle sent a picture of Sunny getting cozy in his bed. 

Stacey sent an update on her Lhasas: "Lola is still doing OK. She isn't wrestling with Enzo anymore but she still likes to go for sniffs and enjoys her food. She takes both ElleVet CBD and Senilife to support her. She gets laser acupuncture once a month as well. Enzo is super attached to her so it will be hard when we lose her. We will want to get him a lhasa sister sooner rather than later.

Judy G. sent an update on Ebony: "Ebony is such a little sweetheart. She always squeezes herself in between the dog who is sitting next to me. She goes up 7  steps now, but is a failure of only 2 steps down....Last night I took her with Nyx to Rally Class. She was a sweetheart. She walked with me around the signs, and I would stop and reward her for stopping with me. On our second round, I started naming the signs that she could do. Everyone cheered for her. I have the only small dogs in Rally class. Next week she will attend with Winter.  She was very quiet and didn't make a sound as she was introduced to the larger dogs."

From David B: "Just a short note to let you know Callie is doing well.

She had all her shots with no problem. She’s up to 10 pounds  Still wants to play with every dog she sees , big or small"

Brad wrote this about Chase, "Just a quick update to let you know that Chase is doing great.  He spreads his toys all over so I get nothing done playing with him and picking up toys.'"

Patrick wrote, "Our first week with Duke, now named Niall, has gone very well. He has settled into our house and outside area quickly, has slept through the night the past 3 days, eats well and chews on anything he can get in his mouth… toys, fingers, arms, his tail… He is growing and shows all the signs of a healthy and happy puppy.

Kira is starting to accept having another dog in the family. I would say she is in the neutral phase now."

Sandy told me Hazel stacks herself like a show dog should and when on a show lead for the first time, she walked like she was born to it. (She was.)

Finn's new family sent this picture.

Tracey sent this of Renoir Gigi.

Chuck wrote about his & Steve's Cooper: "Cooper just had his 10th birthday.  He is doing great.  Still plays hard everyday.  Cooper and her sister Sheba like to go on long walks together.  Steve plays frisbee with them every day the weather allows.  Sheba is a 130 pound Black German Shepherd and Great Dane mix.  She is a giant sweetheart."

Some sad news too: Mary's two older dogs are not doing well.

Angela notified me that their Loki has passed. RIP Loki. Here is a picture of Loki. I know you were well loved.

From The Archives

Featuring Dancer, Raven, and Maggie

Dancer's AKC name is Joyslyn's Dance Sensation. She is Rafe's (GCH CH Joyslyn's Inherit The Wind) dam. Her story is one of frustration for me because she did not like the show ring. She liked going to shows and did well on the first go-around the ring. She was perfect on the table but she did not want a stranger to touch her. Every judge was a stranger. So she stood on the table just fine, but always when I set her back on the floor to do the down and back, she would take a few steps then turn and give the judge a dirty look. Funny? Yes. But she won in the end because I finally gave in and stopped showing her.

Next up are the sisters, Raven and Maggie. Raven is known to AKC as CH Joyslyn's Midnight Enchantress.

Raven's show life started as a young puppy when she was awarded 5 points at a specialty show. Those winning ways continued and she earned her championship quickly. 

Ch Joyslyn's Moonlight Magic was better known as "Maggie." She waited in the wings until her sister finished her championship. Then it was her turn to win! And she did! Maggie had a great sense of humor and chose an alien-looking toy as her favorite to carry with her.

All three girls eventually left us to go their new homes. They are well-loved.

Thanks for reading! 

Send pictures of your Joyslyn's Lhasas and let me know how they are doing!

Joyce

Just Cute Puppies...

 

"July is not only a season of the year; it is a season of the mind and memory. Hot days and sultry nights and crashing thunderstorms are a part of July, and to the drone of bees in the clover fields will soon be added the high-pitched sibilance of the cicada. The tang of ripe cherries and the sweetness of sunning hay..." ~Hal Borland

We are having a heat wave, as I suppose many of you are also. This too shall pass...soon I hope!

So since my life has centered around puppies for the two months, I am dedicating this blog post to the nine of them and posting their most recent photos.

To the best of my knowledge, all but one male have been reserved. So if you are in the market for an adorable Lhasa puppy, email me at joyslynslhasas73@gmail.com

Here they are:

Andy

Benny

Chase

Duke

Eddie

Finn

Gigi

Hazel

Iris

Have a great rest of July!

