Lhasa Apso Blog: Cute Pictures and Other Stuff

A nice thing happened today that cheered up a cold and dreary Monday for me. I received the following email and it absolutely made my day. "Nearly three years ago I contacted you in hopes of purchasing a puppy for our daughter who was dealing with some health issues. You did not have puppies at that time, but gave me great advice on how to go about finding one from a reputable dealer. We ended up getting an eight week old female lhasa apso that we named Sweetie. She is a wonderful addition to our family and has been a tremendous help to our daughter...I am writing to thank you for all of the wonderful information on your website and in your blog...I check often to look for new posts, and I have learned so much by reading what you have written. Our family cannot imagine life without our Sweetie, and we have found a lot of the answers to our questions about having a dog by reading your info. Thanks so much!"

My goal for both the website and the blog is not just to showcase our puppies and our many wonderful Lhasa Apsos over the past years (nearly 40 in February…boy does that make me feel old!) but to educate people about the Lhasa Apso and thus to promote the breed. I often wonder if anyone reads what I write, so it's nice to know when people find the information helpful.

Kramer, Kila, Loki

Because of the holiday, I've also heard from quite a few people who bought puppies from us in the past and who sent photos of them. One such photo showed the two Lhasa females, Loki and Kila, with their "brother," Kramer, who is a Boerboel. (The Boerboel is a South African mastiff, known for guarding the homested.) Their owner says the girls rule the roost and Kramer knows they are the bosses. Loki is a daughter of our Breaker and Dancer, and Kila is Connor and Secret's daughter.

I have not had many responses to my request last week for people to write about their experiences with Lhasas and allergies and what, if anything, helped the problem. Sarah wrote, "So far Tashi hasn't had many allergies. I did switch his food to Blue Buffalo lamb and rice and the goop in his eyes went away (if that's an allergy...)…" and a new reader, Kim, wrote, "…Our family has had 6 Lhasas over the past 25 years and we battled skin allergies until we discovered Blue Buffalo dog food. Our current two babies that are a year and a half old are feed exclusively Freedom, small breed chicken Blue Buffalo. We even use grain free, gluten free treats. I think like people, dogs have allergies to grains, gluten, and preservatives. I would suggest starting with a natural food free of grains to see if this helps! …"

Another reader has begun to use the Nzymes products to see if they will ease her dog's suffering. A friend recommended Herbsmith's AllerQi to me for our 10-year old Secret, who seems to have some seasonal allergies. I sprinkle it on her food and she chows it right down. She does much better when she is taking it than when she is not. I suggested it to someone else who said her dog refuses to touch his food when the AllerQi is sprinkled on it. I guess he just doesn't like the taste. (That would be my reaction if someone sprinkled broccoli on my favorite meal! )

So…the request is still out there. Let me know if you have any suggestions regarding allergies and Lhasas, and I'll share your information as it comes in.

I've received via email and phone call from three readers now information that they are having problems getting on this blog. All that shows up for them is the blog title and date. After some trial and error troubleshooting on their part, it seems that Internet Explorer is NOT the browser to use when you want to read this blog. They got it to come up on Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, but not Internet Explorer. Obviously, this is not the place to announce the problem since, if you can't get on the blog to read the post, you can't read about the problem and solution! I put a little note about it on the front page of my website, next to the link to the blog. I hope that helps.

Maggie's puppies are 6 weeks old today and experienced some changes over the weekend. They were moved from one room to another to make way for the whelping pen to be set up for Raven's litter (due at the end of the month). They were given their own food. Prior to this weekend they were eating from Maggie's bowl when they felt like it. She is extremely tolerant of them! They were introduced to the exercise pen in our garage as a place to potty. It's chilly out there but not as cold as it is outside—in my opinion, the Illinois winter is much too cold for young puppies to go outside right now. Finally, they've been given the run of the utility room. They have fun investigating and playing. Piddle pad use is on the upswing and that is a good sign! These puppies are happy, playful, and seem to be smart.