Lhasa Apso Care

Day to Day

The day to day requirements of a Lhasa Apso are relatively low if you exclude the grooming element. Mainly, a little food, a little water, a little exercise and lots of love and attention!

Routine is very important to your Lhasa, they have an internal clock that tells them it’s time for walkies, or food.

Food
Lhasa Apsos love their food, but an obese Lhasa Apso is likely to live a shorter life. Give your Lhasa Apso only the food manufacturer’s daily recommended amount.

Switch you lhasa to dry adult dog food by 4 months old, this is better for their teeth and heath in the long run. They will generally eat only when they are hungry but if your lhasa is over endulging restric to feeding a one meal time per day. Lhasa’s don’t need any human food, though they may like it and ask for it, it is not good for them. Never allow you dog to have cooked bones, they are brittle and will splinter, which can cause fatal internal injuries. Once every couple of months a small amount of raw meat will provide much needed iron and protein though it is not necessary, as a staple dry diet is suffient sustainance for you lhasa.

Chewing

Like most dogs your Lhasa Apso will want to chew everying from cushions, to skirting boards, but they particularly like wired as they are tough and present a challenge. Rice chews or rawhide are great distractions although don’t leave them around like food or toys, and change them around to maintain interest and remember they contain fat so use only as a treat. Toys are a must to keep your lhasa active and ensures they don’t chew your belongings. They particularly like fluffy toys as this reminds them of their siblings and mother.

To maintain health teeth, you could visit you, your vet for guidance or even purchase a tooth brush for your puppy, but the proven effective way to keep your dogs teeth heathly is to use dental chews as a daily activity. Build as part of the daily routine, for example after morning walkies its chew time, with a dental chew, this will also help your dog to be loyal and come in and come home when called as there is always something tasty awaiting them after being outside

Grooming
A daily brush and comb is an absolutely necessity for a Lhasa Apso, particular one with a full coat. It is particularly important to start this from a young age, groom their face and paws a lot, as your lhasa will be groomed many times in its life and will need to get used to sitting still and having these sensitive areas touched.

Lhasa Apsos need a considerable amount of grooming because of their long flowing coats, particularly if their coats are kept full length. They need at least a daily brush and comb to remove the knots from their coats.

Many Lhasa Apso owners prefer to have their dogs professionally groomed, and many prefer to keep their Lhasa’s coat clipped to avoid the knots and tangles that come with a longer coat. But to look their best, Lhasa Apsos need their long, flowing locks, and the only way to keep the Lhasa’s coat the way it should be is by meticulous daily grooming.

Exercise
The exercise requirements of a Lhasa Apso are relatively low because by and large the breed is happy exercising itself. But although Lhasa Apsos are busy little dogs and more than happy to amuse themselves, they still need a daily walk to keep them both physically fit and mentally stimulated.

The Lhasa Apso will thoroughly enjoy the extra physical and mental stimulation of a long daily walk. Surprisingly for a dog of their size, they will happily accept all the exercise opportunities they are offered. While they will happily live a sedentary life, the Lhasa Apso is a lively, intelligent little dog who will be even happier and live a healthier, longer life with more exercise.

To assist with training 3 little walks per day are best in their first year, this is because your puppy is little and cant hold his/her wee for very long, to house break quickly as well as lead train walking more will help. A walk assoon as they wake you, then in the mid afternoon and again right before bed as late as possible, its interesting to note that females like to walk on grass for their wees. But as your puppy is little the walks will have to be little too just 10 mins is enough then start to make them longer and when your pup can hold it through the night without using paper or asking for the garden at 4am, then its time to reduce to 2 30min walks perday but less is fine if your are unable. Your lhasa will let you know when they need more by going to the door, fetching their leed or of course when they put on weight.