[5][6][unreliable source] The Lhasa Apso is a thousand-year-old breed that historically served as sentinels at palaces and monasteries isolated high in the Himalayas of Tibet.

[7] In the early twentieth century some Tibetan dogs were brought to the United Kingdom by military men returning from the Indian subcontinent.

[8]: 294 The first American pair of Lhasas were a gift from Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama to C. Suydam Cutting, arriving in the United States in 1933.

[1] The coat may be black, red, dark grizzle, golden, honey, parti-colour, sandy, slate-coloured, smoke-coloured or white.

[13] A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 14 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.