It is likely that the first small
Tibetan Lion Dogs from which the Shih Tzu is probably descended came to China during the Qing (Ch «ing) Dynasty (1644 - 62) as tributes from the Grand Lamas to the Chinese Imperial Court, and that the Chinese interbred these Tibetan dogs with the early western imports and with the Pug and the Pekingese.
Not exact matches
Some
Tibetans refer to it as the «bearded
lion dog.»
No wonder its name means Bark
lion Sentinel
Dog in
Tibetan.
If you are fascinated to keep a
dog like
lion but your current clause doesn't allow you to keep a
Tibetan mastiff then you can check these other
dog breeds that looks very similar to
Tibetan mastiff.
They look like a
Lion and now a day's
Tibetan mastiffs are one of the most demanded
dogs in Asian and European Countries and a trending fashion and status symbol in China, which makes their price is too high.
The Shih Tzu (whose name means «
lion») is reputed to have been the oldest and smallest variety of the
Tibetan «holy
dogs» and bears some similarity to other
Tibetan breeds.
The
lion was closely associated with Buddhism, but the
lion was not indigenous to China, so the Chinese and the
Tibetan lamas bred their toy
dogs to resemble
lions.
The Chinese also cultivated a
lion dog, the Pekingese, and
dogs from each country were often presented between countries, encouraging some interbreeding between the
Tibetan and Chinese
dogs.
Known in its home country as the «bark
lion sentinel
dog,» the Lhasa Apso was used to guard
Tibetan palaces and temples.
The Lhasa Apso, also known as the
Tibetan Apso, the Apso Seng Kyi (
Tibetan), the Bearded
Lion Dog, the Hairy
Lion Dog, the Talisman
Dog, the Shantung Terrier, the Sheng Trou, the Apso and the Lhasa, originated in the isolated reaches of the Himalayan Mountains and has remained largely unchanged in type and temperament for thousands of years.