What do you mean you've never heard of Tibetan Terriers? I can't be the only person who keeps a list of dogs that don't shed under their pillow at night, can I?
Oh.
Yeah, so, Penny (AKA Penelope Grace because dogs need middle names, too. How else will I properly yell at her when she's swinging from a chandelier with a cat in her mouth?) is a Tibetan Terrier, which officially completes our matching pair of weird dog breeds. I think people are more likely to figure out where the names Cody and Penny come from than they are to figure out what a Havanese and a Tibetan Terrier are. That's OK, though. I'm here to educate! Or something...
The long of the short is that Tibetan Terriers have been on our collective "WANT" list for a while now. We had given up on the dream, though, because there just didn't seem to be any around. The fact that a litter was available within three hours of our house at *just* the right time still sort of blows my mind and makes me think IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
Tibetan Terriers have been on our list because they are nothing short of AWESOME. They're one of the oldest breeds in existence, having originated in Tibet (they aren't terriers at all-the name is just plain wrong in that regard). They used to live with monks forever ago and are close relatives of Lhasa Apsos and Shih Tzus. If you were to put the three breeds in a line together, the Shih Tzu would come in just under the minimum size requirement to actually be considered a dog. I suggest using them as a football instead. Lhasa Apsos are barely dogs, but are pretty freakin' awesome. We had one before we got Cody and adored the hell out of that pup. Then there are the bigger Tibetan Terriers. They are somewhere around knee height and weigh 20-25 pounds, meaning they are big enough to do crazy big dog things, but small enough to not make me insane.
They have the awesome crazy long hair like Shih Tzus and Lhasa Apsos.
Before you scoff at all that hair, THEY DON'T SHED. AT ALL. Well, OK, a little bit, but they really do have hair instead of fur, which means they shed about as much as a human does. I can't speak for Penny just yet, but our Lhasa Apso shed far less hair every day than I do. FAR less. (Cody also doesn't shed, so I don't have any dog fur tumbleweeds in my house. NEENER NEENER.) Oh, and hair instead of fur means Tibetan Terriers are generally OK for people who are allergic to dogs.
As far as temperment goes, Penny is pretty much perfect for us. She's cool with just hanging out, but also likes to play. She positively adores Alexis and happily snuggles up in her lap for hours on end.
Tibetan Terriers typically get along fine with other dogs and with cats. They're smart (possibly too smart) and highly trainable. The one personality drawback is that they are smart enough to figure out how to train their humans. Which, how much do you want to bet that Penny has Mr. Husband fully trained by the time she's two months old?
Who am I kidding? She already has him trained.