STANDARD OF THE LHASA APSO
General Appearance: Well balanced, sturdy, heavily coated Behaviour/Temperament: Gay and assertive. Alert, steady but somewhat aloof with strangers. Head:  Heavy head furnishings with good fall over eyes; good whiskers and beard. Cranial Region: Skull: Moderately narrow, falling away behind eyes, not quite flat, but not domed or apple headed. Stop: medium Facial Region: Nose: black Muzzle: About 4 cm (1 ½ ins), but not square; length from tip of nose roughly one third of total length from nose to back of skull. Foreface: straight Jaws/Teeth: Upper incisors close just inside lower i.e. reverse scissor bite. Incisors in a broad and as straight a line as possible. Full dentition desirable. Eyes: Dark. Medium size, frontally placed, oval, neither large nor full, nor small and sunk. No white showing at base or top. Ears: Pendant, heavily feathered. Neck: Strong and well arched. Body: Length from point of shoulders to point of buttocks greater than height at withers. Balanced and compact. Back: level top line. Loin: Strong. Chest: Ribs extending well back. Tail: High set, carried well over back but not like a pot-hook. Often a kink at end. Well feathered. Limbs: Forequarters: Forelegs straight, heavily furnished with hair.  Shoulders: Well laid back Hindquarters: Well developed with good muscle. Good angulation. Heavily furnished with hair. Hocks: When viewed from behind parallel and not too close together. Feet: Round, cat-like with firm pads. Well feathered. GAIT/MOVEMENT: Free and jaunty   COAT: HAIR: Top coat long, heavy, straight, hard neither woolly nor silky. Moderate undercoat. COLOUR: Golden, sandy, honey, dark grizzle, slate, smoke, parti-coloured, black, white or brown. All equally acceptable. SIZE: ideal height: 25,4 cm (10 ins) at shoulder for dogs; bitches slightly smaller. FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportions to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Notice: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into scrotum.

There are three strategies of adaptation, which define the conditions of  type of the Tibetan Lhasa-Apso:
1) Adaptation to Heat and Cold:	Maximum of body mass (muscles) Minimum of surface (shorter legs, more compact body shape) Isolation in heat or cold (coat, fat) Sunbeams: Coverage (Coat, Tail covering the back, coat on head)   Breath (big lounge surface)
2) Adaptation to Height:	Strong capacity of breath  (big lounges, clear respiratory ducts) Performance of Organs (Exclusion of effusive body mass)
3) Adaptation to Terrain:	good feet,  strong climbing and good jumping abilities.