Tibetan Spaniel

Quick-witted and devoted at home, independent in outlook.
A Tibetan Spaniel
Photo: Daedra
Adult weight
4–7 kg
8.8–15 lb
Lifespan
15.2 yrs
Handler demand
Suits a first-time owner
Class · Companion
also Lap dog

What it's like

The Tibetan Spaniel is a small, compact dog, slightly longer than tall, with a gently domed head, a blunt, medium-length muzzle and a slightly undershot bite. The silky double coat lies flat and forms a mane or shawl about the neck, more marked in males. The ears, the backs of the forelegs and the plumed tail are feathered, and the tail curls over the back. Any colour is permitted. In temperament it is alert, quick-witted and devoted to its household, but reserved with strangers and independent in outlook.

Day to day
Activity
Happy with modest walks
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Suits a first-time owner
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Usually fine with small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a coat of medium length. Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus daily brushing through the seasonal moult. It needs a modest amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Tibetan Spaniel is a small dog, about the weight of a grown Jack Russell. It is one of the lightest small breeds.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 3 months, a male Tibetan Spaniel puppy is already as heavy as a grown Chihuahua. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
1.3–2.3 kg 2.9–5.1 lb
1.4–2.5 kg 3.1–5.5 lb
3 months
1.6–2.8 kg 3.5–6.2 lb
1.7–3.0 kg 3.7–6.6 lb
4 months
2.1–3.7 kg 4.6–8.2 lb
2.2–3.9 kg 4.9–8.6 lb
5 months
2.5–4.4 kg 5.5–9.7 lb
2.5–4.5 kg 5.5–9.9 lb
6 months
2.8–4.9 kg 6.2–10.8 lb
2.8–4.9 kg 6.2–10.8 lb
7 months
3.1–5.4 kg 6.8–11.9 lb
3.0–5.3 kg 6.6–11.7 lb
8 months
3.2–5.7 kg 7.1–12.6 lb
3.2–5.6 kg 7.1–12.3 lb
9 months
3.4–5.9 kg 7.5–13.0 lb
3.3–5.8 kg 7.3–12.8 lb
10 months
3.5–6.1 kg 7.7–13.4 lb
3.4–6.0 kg 7.5–13.2 lb
11 months
3.6–6.2 kg 7.9–13.7 lb
3.5–6.1 kg 7.7–13.4 lb
12 months
3.6–6.4 kg 7.9–14.1 lb
3.6–6.2 kg 7.9–13.7 lb
15 months
3.8–6.7 kg 8.4–14.8 lb
3.8–6.6 kg 8.4–14.6 lb
18 months
4.0–6.9 kg 8.8–15.2 lb
3.9–6.8 kg 8.6–15.0 lb

Health and lifespan

In UK lab records, mouth melanoma turns up more often in Tibetan Spaniels than in crossbreeds: it is more likely. It can shorten a life. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name.
  • Mouth melanoma
    Lab-confirmed cases
    More likely
    Impact: life-limiting
Lab-confirmed: compares dogs whose tumour samples went to a lab with dogs seen in general practice, so the figures run higher than vet-record ones.

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Tibetan Spaniel lived to about 15 years, longer than the typical small breed.

Where it comes from

The Tibetan Spaniel was kept by Tibetan monks as a companion and watchdog, often alongside Lhasa Apsos, and European visitors named it a spaniel for its likeness to toy spaniels. Dogs first reached Britain in late Victorian times, but the breed there grew from those Lord and Lady Wakefield brought home from western Tibet and the dogs of Colonel and Mrs Hawkins, friends who had done the same4,10.

The Tibetan Spaniel is a spaniel in name only, with no connection to the gundog breeds that share the word. In Britain the breed grew slowly after the Second World War from a small number of imports, and a breed association was formed in the late nineteen-fifties. It has since been recognised by the major kennel clubs of Europe and North America. Tradition says its monastery work was to watch and warn. The dogs are said to have sat on high walls and barked at approaching strangers, and the breed still likes to settle on a raised vantage point. A story that they turned prayer wheels is often repeated, but it is told rather than known.

Breed standard

The Tibetan Spaniel is judged against standard no. 231, in group 9, Companion and Toy Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Tibetan Spaniel figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a small breed is most likely at the early end.

Compare with related

Pekingese
Companion & toy · Toy
Japanese Chin
Companion & toy · Toy
Tibetan Terrier
Companion & toy · Medium
Poodle (Miniature)
Companion & toy · Small
Or compare the Tibetan Spaniel with any breed you choose
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·