Young adult Lhasas still act like puppies, but they have a bit more sense. They are used to going in and out of the house, and have their favorite places to run and play. For many, a puppy between six months and a year old is a good investment.

While 10 week old puppies are cute, and they are fun to watch grow up, they also get into mischief. Left to themselves, they will find something to entertain them. If there are two or more of them, they entertain each other, sometimes in bite bite games.

The older puppy is more willing to please it's humans. They often look for affection and approval. If you want to train your new Lhasa to do tricks, an older puppy is much better than a young puppy. What you do and say matters to them.

The older puppy also likes to be with his/her human more. While each Lhasa personality is different, it is common to have the older puppy at your feet when you are watching television or doing a project. He/she is watching for his turn to get into the action, but the important thing is that the Lhasa has learned to wait.

Interestingly, the dogs purchased for police work are never still in the puppy stage. They are often between two and three years of age and have gone through extensive training. Then the police get them, and continue to train them according to their needs and specifications.

A Lhasa is not a police dog - he is a house dog. While the new owner's goal may be to simply train their new pet where to go to the bathroom, their Lhasa is capable of much more. Tradition has it that Lhasa's in Tibet were "castle watchdogs". They were not attack dogs but they were the sentinel to sound the alarm. They were trained to sound the alarm, and then respond to their master's commands to be quiet. The six month old puppy is capable of understanding and obeying the commands to sit, stay, lay, quiet - while the 10 week old puppy is still months away from these goals

We have young lhasas because we are downsizing our kennel. We are getting older, and we will not be showing dogs as much. These young dogs are lead trained, and have been trained as to where we want them to go to their potty area. They know their names and are attentive and loving. They all get their turn to be the king and queen of the house - although not all at once. Having more than three in the house at a time makes it difficult to monitor their behavior to make sure it is acceptable.

We see their different personalities. While different breeds have different breed personalities, there is wide variation of personalities within each breed. For example, Luna is our character - and she loves to tease her humans. She likes to sit on a lap - for a few minutes - and then she is off to do her thing again.

Bilbo, on the other hand, is our staid gentleman. He is the dominant dog in the kennel, and that means he doesn't fight or argue. He has the confidence to be unchallenged and to be somewhat arrogant. He will sit or lay with proprietary ownership on a lap, or at our feet.

Frodo is still different than the other two. He is a one family dog who exhibits the Lhasa characteristic of being "charry of strangers"(from the ALAC Lhasa Standard). Once he has established that the visitor is accepted by us (a matter of moments) he then proceeds to ignore the visitors. It works for him, and it works for us.

The point is, you can't predict accurately from a puppy what they will grow into as an adult. By six months the Lhasa has developed enough of his personality that it will likely hold through its lifetime. As breeders and Lhasa fanciers we know our dogs, and that makes it easier for us to match the personality of the dog with the family (or individual) it will be going to.

Lhasas are good family pets, although they will generally ignore young children. It has been our experience that they like most adults and teens. Of course, they return the love which is given to them. Dogs can tell who cares the most about them. Our Lhasas are bred not only for health and conformation to the breed standard, but also to be friendly and happy pets.

Some enjoy being groomed more than others. Victor accepts grooming, but he needs to know what is being asked of him. It is easier to groom a dog who will lie on his side, and Victor will do this. However, each grooming session he needs emphasis to stay on his side (he tries to get up, but we won't let him.) As a 9 month old, he is a bit like a human teenager.

These Lhasas like to play, but not be teased. We cannot keep all the dogs we have learned to love, but our goal is to find homes where they can be a loved addition. Lhasas are not people, but they have loveable personalities and can reduce stress.

Opie

Opie is one of our favorite dogs. He recently came back to us because his family couldn't keep him. He, like others on this page, is an AKC Champion and he has been neutered. He is 4 years old.

Opie's sire is BIS Ch. Sundancer Hylan Shotru Bilbo Baggins and his dam is ROM Ch. Hylan Shotru Krisna Alibi. He likes to go on walks and he loves following us around the house and supervising as we do our chores. He sleeps by our bed (and would sleep on it if we let him). He too is a lap dog.

Victor

Victor is a nine month old male whelped on August 22, 2010. He has been in the show ring and has performed well on the lead. He has shown minimal concern with having a strange judge look at his mouth, his head, and all parts of his body. This means that he is accepting of strangers.

His father is the top winning Lhasa in Canada with more than 25 Best In Shows to his credit. His mother is our top champion producing dam, Champion Sundancer Hylan Shotru Foxtrot. As a Register of Merit American Lhasa Apso Club dam, she as offspring the current #2 ranked Lhasa Apso in the United States.

While Victor has the Lhasa character of being "charry of strangers", he is quickly accepting of new people in the house as soon as he realizes they are acceptable to us. He is playful and gets along well with other animals as well as people. He loves to be petted and be given attention, Like most Lhasas, he doesn't like to be mauled, and so children need to be trained on how to be with a dog - or Victor needs to have a safe place to go when new people to the house come to visit.

Rhett

Rhett is a six month old puppy who has also been lead trained and has done well in the show ring. He was Reserve Winners Dog at the recent shows in South Jordan, Utah. His tail is always well over the back, and he struts around with confidence. We like him a lot.

His AKC name is Sundancer Shotru Gone With the Wind. Sundancer and Shotru are both kennel names. We are Sundancer, and Hylan Shotru are our mentors and co-breeders.

Rhett's sire is BIS (Best In show) Ch. Sundancer Shotru Bilbo Baggins. His dam is ROM Ch. Hylan Shotru Sundancer Brandi.

Rhett loves to be loved and is a good lap dog. He is also a good boy to go walking with. Like most pups he is playful and active, but genererally has a laid back personality and is observant of all that is going on around him.

Porter

Porter is one of our favorite dogs. He is intensely loyal. He loves to go on walks, and he is well trained in the house to use the doggy door both coming and going.

Porter's AKC name is Sundancer's Porter Rockwell. He became an AKC Champion at just over a year of age. His sire is Ch. Sundancer Paco Drummer and his dam is Ch. Hylan Shotru Krisna Alibi.

Porter would be best with an adult family. It will take him some time to get used to his new adoptive family. Patience will prove out because he will become a best friend. When new people try to approach him he backs away. Those who allow him to come to them will be able to give him a pat or a pet on the back. Once he is acclimated he likes to sit on a lap and watch television and to be loved.

Porter is very smart and observes what goes on around him. He has been very easy to train, and could learn to do tricks should his new masters want to do this.