The Lhasa Apso ( LAH-sə AP-soh) is a non-sporting dog breed originating in Tibet. It has traditionally been used as an indoor guard dog. Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and apso is a word from the Tibetan language. There is some debate over the exact origin of the name; some claim that the word "apso" is an anglicized form of the Tibetan word for goatee ("ag-tshom", ཨག་ཚོམ་) or perhaps "ra-pho" (ར་ཕོ་) meaning "billy goat". It may also be a compound noun meaning "bark-guard" (lit. "ap" [ཨཔ], to bark, and "so" [སོ་], to guard).