Lai-La

Well Faye got her wish on Saturday when we went to Tracy's farm near Gt Yarmouth to get the little Lhasa Apso puppy.   She has already taken over the house and everyone's heart and seems to be a lovely little pup with a calm temperment and gentle nature.  Faye is doing her very best to be a responsible 'mum' .   Puppy sleeps with Faye every night and so far we haven't heard a peep from either of them.
   
We were battling to find a name for her and Faye was getting quite stressed  about that on Sunday.   After we'd spent some time all writing down our suggestions for names, we still didn't seem to be any closer to finding anything suitable.  Then I told Faye to just concentrate on the dog and think what suited her personality the most ... all of a sudden she just blurted out 'Lyla' (which is how I saw the spelling in my head when she said the name).  We thought this was a cute name and much better than Kevin's suggestion which was Ugg-Li ... :)

I was laying in bed last night and suddenly realised that the name Faye has chosen for our puppy was taken from the Dalai Lama's name ... I said right from the outset, when we were looking at getting a Lhasa that we must choose a Tibetan name for the puppy, in honour of its heritage.   So I think the name that Faye chose herself is the best and most appropriate and it's quite extraordinary!  Faye does not know who His Holiness is and didn't know his name, so maybe LaiLa is a reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama hey?    It's all Zen to me. 

Lhasa's were bred to warn nobility and Buddhist monks in the Tibetan monasteries whenever there were intruders.  The Mastiffs used to stand outside and the little Lhasa's were indoors.  They have a distinct bark.

Lhasa means from the city of Lhasa, Tibet
 and Apso simply means Dog, some people say it can mean Lion Dog

So her breed name literally means lion dog from Lhasa

 They are quite intelligent little dogs and have a regal disposition (we've already seen this quite often in the way that our puppy stands, she holds her head quite high).  She has wise little eyes and concentrates on new things. She's not a whirlwind of stupidity, like most puppies are - quite the opposite in fact and the right energy level for us!

  These dogs are fearless when they get older and are protective of their families and wary of strangers - so we have to make sure that she is well socialised as a puppy.  Faye has already started training her, we got a DVD from the Pet Shop on basic training techniques and she's already got LaiLa to sit. 

When you decide to show a Lhasa you grow the top fur out (they have a double coat) and it goes very long, so you can dress it up with bows and what not - perfect pet for a girl!
 

Most owners, however, keep their Lhasa's groomed in a 'puppy' cut or 'teddy' cut (which is how LaiLa looks now).

DNA Analysis has identified the Lhasa Apso as one of the 14 most ancient dog breeds - verifying that lap dogs and companion dogs were among the first dogs bred by humans,   They are also one of the breeds most closest to the wolf - don't know how they get that but I'm not arguing with Wikipedia. 

  



If we ever showed LaiLa, then she would have to look something like this:

    No problem.

We take her on Saturday for her first innoculation, microchipping etc.