Lhasa Apso Blog: Bye Bye March!

This is one of the many Lhasa Apso magnets that adorn our refrigerator. I hope you can read it! It is a cute description of the Lhasa attitude.

We Speak With an Animal Communicator

Speaking of Lhasa attitudes, most of you know I have been having problems with Archie since the first time I took him for a walk and he freaked out at every noise he heard - including a bird singing! In spite of taking him to training classes and to shows to get him acclimated to those environments, he has made no progress.

His behavior at home is happy go lucky (except for going on walks, which he hates because of all the noises assaulting his senses and putting him on high alert). He "smiles" and acts silly and is loving. I just could not figure out the vast difference in his behavior. Many thought it was because he was a "COVID puppy," born during the time when we were all locked down and puppies were not able to be socialized well.

Finally, I decided to consult a dog psychic to see if I could get some information from Archie himself. We had our meeting via phone on Monday morning. She asked me to send a photo taken of him on the day before the session and I did that.

The experience was insightful and I confess to getting teary-eyed as it progressed. I was told that Archie is a very young soul and his problems stem from the fact that he cannot/is unable to process new experiences and cannot carry an experience he has had into a new situation. She compared it to a person who has been born with a disability. It's a fact of his life and make up and there is no changing what it is.

I prepared a set of questions I wanted her to ask him, and I am not going to go through all of them here, but I will share a few.

I asked if he trusted me to protect him from the things he feared. He said that he knew I could not protect him from everything that might happen, so while there was some trust, the trust was not really there, especially away from home.

I asked about his relationship to our other dogs. He doesn't like Josh (they growl at each other all the time) and he said there was an Alpha female he did not like because she was bossy (Autumn).

I asked what he thought of Lynn and me and he basically responded that he liked Lynn better because I expected a lot from him and he felt pressured and unhappy because he knew he was disappointing me. (that's when the tears started)

I also wanted to know what would make him happy. The answer was not straight foreword but the bottom line was he would like a quiet home. He wants to be an only dog. He wants people to love him for himself and not pressure him to do things that make him scared. (tears still streaming)

Oh, he also wants more cheese.

All in all, it was a good experience that helped me understand Archie a bit more and helped me make some plans going forward, one of them being not taking him to any more training classes or shows!

Our communication experience lasted a half hour and cost $65. If you are interested in knowing what your dog is thinking, the communicator I used is at Animals Can Talk. You can find her on Facebook or the website.

Here is Archie. He will be a year old on April 1.

Recent Show Results

Last weekend Archie, Millie, and I went to shows in Maquoketa, IA. This was before the session with the communicator, so my plan was not to show Archie on Saturday but to let him get used to the show site and noises then show him on Sunday. That did not work. On Monday I found out why.

However, Millie did extremely well her first weekend out as a Champion. She won Best of Breed both days. On Saturday she took a Group 2 in the regular group judging and a Group 3 in the Owner-handled group competition. On Sunday, she took Group 1 in the Owner-handled competition. She seems to enjoy showing so I hope she maintains that happy attitude.

Millie is two years old today. Here is her recent portrait for our picture wall. Those of you who have purchased puppies from us know the wall I am referring to!

Notes and Photos From Others with Joyslyn's Lhasas

First, here is a the link to a YouTube video of Gigi doing his A to Z trick challenge. Gigi is also known as Mon Ami 'N Joyslyn's Wind Race Gigi Villoresi, TKP,CGC,CCF2, ETD. (Those are the various titles he has earned.) He is a litter brother to our Winter (CH Joyslyn Mon Ami Winter Wind). It is a great video and fun to watch what that dog has learned to do!

Chuck wrote about Cooper: "We are very happy with our Cooper and can't thank you enough for breeding such awesome dogs."

Here are two of the Cooper photos he sent.

Mary D. wrote about Gabe (who is Cooper’s uncle): “Gabe and I have been thinking about you. Hope you are well and safe. This picture is about 2 years old but thought you would enjoy. He’s 9 now!”

Mary R wrote: I was a little sad this week after a Rafe groom. I looked down, noticed his eye lashes were white--some age coming through. His back coat has definitely “lightened” or silvered…More running in the yard with most of the snow gone. Both girls run hard for the agility jump, the recalls. Rafe does a fast trot for the recall.” (Note: Rafe is Gabe’s litter brother and Cooper’s sire.)

Here is a recent photo of my Emmy (Joyslyn's Embrace the Wind) on the occasion of her leaving her topknots in for more than 30 seconds.

Shelly posted on FB about her Tucker (Emmy’s litter brother), “The top knot is still in after an hour!!! Making progress!!”

Shelly and Ellen discovered on FB that their boys are related. Ellen wrote, “My Oliver is almost 9 years old. His parents were Mira & Breaker. And he rules our house as well!”

Oliver’s sire, Breaker, is Tucker’s grandsire. Tucker is a Josh son.

