Three Lap Dogs of Tibet

Here we see Tibetan lap dogs displayed as three separate breeds at Crufts in 1953.

In their homeland of Tibet, little yappy monastery dogs existed across the land.  These lap dogs were simply lap dogs; narrow standards were not articulated, registries did not exist, and breeding was open and largely random. While minor differences might be observed from dog to dog not too much distinction was made. Prior to the turn of the 20th Century, dogs in the same litter would be deemed to be Lhasa Apso or Tibetan Terrier (once called the Bhuteer terrier), or Tibetan Spaniel based on coat type and tail carriage alone.

So when then did the Lhasa Apso become the Tibetan Terrier and when was the Tibetan Spaniel created? The short story is that these names and divisions; were invented in the West when the dogs  first showed up in dog show circles. As noted in a 1904 report:

There are Tibetan Terriers as large as Russian Poodles, and have others almost as small as Maltese. A few would appear to have Terrier instincts, but many have the habits of the large dog of Tibet. The Lhasa Terrier has now (i.e.:1900) found a foothold in India and is bred there, though not in considerable numbers. At one time it was only to be obtained in its purity at Lhasa, and the breed was once, it is said, jealously guarded by the Buddhist priests. But, traders finding a demand among the dog loving public of India, contrived to convey specimens to Leh and Kashmir, westward, and to Darjeeling, eastward. Of these little creatures there are to be two contrary types, the terrier and the spaniel. At the Muree (an Indian Hill Station, bordering Kashmir) dog show of September 1900, there was for the first time a separate class granted for this breed, and both types were conspicuously represented. The terrier type (though all Tibetan dogs have the tail curling strongly over the back), strongly resembles the Skye Terrier.

And what is the purpose of these three breeds?  Why to warm the lap, collect fleas, and bark their heads off, of course!