TriSong Tibetan Terriers

Breeding Philosophy: We put a lot of time and research into our planned breedings and even more raising our puppies. We have a picture in our mind of what we consider the "perfect" Tibetan Terrier and that image mirrors that shown in the Illustrated Guide to the Tibetan Terrier. We prefer our dogs shorter in body (squarer), in the middle to lower portion of the standard for height and weight, of moderate bone with strong toplines, pretty faces and big feet. Temperament trumps appearance and color. There is no point in having a beautifully marked dog if you can't trust it around children or it exhibits fearful behaviors that affects your everyday life. We do not breed for the show ring and do not breed to dogs that are in the top of the show statistics and on handlers. Our opinion is that any dog can be a champion or in the top 5 or 10 if it is handled by a well known handler. First and foremost our dogs are our companions so they must have wonderful temperaments. Secondly - we want to do everything possible to ensure continued health after a puppy leaves our home. Therefore we study pedigrees, test, test, test, and test more. If there is an available genetic test, we have used it! We have assisted in the development of a test for the smooth (short) coated mutation, which is now available in the US. We are very proud to have been a part of asking the questions which led to the test. This has however, alienated us from many longtime breeders who had known about the smooths, but did not address these seemingly taboo issue. Our purpose in the testing was to understand the pattern of heritability so as not to produce a fault. Unfortunately, our excitement was met with suspicions and accusations. We are steadfast in our commitment to this breed, to bettering its genetic health, and increasing longevity. We want you to know that we do not take or commitment lightly, without exception.