08/29/2026
I thought I would share something with my closest friends in the world of Lhasa apsos. I responded to someone's post today because I was appalled at the advice they were receiving.
While some of you may or may not agree with what I've said, I thought it was vital enough information to share with all of you.
Please do not be a bully when responding. I am happy to listen to alternative thoughts but they should be shared in kind.
This is gonna be a long one:
My name is Kimberly. I own Absosengkye Kennel. Lhasas are my life's passion and I only speak to you out of a desire to help keep another dog out of the pound. Because of facebook bullies, I am private messaging you my response to your question with regards to your Lhasa guarding his bed with your daughter.
While I appreciate everyone's opinion (sometimes with a good sense of humor), I also am a very firm believer that a dog allowed to get away with something small will move into something larger.
First and foremost, if it is a male, is he neutered? In this breed males can be real terrors once the testosterone starts moving. Sometime between 6 and 8 months is the first surge with another one at around 18 months. Personality changes are not uncommon and neutering is often the simplest way to get the physical change needed to calm a boy dog.
Well, I do not know the age of your dog, your Lhasa is at the two year old child stage with this behavior.
If your two year old child bites his sister on the knee you are not going to tell her to stay out of his personal space.
Why then would anyone tell their daughter to avoid their dog's personal space?
Dr. Dobson, a very good child psychologist and a Christian often said that when a child asks for a battle, you have to be ready to stand your ground because it is a graduated process. They take little steps to get their way, and slowly gain more and more ground until you lose your role of leadership.
I am actually appalled to think that people believe teaching a dog that it has personal space is safe.
When you have company and their two year old toddler heads over to your Lhasa and he bites her, it is highly unlikely that the parents are going to follow the idea that they need to respect your dog's personal space.
I have a lot more to say on this subject, but I'm going to keep that part of my opinion to myself and just say that a dog has to have respect for every member of the family, or you are walking on thin ice.
Anything guarded is removed. Lhasas love to have dominion over things. They are naturally territorial and need to be taught acceptable behaviors. Guarding can easily turn to being snippy or worse. If he guards his bed, then it's taken away. It should follow an event. Once returned, if the event happens again, it should be immediately removed.
Part of the problem with the idea that a dog can have personal space is that his personal space becomes wherever he determines it to be.
Right now, he's guarding his bed. Down the road he may be sitting on the couch and when your daughter goes to sit down, he will determine that's his personal space. You can see where this goes.
Anytime that he behaves this way, my solution is a water sq**rter and a good one.
You have to be prepared at all times. They sell smaller water bottles that can spray a good four or five feet at least. Until the problem is solved, the sq**rter must be on your body (and depending on the age of your daughter, this applies even more to her) at all times for instant handling of a situation.
Your daughter has to take authority over this dog now or he will be moving in a very bad direction.
If she is not old enough to handle the situation, then you have to be the one on guard at all times to be sure that your dog never shows aggression to your daughter.
I know many people will disagree with me on this, but I have been raising this breed for 30+ years and I'm telling you that most of these problems need to be addressed at the start.
I have heard so many horror stories that resulted directly from an owner's inability or unwillingness to take charge of their dog. Fear, guilt and lack of experience often lead owners to really bad decisions that don't help the situation. Crating a dog every single time your daughter's in the room or tying the dog outside, only postpone the inevitable.
I have used the water sq**rter for 40+ years on every breed, imaginable from Alaskan Malamutes to German Shepherds. I have used it to set boundaries for no entrance to the kitchen while we're eating. I have used it to quiet, a dog that refuses to stop barking. I have used it to train a dog to go and lay on its bed on command.
It is harmless, causes no pain whatsoever, is an excellent way to get your dog's attention and makes no mess worth speaking of.
The only failed use of this is a dog that likes water. Thankfully I have never had a Lhasa apso that enjoys being sq**rted in the face.
The advantage of the water sq**rter is you are not using your hand to physically harm your dog. When a water sq**rter is used, it must be with a voice command. If he guards a toy, two sq**rts in the face with a "NO Guard!", if you want to train a dog to go and lay on his, you must first teach the dog the word bed. I can tell you more about that. If you're interested but, once the dog knows the word bed, you can give the command "go to bed" and put the dog on the bed, preferably walking it versus carrying it. Once you've established that the dog understands that this is in bed, you can tell the dog to go to bed and then give a sq**rt. You may have to bring the dog to the bed several times to be sure that it understands the message. The square is simply to enforce the fact that you are in charge and have the right to tell the dog to go to bed. This is just one example of using the water square for training. Once a dog is trained with water sq**rter, you will not even need to sq**rt it.
My ninety five pound german shepherd, fully respects the water sq**rter. He is actually a dog that does like water. And when I spray the hose outside, he will gobble the water up like he loves it. Because I use the water sq**rter method from a very young age. They grow to respect it and see it as a tool for training. All I have to do is pick up a bottle of anything, and he immediately submits, and does what he's been asked to do.
He is not a woosy dog and his spirit is just fine despite the fact that he has been sprayed with a water bottle. Most importantly, you must accompany the use of the water bottle sq**rter with a command at the same time and only when your command has not been obeyed in the first place. The command should bespoken firmly, not yelled.
Treats should be dispensed minimally and with training for gentleness.
I don't know how old your daughter is but if age appropriate, have her sit on the floor and hold the treat( buy a good sized treat that she can hang on to and still have plenty exposed for gnawing. and let him chew it while she holds it. If she's old enough to understand this method she will be teaching the dog that she is in control of the treat. She should use the word "gentle" both as a reminder, as he's chewing and as a correction, if he gets too close to her hand. Two incidents of him not being gentle and the treat should go away with the reprimand of "that's not gentle".
Again, based on age, she should do the feeding and your dog should be required to "sit" and "wait" while she puts the food down and then released with a word like "go ahead" or "okay". Buy release word is "okay" which I sometimes regret because I say it all the time and often "release" by accident from a command.
If a particular toy causes issues in this area get rid of it. I no longer give my Lhasas pig ears because they caused fights and guarding issues.
I would love to share more and welcome you to private message me if I can help further.
www.absosengkye.com
