[1] When compared to the standard Tibetan Mastiff, the Kyi Apso has a lighter, shaggier appearance; the breed has a bearded muzzle without sagging dewlaps, no excessive facial wrinkles, long hairy ears, comparatively long legs, a more slender body and a fully curled tail.
[2][3][4] An athletic breed, the Tibetan Kyi Apso has a distinctive rolling, bouncy trot and a deep resonant bark.
[4] The breed is considered independent, highly intelligent, alert and energetic; it is particularly stubborn and territorial, is instinctively wary of strangers and aggressive towards intruders.
[4] In the 1970s American field workers operating in North-West Nepal observed some in the possession of traders, in subsequent years different American field workers managed to acquire two puppies in the vicinity of Mount Kailash although it was not until the 1990s when six specimens were smuggled out of Tibet to the United States and a breed club was formed.
The bearded Tibetan Mastiff was imported by cynologist and dog breeder, George Augustus Graham in the late 19th century as a 'Tibetan wolf-dog', contributing to the revival of the Irish Wolfhound breed.