Joyce

June 2026

 

June's Picture

Let me paint June's picture - first I take some gold,

Fill the picture full of sun, all that it can hold;

Save some for the butterflies, darting all around,

And some more for buttercups here upon the ground;

Take a lot of baby-blue – this - to make the sky,

With a lot of downy white - soft clouds floating by;

Cover all the ground with green, hang it from the trees,

Sprinkle it with shiny white, neatly as you please;

So - a million daisies spring up everywhere,

Surely you can see now what is in the air!

Here's a thread of silver - that's a little brook

To hide in dainty places where only children look.

Next, comes something – guess - it grows

Among green hedges - it's the rose!

Brown for a bird to sing a song,

Brown for a road to walk along.

Then add some happy children to the fields and flowers and skies,

And so you have June's picture here before your eyes.~ Annette Wynne

June is nearly gone and I am just now working on the June post. I have no excuse except to say the days flew by. I heard that Illinois "wins" the prize for the most tornados. In Macomb, we had many days and evenings of high winds and scary clouds, and one night the tornado headed toward us changed its mind. Thank goodness!

I have ignored my website. Then the Fishers noticed it had been majorly HACKED and contacted me. (Thank you!!)I got that taken care of, but now I no longer have access to go in and change things. I have contacted the company that does the hosting for my site, but no response yet. 

I can be contacted at joyslynslhasas73@gmail.com or 

jk-johanson@wiu.edu  or

309-837-1665 (you will be asked to leave a message)

All that because we often get between 5 - 12 calls a day that are worthless spam.

WE HAVE PUPPIES!!

I am pleased to introduce you to 9 puppies. The first litter consists of two males. They will be 5 weeks old on June 24. Parents are Cooper and Emmy.

Sire Cooper:

Dam Emmy: 

Just a note that Emmy will be available in early August.

Here are their 2 boys: the first we call Andy and the second Benny.

If you think these two look a bit unkempt you are right! They were eating and/or drinking (we started weaning them today) and were pretty messy about it.

The second litter will be 4 weeks old on June 27th.

Sire: Deacon

Dam: Razz

Their puppies include 3 females and 4 males.

Male 1: Chase

Male 2: Duke

Male 3: Eddie

Male 4: Finn

Female 1: GiGi

Female 2: Hazel

Female 3:Iris

Many of you have asked me to let you know when I breed my last litter. I hope this is not it. But it could be. I do not plan it to be, but the day is coming in the next year (or two).

Now I am going to share an article I wrote about 25 years ago. I freely admit that since I have so many male puppies, I am hoping this might convince some people that a male Lhasa is for them!

Breeder Perceptions of Male vs. Female Personalities

by Joyce Johanson

"You know," I commented to friend and fellow "Lhasa person," "I've been tallying the calls I've been getting for puppies over the last couple years. Guess which sex most callers who want a pet puppy are interested in?" "Females," was her immediate response. (She'd been doing some tallying of her own!)

I commented that I found it strange that people were so adamant about buying girls, especially when they planned to spay them. I also found it strange that most callers have no specific reasons for wanting a female. They just want one. My friend indicated she'd had the same experiences. Then I confessed that I tend to "fall in love" with the males in my litters and actually prefer their personalities. "You're kidding!" was her response, "That always happens to me too."

Now, don't misunderstand me; I love my female Lhasas. They are playful, adorable, loving, cuddly, and all those other wonderful things. BUT, over the past 35-plus years, (note: now 52+ years) I have come to know that, as sweet as the female Lhasas are, the boys are sweeter. As my friend and I continued our conversation, we found that our experiences had been the same.

This conversation led to my taking an unofficial poll. I informally questioned Lhasa breeders of at least 10 years because I felt that, having known numerous individuals of both sexes over time, their responses would be more objective. I discovered they all felt as my friend and I felt: that the boys tend to be "sweeter" than the girls. All said they often tended to keep a male whether they "needed him or not" because of his personality and more than once had had to "talk themselves out" of keeping a new male puppy because they already had too many. (By the way, that word "sweeter" was a commonly used adjective by all breeders polled.)

