All Tibetan dogs have large tails carried over their backs.  Modern judges have interpreted the standard to mean that the dog should never be seen to lower his tail, as if it were permanently welded to his back.  However this is a living creature, whose tail is a barometer of how he is feeling.  Under normal, secure and happy circumstances, the Apso's tail should be and is carried well over his back.  However when startled, unhappy,  or merely relaxed, the tail may be dropped.

The "tailset" is not mentioned in the standard.  Much is made by show breeders of a high tailset.  A very high set tail goes with a somewhat hollowed back and a flat croup. This construction, a feature of some animals (the Hackney for instance), is arguably incorrect even for a trotting animal.  Despite the tail carriage over the back of the Lhasa, a flat or tipped up croup and a hollowed back are most definitely unsound construction for a jumping animal. Judges should take care not to place undue emphasis on features which, however attractive in the ring, are really not intrinsic to this breed.

Likewise, no mention is made in the standard of a level topline. Almost everyone seems to find the level topline desirable. Indeed there is a tendency lately to desire a sloping topline like a setter. But before we make the level topline a sine qua non of quality, we ought to ask what use this would be to the animal. A general consideration of the construction needs of jumping animals would suggest that efficient conformation for a Lhasa would include being a little high in the rear.

The 1901 standard mentions the tendency of British breeders to look for a level top and a short back.  However, traditionally, there is a tendency for Apsos to appear slightly high in the rear when just standing around.  In fact, the English breeder and judge, Lady Freda Valentine, who acquired her first Lhasa in the early 30's and judged many of the early dogs, felt that this was an important aspect of Lhasa type. In her judging in the last few years of her life, she often complained that the dogs had lost their "poops". (referring to the raised poop of a boat)

Some modern breeders have taken the flat topline a step further and have shown their dogs with sloping toplines approaching a sporting dog "look".  Nature does not seem to want to co-operate however, and even these dogs shown with exaggerated slopes to their toplines, when not stacked for display in the ring, also have a tendency to be a bit high in the rear.  Nature still remembers the Apso has to jump!