Lhasa Apso Blog: The Beginnings of Joyslyn's Lhasa Apsos

Bunnies are cuddly
The large and the small
But I like chocolate ones
The best of them all.
~Author Unknown

Happy Easter! Surely that means Spring is actually here and we won't be getting snow again like we did earlier this week!

Today, I'd like to take a trip down memory lane. Last time I wrote, I mentioned that our wedding anniversary was coming up. (It was yesterday.) We've been married 42 years. As I thought back, I realized that even before we were married a whole year, we bought our first Lhasa. I thought I'd share with you how that all came about.

Such young newlyweds!

One question people always ask me is "how did you get into this dog showing/dog breeding thing?"

Good question.

How exactly did two people who did not come from dog showing families and who had mixed-breed dogs while they were growing up end up breeding, showing, and loving Lhasa Apsos for years and years? (since early 1973 - you can do the math!)

I'd say it all started with an encyclopedia salesman! Shortly after our marriage, Lynn and I were besieged by door-to-door salesmen who tried to sell us all kinds of things we couldn't afford. (We were in our last year of college.) One of those salesmen succeeded in selling us a set of encyclopedias. We both had grown up with dogs as part of our families and knew we wanted to have a dog. The "Dogs" section of that encyclopedia happened to have a very nice picture of a Lhasa Apso in it. Now, if you have ever looked at some of the older Lhasa Apso resources, you would know that some of the pictures of the dogs were not very attractive. So, I suppose if I'd seen one of those photos first I wouldn't be where I am today in the Lhasa world. However, this particular photo showed a lovely dog, with a pretty coat, and I was intrigued.

After we graduated from college, I landed my first teaching job at a high school in eastern Iowa. With my first paycheck, we bought a refrigerator (Harvest Gold, all the rage in 1970's appliance colors!). We'd seen an ad for Lhasa Apsos at a nearby kennel, so when the second paycheck arrived, we bought a dog, our first Lhasa Apso, and named her Joyslyn's Pheebe. Of course, other than the picture in the encyclopedia, we knew nothing about the breed. We did, however, know how to pronounce its name correctly from the start!

So Pheebe came home with us. An adorable grizzle Lhasa puppy, she soon won our hearts. We had to have another! So, with my third paycheck, Pheebe was soon joined by Joyslyn's Miss Buffy Jo. What a pair they were!

Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Joyslyn, our kennel prefix, is a combination of our first names. Looking back, I find it interesting that we even thought to come up with a kennel prefix because we had no mentor, no experience with pure-bred dogs, and no pedigree to look at for either of the girls we bought! But somehow, that day in March 1973 when we filled out Pheebe's AKC registration form, the prefix "Joyslyn" was created and it's been used ever since. People try to pronounce our kennel prefix as if it were spelled "Joslyn," like the art gallery in Omaha, NE. That would be wrong. The first syllable "joys" rhymes with "boys," "toys," "noise," etc. The second "lyn" rhymes with "tin," "win," "grin," etc.

So, that's what buying a set of encyclopedias will get ya!

Other News:

The Lhasa Apso was recently featured in the ShowSight publication. Here is a link to the Lhasa articles.

Puppy Updates:

The puppies are growing. All of Josh's littermates have left for their new homes, so he's been feeling quite lonely after having 5 siblings to run and play with. I was a bit afraid to let him play with the younger puppies, given the difference in their ages (6 weeks), but he has been very good with them, as if he knows not to play too hard. More frequently, it is one of them giving him a hard time!

Here are the most recent photos. First Josh, who will be 13 weeks tomorrow. He has been registered with AKC as Joyslyn MLS Dakota Wind Breaker. He will attend his first training class (just for socialization, petting, and table work) next Tuesday. One of the 4-day Memorial weekend shows in Bloomington, IL, will have a 4-6 month old beginner puppy competition, so I plan to enter him in it and in the fun match the club will host that evening. I bet he sleeps well that night!

The younger puppies are quite a change. The Windy/Breaker litter was very consistent and it was very difficult to tell the puppies apart, except for Cherry, of course! No problem with that with the younger litter. Magoo is the largest of the 4. (Robert and Catherine, sorry---he already has a bunch of nicknames you probably will not appreciate, such as "Magoo-ver," "Goo-goo," "Gooey," and "Goo.") He's the big eater and the puppy that has the most coat. It's a lovely coat! He is very serious and already does not like having his picture taken!

The smallest puppy is little Bailey. She is tiny and loves being held. She snuggles right down. My granddaughter fell in love with her and held her for ages. They were both happy with the situation. The best word for Bailey is "dainty." Another good word is "sweet."

The other female is Sadie. She is gold and full of charm. She loves to bat her feet as she plays with me. She's a bit larger than Bailey, but not by much. She too likes being held and is fascinated by toys. We interrupted her play this AM to take a picture. She was not too thrilled about that but cooperated nicely. She was soon back to her toy and enjoying herself.

Finally, the other male is Andy. He is a kick! He is the explorer of the litter and is fast on his feet. He wants to see beyond the closed doors and is in constant danger of getting stepped on as he tries to maneuver himself into position to get through the door before I can stop him. He seems to have a sense of humor too!

All have been spoken for and it won't be too many more weeks before they are settled into their new homes.

We have had so much fun meeting the people who purchased the puppies from Windy's litter. Reports from them say that the puppies are settling in nicely. Josh and Sassy are the only two who kept their names. Tyler is now Mozzie; Archie is Fin; Bandit is Brigsley; and Cherry is Cinder.

I've been getting calls asking about the next litter(s). We probably won't have any puppies born and ready for new homes until October and again after the first of the year. Our girls tend to come in season about the same time, which is always "fun" (not...but that is nature!).

In the meantime, you might recall that Duncan has a litter brother named Jimmy. Sadly, in spite of the efforts of his owners, Jimmy decided he did not like the show ring. His owners have let me know that they would like to find a welcoming only-dog pet home for Jimmy. He has been clipped down. If you are interested in more details about him, let me know, and I'll give you his owner's contact information. My email is lhasas@joyslynslhasaapsos.com.

I hope you enjoyed the photos, the updates, and the story about how an encyclopedia salesman changed our lives! Without that guy stopping by, we would never have embarked on this great Lhasa Apso adventure some 41 years ago.

Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you! I have loved many and been so adored in return. Priceless!

Have a great Easter holiday!

Joyce