Nowadays, there are tendencies to exaggeration. That is never good. It is selfish and childish to shape beings according to our own wishes. My recommendation is to keep the Tibetan dog breeds as they are: healthy and robust and adapted to their life-task.

I don’t think it is good to feed them with much meat. Today, it always has to be meat. This can cause disease.

I also regret that dog owners are willing to put their sick dogs to sleep. That is like killing a member of the family. Of course, we should help the animal and keep him from suffering. But often it is a selfish decision, as we are not able to cope with the illness, additional work and suffering at hand. Death always causes suffering; we cannot escape that.

You cannot really speak of temple dogs. However, you could call the Do Khyis temple dogs as they guard temples. I would call the Tibetan Spaniel a Lama dog or a Lama lap dog. As I already have two dogs, I do not want to have any more for the time being.

Once we finish the building of the new temple, I would be very happy to welcome you. We can than take a tour of the monastery and have a Tibetan meal.

“Do Khyi” means “a chained dog”. These large fierce dogs guard the houses and goods of their owners. The best Do Khyis are also called “Sang Khyi” after their origin Sangri, which is south of Lhasa.

Lhasa Apsos as well as Tibetan Terriers are quite widely spread. They can be found with people in Lhasa as well as with nomads.

The Tibetan Spaniels are also called “Simkhyi”, which means house dog, room dog or even bedroom dog. They are the dog of highest order and are being kept as Lama dogs or with aristocrats. The Tibetan Spaniel is a lively dog with a good length of nose. Jemtse Apso, meaning shaven Apso, is not a name used in Tibet for Tibetan Spaniels.

“Gya Khyi” is what we call a Pekingese dog. This dog is very popular with monks and aristocrats. The Gya Khyis have very flat noses and they don’t move much. They differ from Tibetan Spaniels mainly due to the flat nose and the long and extensive coat.

“Haba” is the Mongolian word for small dog. This expression is being used for all small dog breeds. The name “Bora” is not familiar to me.

Tibetan Terriers are also called “Rapso” which means goat-haired.

“Sha Khyis” look like short-haired huskies. They also have a curled tail and pointed ears, but no blue eyes. They are mainly herd dogs which move around freely. They protect the herds from wolves and help drive the herd. Sometimes they are also used for hunting (not FCI recognized).

“Go Khyi” is the jewel amongst Tibetan dog breeds. About one per cent of vultures are Tibetan bearded vultures (tib: Gowo), which lay three eggs: the first with a snake, the second with a dog and the third with a bird. If you ever hear a dog bark high up in the mountains near a bearded vulture’s nest, you will find a very small dog there. This dog is called “Go Khyi” and is the most respected dog in Tibet (not FCI recognized).