While these breeders have favorite individuals of both sexes, they did make some interesting generalizations about the differences in personalities between the sexes. Breeders pointed out that, in general, female Lhasas seem to have stronger personalities; they tend to take over; they are a little more stubborn, a little more independent, a little more bossy. During my conversations with people, I heard more than one story about a young (under 6 months) female going into a new home where a male Lhasa was already in residence and "taking over" immediately.

Concerning males, I heard that the boys tend to "roll with the punches;" they are more content, more mellow, and more eager to please. (Of course, we all know that if there's a bitch in season, the boys all have sex on their minds and behave accordingly.)

While this unofficial poll carries no earthshaking news for most of you reading this, I think it's interesting to note that so many of us Lhasa breeders agree. That information alone might be put to good use the next time someone you calls to inquire about buying a female puppy and all you have left in the litter are boys!

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!

Notes and Photos From Friends

From Judy G, an update on Ebony and Nyx: "Every time the girls are outside Winter and Ebony play chase. At least it tires them out.

Nyx scored an 86 on her Advanced trial, I  lost her 5 points as I forgot to get her leash. Handler errors get us every time! We will be back in the ring Labor  Day weekend."

Angela posted this photo of Louisa, along with a video of Louisa playing with the chick toy I gave Louisa when she left my house.

 

Betsy posted this of Willow on her 6th Birthday. She wrote, "...we just love her so much."

Lisa sent this 0f her Duncan:

Lavonne's Misti has now earned her Grand Champion Silver status! Congratulations!!

Nanda sent this of her Ty and Gigi:

And now I am sharing some sad news. My friend and a monthly contributor to the blog, Sally Emig, passed away shortly after surgery to remove a tumor on her brain. You have seen her Lhasas, Ginger and Jaxon many times. They were given puppy cuts shortly after her surgery. I was sent their photo to share:

I have not yet been told what will happen to the dogs as her family and friends sort things out. I do know that Sally wanted them to be together and that is often hard to happen. 

Show Results

My All-Breed Club, the Burlington Iowa Kennel Club, along with the Southeast Iowa Kennel Club recently hosted 4 shows in 3 days. Fun but so very tiring. I was very pleased with my dogs. Haven took Best of Breed twice and placed 2nd in the Owner-Handled competion. She took Select Bitch one day. I was happy with her performance. Since I decided to also enter Deacon in the Sunday show, my friend Jane did me a great favor and showed Haven for me. Haven looked great going around the ring. It was good to watch her strut her stuff!

Then...the icing on the cake: Josh at age 12.5 won the Best Veteran in Show competition! He is the absolute best boy. I entered him on a lark and mostly because I see that he wishes he could be in the show ring again. We live only an hour away from Burlington, so it was no burden to take him with me for the Sunday show. He showed like the Grand Champion he is.

This is Haven with her Group 2 ribbon.

And here is Josh in the show ring:

And just a photo of the fancy ribbons.

From AKC:

Yesterday, federal officials confirmed the first U.S. case of New World screwworm in decades. The parasite was detected in a calf in Texas, marking its return after more than 60 years of successful eradication efforts.   While this news warrants attention, it should not cause alarm.   New World screwworm is a parasite whose larvae infest open wounds and feed on living tissue. Unlike most maggots, which feed on dead tissue, screwworm larvae burrow into healthy tissue, causing painful and potentially serious infections.   The parasite primarily affects livestock but can also infect other animals, including dogs, cats, and, in rare cases, people. Early detection and treatment are important because infestations can worsen quickly if left untreated.   The veterinary and public health communities have been preparing for this possibility. As the screwworm moved steadily north through Central America and Mexico, federal agencies took steps for preparedness. In fact, the FDA has already authorized treatments for screwworm infestations in dogs should cases occur.   For dog owners, stay informed. Be aware of wounds that are slow to heal or appear unusual, and seek veterinary care promptly if you have concerns, especially if you are in or visiting an affected region.    Keeping your dog current on veterinarian-recommended parasite prevention is also an important step, as some approved products may have activity against screwworm in addition to protecting against parasites like fleas and ticks.   This development is also a reminder of why disease surveillance, diagnostics, and veterinary research matter. Protecting dogs means identifying emerging threats and taking proactive action.

Staying vigilant for dogs,

And with that, that's it until next month. If you are on the puppy list and have contacted me, I will send pictures each week. 

Joyce