A Lhasa Apso's weekly diary is written with a brush in hand, because almost everything worth recording about this small, long-coated breed is discovered during grooming rather than across a field. Each week note her weight by scale and by feel beneath the coat, appetite, water intake, and stool, then work through the grooming findings in order: skin condition under the hair, mats forming in the usual places, ears under their heavy feathering, eyes and tear staining, and teeth.
Skin and mats under a Lhasa Apso's long coat
Skin entries lead a Lhasa Apso's diary because her floor-length coat conceals the skin completely between grooms. Part the hair along the back, belly, and chest during the weekly brush-through and record flakes, redness, greasy patches, or any sore spot, with its location in plain words. Note mats as you find them: behind the ears, in the armpits, under the collar, and where harness straps sit. A Lhasa Apso who scratches, licks her paws, or rubs her face after grooming should have that recorded with the day, because the pattern across weeks identifies whether a shampoo, a season, or something else is driving it.
Ears and eyes beneath the Lhasa's feathering
Ear entries in a Lhasa Apso's diary need deliberate attention, because hair grows inside this breed's ears and the flaps themselves are heavily feathered, sealing in warmth and moisture. Lift each ear weekly and note odor, redness, wax build-up, or head shaking and ear scratching between checks. Eyes belong on the same page: a Lhasa's prominent eyes collect discharge and tear staining that can irritate the skin beneath, so note clarity, wetness, squinting, and whether the hair below the eyes stayed dry or became sore, plus any day she pawed at her face.
Weight by hand, appetite, and small-mouth teeth
Weight notes in a Lhasa Apso's diary cannot trust the silhouette, because the coat draws the same outline at noticeably different weights. Use the scale weekly and confirm with your hands: ribs under a modest cover, a waist you can feel even if you cannot see it. Record meals and her enthusiasm for them, since a Lhasa is famously capable of disdain, and a week of refusals means something different in a picky dog only if the diary distinguishes protest from genuine appetite loss. Teeth complete the trio: small jaws crowd, tartar builds on back teeth, and breath changes, chewing on one side, or dropped kibble all deserve dated lines.
Lhasa Apso entries that should become a vet visit
A Lhasa Apso's diary should send you to the vet for skin sores that spread or fail to settle, relentless scratching, ear odor with head shaking that persists, or an eye that turns cloudy, painful, or is held shut. A mat problem is a groomer's visit rather than a vet's, unless the skin beneath is broken or infected-looking, in which case it joins the vet list. Limping beyond a day, repeated vomiting, a full day of refused food and water, or drinking and urinating noticeably more than her diary's normal also warrant a prompt call. Bring the grooming pages: in this breed, the skin and ear history is the consultation.
Small dog, complete records, one packet
A Lhasa Apso's diary matters to her groomer as much as her vet, and often to a sitter who has never managed a full coat before. Kept with her vaccination record, vet contacts, feeding routine, and grooming schedule, it tells the groomer where her skin has been sensitive, tells the vet how long the ear has been brewing, and tells the sitter exactly which mats to hunt for and which eye wiping is normal for her. Holding it in KinsLe's Pet Passport keeps your Lhasa Apso's weekly diary and formal records together in one portable packet.