Tibetan Spaniel

Small dogs of this type have been kept in Tibet for many centuries. Monastery dogs were valued partly for a resemblance to the snow lion, a Buddhist symbol, and they were companions to the lamas as well as sentinels, sitting on the walls to watch and to alert the larger Tibetan Mastiffs stationed at the gates. They were also credited with turning prayer wheels and with keeping their owners warm at night.

Because they were regarded as sacred they were not sold, only given, and dogs travelled as gifts between Tibetan monasteries and to the courts of China and other Buddhist countries. That exchange is why the Tibetan Spaniel, the Pekingese and the Japanese Chin share a family resemblance without being the same breed.

The first Tibetan Spaniels reached Britain with missionaries and medical staff in the 1890s and early twentieth century, but the small British population was almost wiped out by the Second World War. Systematic breeding restarted after fresh imports from Tibet and India in the 1940s and 1950s. The Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1960, and the American Kennel Club admitted it to the Non-Sporting Group in 1984. The FCI classifies it in Group 9 among companion dogs.

A Tibetan Spaniel stands about 10 inches at the shoulder and weighs roughly 9 to 15 pounds, slightly longer in body than it is tall. The head is small in proportion to the body and carried proudly, with a domed skull, a short blunt muzzle that is not wrinkled, and dark oval eyes set well apart that give the breed its characteristic expression. A slight undershot bite is correct.

The coat is a silky double coat, flat or slightly wavy, moderately long on the body with a pronounced mane around the neck and shoulders that is more marked in dogs than in bitches. Feathering runs down the back of the legs and the ears, the feet carry tufts of hair between the toes, and the plumed tail is set high and carried in a curl over the back. All colours and mixtures are permitted, with gold, cream, red, sable, black and black and tan all common. Despite the short muzzle the breed is not extreme in face, and a Tibetan Spaniel should breathe freely.

This is a confident, intelligent, faintly imperious small dog. It is deeply attached to its own family and often chooses one person in particular, and it wants to be in company rather than left alone. It is also independent in a way small companion breeds often are not: it will consider a request, decide whether it agrees, and act accordingly.

With strangers it is typically aloof rather than fearful or friendly. The monastery watchdog is very much alive in the breed, so a Tibetan Spaniel will notice a visitor, a noise or a change outside and announce it. It is a good alarm dog and a very poor guard dog, and the barking needs early shaping if it is not to become constant.

The breed is playful and enjoys games well into adulthood, and it is generally sociable with other dogs. It suits families with children old enough to handle a small dog gently and with respect. Left alone regularly for long days it becomes unhappy, and it climbs: the habit of surveying the world from the back of the sofa or a window sill is entirely characteristic and worth planning for.

The breed's original work was surveillance and companionship, and both remain its strongest suits. As an alert dog in a home it is efficient and discreet enough about it, and as a companion it is unusually attuned to its owner's mood, which is why Tibetan Spaniels do well as therapy and visiting dogs.

It is a good apartment breed provided the exercise and the barking are managed, and it copes well with travel and with quieter lifestyles, including those of older owners. Tibetan Spaniels compete in obedience, rally, agility and scent work with reasonable success, although the independent streak means they train best when they can see something in it for themselves.