The Tibetan Terrier originated in Tibet and were bred to herd animals as well as guard the home or territory from unwanted visitors. These dogs are thought to be a lucky breed because they were originally bred by monks! Today they are used primarily for companion purposes.

The Tibetan Terrier is a breed that needs a full time owner, meaning they should not be left alone throughout the day by themselves. They need affection and love from their masters and will become depressed without it. This breed is responsive, friendly and intelligent which is why they have developed such an adoring fan club of breed fanciers.

These dogs have a rather messy appearance but this is the desired look for their standards! Their coat is long and shaggy with the fur on their face cascading over the medium length muzzle to look like a long beard. The Tibetan Terrier has a medium sized compact body, floppy ears and a long tail with feathering long fur falling from it. Their legs are straight and toned giving them their speed and agility when herding!

Breed Group

Non-Sporting

Size

Males: 14-17 inches high
Females: 14-17 inches high

Weight

Males: 18-30 lbs
Females: 18-30 lbs

Color(s)

The Tibetan Terrier comes in any colour except liver or chocolate. A mixture of either solid, solid with patches or markings, tri-coloured or even parti coloured is acceptable within the standards as long as the colours are correct.

Coat

The Tibetan Terrier has a thick double layered coat that protects them from the extreme elements. The outer coat is a bit more dense and coarse to the touch, while the under coat is plushy and smooth. This breed should have a tossed look to their fur which will be straight or slightly wavy.

Life Expectancy

About 12-20 years.

Personality

The Tibetan Terrier is a sensitive, responsive breed that is a great family pet. They adore their masters and get along with children as well as other dogs. This breed is polite and friendly but will be aloof with people they’ve never met. It will just take a few meetings for them to warm up and become their affectionate selves!

This breed is kind and patient with an easy going attitude and are great for people that enjoy a more laid back lifestyle. They need a moderate amount of exercise which should include off-leash running, but are not a breed to constantly crave physical exercise like a Border Collie or Greyhound.

Care

This breed will need a large amount of grooming to upkeep their coat because it is long and thick. They will need to be brushed at least 3 times per week and bathes should be given once per month. The Tibetan Terrier is prone to a few eye ailments such as luxating lens, Progressive Retinal Atrophy and cataracts. Sensitivity to fleas, hip dysplasia, and luxating patella’s may also be genetically inherited diseases of this breed.

Training

The Tibetan Terrier will need gentle training and a patient owner as they can be quite stubborn. Repetition and consistency are the keys but the training sessions should be short and fun so they are more motivated to learn. If the lessons are enjoyable, the dog will be excited to learn and will pick up the commands at a much quicker rate!

Activity

The Tibetan Terrier will need at least an hour of exercise per day and this should include trips to an off-leash dog park so they can run around, or be taken for regular walks. This breed is fairly energetic and will do best with a backyard to run around in. The Tibetan Terrier will do well in an apartment as long as they get their regular exercise!

The Tibetan Spaniel originated in Tibet and was bred purely for companionship to people. They are thought to be a mixture of the Japanese chin, Pug and Pekingese which gives them their pushed in face, coiled tail and compact body.

This breed is a loyal, outgoing and devoted dog that needs a large amount of attention from their owners. They are responsive, clever and will be a bit harder to train as they can be stubborn, so will need an owner who is patient and consistent. The Tibetan Spaniel will make great family pets because they interact very well with children and will get along well with other dogs and family pets.

The Tibetan Spaniel is a short, fine boned little dog that is delicate and dainty. They have a pushed in face with a very short muzzle, giving them a high resemblance to the Pekingese. Their legs are short yet toned and they have a coiled tail that touches their lower back. These dogs have medium sized floppy ears and small rounded paws that are stuffed with fur!

Breed Group

Non-Sporting

Size

Males: 10 inches high
Females: 10 inches high

Weight

Males: 9-15 lbs
Females: 9-15 lbs

Color(s)

The Tibetan Spaniel will be a variety of colours and markings such as red, black & tan, fawn, black, light blonde, and white. Most commonly seen is the red or light blonde but all are accepted in the show ring.

Coat

This breed has a fine, silky coat that is soft to the touch. It hangs loosely off the dog and should not be curly or wavy. They will need weekly brushing to remove the dead coat but this will be a very minimal amount to be done.

Life Expectancy

About 12-15 years.

Personality

The Tibetan Spaniel is an excellent companion breed and will be very defensive of their territory and owners. They will be more weary around people they’ve never met but will warm up after a few meetings. These dogs are notoriously good with children as they are light hearted and love to play. The Tibetan Spaniel, despite their size will make a great watchdog because they have a loud, shrill bark that will be sure to alert the household!

This breed will need a firm hand when training because they can have a “my way or the highway” attitude at times. They are a joy to own and will just need more repetition and consistency during training to allow them to grasp the concepts of obedience or little tricks.

Care

The Tibetan Spaniel will need a minimal amount of grooming to upkeep their coat. Brushing once per week and bathing every 1-2 months will be perfect to keep them looking neat and clean. This breed might be prone to breathing difficulties (due to their pushed inwards face) but they are generally a healthy breed not prone to many inherited diseases.

Training

The Tibetan Spaniel is a stubborn little dog that will need an owner who is patient and can be clear with commands. Training lessons that are kept short and are made to be enjoyable will definitely help this breed out and will enable them to understand the commands much quicker. Consistency and repetition are the keys and as long as the owner is firm, they will pick up obedience in no time!

