CHAPTER LXIII 

 THIBETAN DOGS 



ELSEWHERE has been figured and described the large Thibet dog 

 known as the Thibet Mastiff; there is also the huge Thibetan 

 Sheepdog that Mr. Wilson had some few years since, and exhibited 

 at the more important shows. The one is but a modification of the 

 other. Of still more importance than either to English fanciers is 

 the Lhassa Terrier, an interesting little breed formerly found under 

 the inappropriate name of Bhuteer Terrier. Lhassa is the chief 

 home of these Terriers, which by the Fancy in Northern India are 

 classified as Thibetan. Until Mr. Lionel Jacobs enlightened the 

 fanciers of this country by means of his very practical contributions 

 to the Kennel press on the dogs of India, but very little was known 

 here, and much confusion reigned, especially when, as in the case 

 of the Lhassa, two distinct types obtain. Though desirable 

 acquisitions, the true Lhassas are by no means abundant even in 

 that capital, and are correspondingly expensive. 



As stated above, two distinct types of Lhassa exist one (the 

 true) approaching the Skye Terrier in character, but with the tail 

 carried over the back, as is usual with Thibetan dogs, the other 

 more closely approximating to the Japanese Spaniel. In India, 

 as here, separate classes for the breed are provided ; but the dogs 

 there do not appear to grow as much hair upon the face, head, and 

 ears as do the specimens met with here. This, as Mr. R. T. Clarke 

 points out in a letter sent to Mr. Lionel Jacobs and by that 

 gentleman contributed to the Field, is probably the result of greater 

 attention to the dog's toilet. Mr. Clarke describes the Lhassa as 

 " very affectionate and attached, and do not thrive unless petted 

 and taken a good deal of notice of. They are very jealous, and 

 desperate fighters when their blood is up. When fighting, they are 

 as determined to kill as any Fox or Irish Terriers, and always 

 attack at a vulnerable spot." 



Mr. Lionel Jacobs, when dealing with the breed in the Kennel 

 Gazette of 1901, speaks in the highest praise of the bitch Marni, 

 owned by Colonel Walsh, and compares her in type and general 

 appearance to Mrs. Maclaren Morrison's Kepvich Tuko, that had 