Celina wrote about Dora, Emmy’s and Tucker's litter sister. “Just wanted to share some cute pictures of Dora. She is growing everyday. This was her last month on lunar new year. We bought her a qipao. We thought it would be nice in since the lhasas are from Tibet! Last is her a few days ago when we first tried to put a barrette in her hair. She doesn’t really like them so much and takes them out. I remember reading on your blog that Emmy is a tom boy. I laughed because we always said Dora is a tom boy too. We have just been cutting around her face and feet, but are taking her to get groomed next week because she is getting super hairy! Maybe they can put a little pony tail on her. We have also started taking her on walks. With the snow storm, it was so hard! She loves walking and even takes down her leash. We gave her her baby blanket for the first time in a while. She just smelled it and then put her little head on it and just went to sleep on it. Who knows? Maybe one day she can see her mamma and sister again. All our family love Dora too. Whenever relatives visit, they are amazed at how cute she is!”

Kassia wrote about Leelu: “Miss Lu as she is know in the south...had a great trip...marched the Iowa Illinois cannon line at Shiloh and stayed in her first hotel.. and was just splendid.”

On the occasion of Jaime’s 3^rd birthday, Carol wrote: “Hello Joyce and Lynn! This is our wonderful little Lhasa, Jaime. We can hardly believe our precious doggy is three years old today! Truly time is
speeding by, and how we love our little “boy”. He is an affectionate little guy who showers us in excitement with kisses and wiggles (almost in half) when we come home after even running a few errands. Playing ball is his favorite sport.I will send you a short video of this. He has brought such joy to our lives! And by the way, he is excellent with children (which includes my piano students), the kitty next-door, and with other dogs that are accepting of him. Thank you for raising such great dogs. A lot of work but a blessing for so many people.”

Sally wrote that “spring has sprung” and sent these photos of Ginger.

“Hope all is well! Just a picture of Ginger after the groomer today. She likes to make a messy pile of blankets on the spare bed.”

Paul wrote to say that he was surprised to see Joey (who is black) has started to grow a white beard at age 9 months. White hairs coming in on a black dog’s coat is referred to as “silvering out.” It does not happen to all black Lhasas.

Sharon wrote about Gemma: “I wanted to write with an update on Gemma. She is an amazing little pup and we are crazy about her. We have finally been able to get back to training. This little girl loves learning, and gets so excited for “puppy school “. She knows when we pull up to the training building and can’t wait to get out of the car. We’re doing one on one training because of the COVID protocols. It’s not as much fun as a group class, but at least she is being exposed to new experiences. This has certainly been a challenge, socializing a puppy and still maintaining safe practices. Gemma is getting so big. She is up to 10lbs and is a very active girl. She loves to play and is always on patrol for those pesky squirrels that dare enter her yard. I remember you saying, that some dogs keep their blankets you send them home with long after they’re puppies. I think I have one of those dogs. Gemma sleeps with her blanket every night! One time I washed it and forgot to put it back in the crate. She kept whining until I figured out what the problem was. After that, we all got a good night’s sleep.”

Jim wrote about Daisy, “Daisy is adjusting to Florida. We go on walks in the neighborhood. She has seen lots of cats in the neighborhood and wonders why they aren’t leashed like her. She has also started to notice the lizards running across sidewalks into bushes. She has also quickly taken to my in-laws and is learning Spanish. She will also nap anywhere.”

Jim sent numerous photos of Daisy’s varied and unusual napping spots. Here is one of them.

Judy wrote about Zoie: “First, congratulations on your new champion Millie. I brush Zoie almost every day, but I can't imagine how long it must take to groom Millie. Beautiful! Zoie is growing up. She is almost ten months old. She doesn't look like a puppy any more, but still acts like a puppy once in a while. She has quite a voice! We have a hound dog in the neighborhood, and she can sound like him when she is really excited. Very cute! She is a wonderful watchdog. We have a driveway monitor, and she learned very soon what that was all about. The minute she hears it go off she goes to the door and starts barking. Her favorite thing to do is to sit by the door to the deck and watch for the squirrels that come to steal bird food. She then goes from one living room window to another when they leave the deck. I'm attaching some pictures of her at her favorite spots. I do have a confession! Zoie is now sleeping on our bed. After she was spay, she didn't want to go into her kennel. We are not very strong when it comes to Zoie. Oh well, she's happy and we love her. Stay safe and have a Happy Easter.”

Here is Michelle's Sunny with his Shiba Inu friend.

Becky wrote on National Puppy Day, “Happy Puppy Day Joyce! As you can see Miss Willow is tuckered out from celebrating.”

Judy posted this in a message on Facebook and told me her Joyslyn's Lhasas (Whisper, Raven, and Gus) were hugged in my honor. Thanks Judy!!

The puppies from the Beckka and Josh litter have left and are with their new owners. Here are the last pictures we took of them. Here in order are Molly, Mel, Gidget, and Titan.

Titan's new people sent photos of him. The first was taken on the ride home, the second as he met Grandma for the first time.

I also want to share the photo of Gwen West's new champion, CH Joyslyn's Beethoven's Fifth West. Congratulations to the West family and to Beethoven's handler, Sue Cannimore. Beethoven is Bekka's litter brother.