Activity

The Tibetan Spaniel will need about a half an hour of exercise per day to tire them out. A trip to an off-leash dog park or a walk will be perfect for this breed. Time spent running around chasing a ball or playing with other dogs will be much more efficient because these dogs love to run and will burn their energy much quicker doing so. The Tibetan Spaniel will do well in an apartment and won’t need a backyard but access to one would be a bonus.

Tibetan Mastiff dogs belong to an ancient stock, they may have been in existence as early as the stone or bronze age.
Also known as Do-Khyi, the Tibetan Mastiff is believed to be the originator of the majority of Molossus and Mastiffs throughout the world.

The breed began to disappear in Tibet during the 19th century, but in the mid 1800′s, a lot of Tibetan Mastiff was imported to England.
The British breeders have perfected and propagated the breed which has virtually died in the Orient, even now they are still rare.

Those that remain in Tibet are difficult to train, savage and unpredictable, but those that were raised in England are much more trainable and attached to their masters.

Breed Group

Working

Size

24 – 28 inches tall (at shoulder)

Weight

140 – 180 lbs

Color(s)

The Tibetan Mastiff is usually black, brown and bluish gray, also sable, gold, cream, or red with or without tan markings.

Coat

The Tibetan Mastiff is double coated, the undercoat is soft and very thick making him resistant to cold weather, while the outer coat is fairly long and coarse to the touch.

Life Expectancy

About 12 – 15 years.

Personality

The Tibetan Mastiff is a powerful dog very protective and territorial, independent and highly intelligent, he was bred to take initiative.
Mutual respect between him and his master is essential, he require to be treated as companions rather than house pets.

Very loyal to its family he is calm and well-tempered, usually patient and gentle with children he is aloof towards strangers and should be supervised when introduced to other animals.

Care

Usually a healthy breed, he is prone to hip dysplasia, skin, thyroid and ear problems, also an unusual genetic problem called CIDN (Canine Inherited Demyelinative Neuropathy).
The Tibetan Mastiff sheds only once per year during spring or summer, daily brushing should be performed during this time, weekly brushing otherwise should be sufficient.
The Tibetan Mastiff is good for allergy sufferers because he has very little dog odor.

Training

The Tibetan Mastiff is not for everyone, this breed does not have a long history of close

relationship with people, so a dominant and respectful handler is a must for this strong willed breed.
However, with the right training, this highly-valued dog can do well in obedience, agility, and as an outstanding guard.

Activity

The Tibetan Mastiff is not suited to live in apartments and he is relatively inactive indoors.
He likes to climb and dig, so he should have at least a large securely fenced yard.
Regular walks in the woods will make him happy, however he’s not a ball player or anything like that.

The Toy Fox Terrier originated in the United States and was bred to be a ratter and to hunt small vermin. Their ancestor is the Smooth Fox Terrier but these dogs were bred to be much smaller which was done by mixing in the Italian Greyhound, English Toy Terrier and the Chihuahua. Today these dogs resemble the Jack Russell Terrier as their body and facial expressions are very similar to them. The Toy Fox Terrier also goes by the name American Toy Terrier.

The Toy Fox Terrier has a compact small body that is muscular and athletic. Their muzzle is long and their eyes have a curious expression to them. They have toned legs which help them in the hunt for mice or rats, and a naturally long tail that is docked for show purposes. The Toy Fox Terrier has a short hard coat that will come in white with black accents on the face, body and tail. Tan accents also occur in this breed.

This little dog has a mischievous and inquisitive personality that they love to show off. They have the mind set of a much larger animal and is outgoing with other big animals. They tend to get along great with people and are used for helping the deaf as a hearing dog!

Breed Group

Terrier

Size

Males: around 10 inches high
Females: around 10 inches high

Weight

Males: 3-7 lbs
Females: 3-7 lbs

Color(s)

The Toy Fox Terrier will come in one colour variety which is a white with black or tan accents. The black and tan will be on their face, ears or tail.

Coat

This breed has a thick short coat that sheds quite a bit. It feels smooth yet hard to the touch and will need to be brushed about once per week just to remove dead fur. Bathing is required every 2-3 months as they are relatively clean dogs.

Life Expectancy

About 13-14 years.

Personality

The Toy Fox Terrier is a playful and affectionate breed that will be great for people or families with no smaller pets and older children. This breeds instinct is to hunt vermin so mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc. will be considered prey to them. Younger children will be to rough for this little guy to endure so older children are recommended to interact with this dog. Stubborn yet clever, the Toy Fox Terrier is an entertaining little breed that does not act like a small dog. They are not a prissy breed that need to be carried from place to place as they are much tougher than they look.

Although this breed is extremely tiny, they can be trained to do very important tasks and have helped out the handicapped and in some cases the deaf! They have a quick responsive mind that makes them relatively simple to train whether that be in obedience or for little tricks.

Care

This breed has a very short coat that will need weekly brushing and bathes about every 2 months to upkeep their appearance. They are a low maintenance dog that will take roughly 15 minutes per week of grooming. The Toy Fox Terrier is prone to legg-calve-perthes syndrome, luxating patella’s and some have allergies to food such as wheat, corn and beet pulp. The breed is generally a very healthy dog with the above diseases being a rarity.

Training

This breed is a clever little dog that will excel in training provided their owner is firm and consistent with them. They have been known to excel highly in basic obedience as they have a high intelligence level that just needs a gentle training method to encourage it. These dogs have the personality and trainability to become hearing dogs for the deaf or handicapped.

Activity

This little dog will need about a half of hour of exercise per day and either a walk or time spent in a dog park will be perfect for them. These dogs tend to tire themselves out during the day so not to much activity will be needed. The Toy Fox Terrier will be perfect for people that live in apartments as they don’t require much room, although a back yard would be great so they have an outdoor area to run around in.