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The Korean Jindo Dog is a breed of hunting dog known to have originated on Jindo Island in Korea. Although relatively unknown outside Korea, it is celebrated in its native land for its fierce loyalty and brave nature.
Description
Appearance
The Jindo is a medium-sized, double-coated spitz-type dog. Identifying the Jindo from mixes and other breeds is often done by close examination of head features.
Head
• The topskull of an adult dog should be broad and rounded between the ears and free from wrinkles.
• The underjaw is well-developed and helps give a round or octagonal shape to the head when viewed from the front. Coarse hairs stand away from the cheeks.
• The ears are triangular and upright (leaning forward past vertical). The inside of the ears should be well-furred. Ears on puppies normally lie flat until they are past 5–6 months.
• The eyes are almond/round. They should be a shade of brown (a dark reddish-brown being preferred). Some dogs have light brown eyes but this color is not desirable. Jindos should not have blue eyes.
• The nose should be black on non-white dogs. White dogs may have mottled portions of tan or pink in the center of the nose.
• The muzzle is well proportioned without being bulky. The lips should be taut and black. The preferred color for the tongue is solid pink. Jindos do not have blue-black tongues like Chows and Sharpeis.
• Typically, males have larger heads and females have more fox-like features.
Body
Organizations have attempted to categorize the different body types of Jindos. There are two body styles that are most often referred to: the Gyupgae and the Heutgae. The former is muscular and shorter in length, with a chest depth equal to one-half the height at the withers and a shorter loin. The latter is more slender with less depth of chest and a slightly longer loin, resulting in a height to length ratio of 10:11. Some Jindo Island residents value black, black/red, and red/white Jindos as good hunters. The United Kennel Club recognizes five different coat colors: white, fawn, gray, black and tan, and brindle (tiger pattern).
Temperament
The Korean Jindo Dog is well known for its unwavering loyalty and gentlemanly nature. Because of this there is a misconception that a Jindo will be loyal only to its first owner or the owner when young. However, there are many examples of older Jindos being adopted out of shelters in the United States and becoming very loyal friends to their new owners. They are highly active and are certainly not indoor-only dogs. Jindo dogs need reasonable space to roam and run. Jindos require a lot of care and attention. If kept in a yard, the fencing must be at least 6 feet high.
Because the Jindo is an active and intelligent dog, it requires frequent interaction with people or another dog in the family. For some the Jindo may even be too intelligent, for it will commonly think for itself. The same intelligence that allows the dog to learn commands and tricks very quickly can be a bit too much to handle. If left alone for a long stretch, it finds its own entertainment. A young Jindo may attempt to climb over a fence or wall, even by way of a tree or digging under, or tear up the house if confined indoors. Because of this many Jindo dogs are found in animal shelters, abandoned by owners who often did not know what they were getting into when accepting the responsibility of a Jindo. Also because the breed is not well known, there are many good Jindo dogs available for adoption.
With Jindos, establishing the hierarchy (humans above dogs) with care and affection is essential. It is important to socialize Jindos at a very early age. As with humans, Jindos will test boundaries to establish themselves at the top of dog hierarchies—a true alpha dog—due to the way in which the breed evolved.
Jindos serve as excellent watchdogs, able to distinguish family from foe, friends from strangers. The Korean Army is known to use Jindos as guard dogs at major bases, where it is said they can learn to recognize 30,000 individual scents. They are conscious of their owners' reactions towards others and act accordingly. Because Jindos rarely bark aggressively, especially in familiar environments, an owner may lend special credence to the warning of his/her pet. Many are also finicky eaters and will not take food from strangers
Some Jindos display a curious aversion from running water and avoid situations that might get them wet. They let themselves be washed, although with great reluctance.
People adopt Jindo dogs because of their beautiful appearance, high intelligence, loyalty, and sometimes for their fighting spirit, then quickly realize that raising a Jindo dog to be a well-behaved member of the family takes a lot of effort and time. Many Jindo dogs are abandoned in the US because of the difficulty of training them. Potential owners who are prepared and determined to have an intelligent, loyal, but independent companion can adopt a Jindo dog from shelters.
History
There is no written record of the origin of the Korean Jindo Dog, but many authorities agree that the Jindos originated and existed on Jindo Island for a long time.
It is now protected under the Cultural Properties Protection Act.
In 1962, the Korean government designated the Jindo as the 53rd Natural Monument and passed the Jindo Preservation Ordinance. Jindos marched in the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. The United Kennel Club recognized the Jindo on January 1, 1998.
Hunting
The Jindo are renowned for their outstanding hunting ability, due to their courage, cunning, and pack sensibility. Besides the usual prey of medium to large game, their hunting prowess is displayed in a legend of three Jindos that killed a Siberian tiger.
They have mainly been used as deer and boar hunters. There have been anecdotal reports of Korean owners being awakened by their Jindo one morning to be led deep into the forest to a deer the dog had taken down alone. There have also been reported cases in America of intruding coyotes being killed by Jindos defending their territory.
In traditional Korean hunting without guns, a pack of well trained Jindos was extremely valuable. A master with a loyal pack could hunt without much trouble at all, for when the pack brings down a deer, boar or other target, one of them returns to the master to lead him to the prey, while the others stand guard against scavengers.
Baekgu
In 1993, a 7-year-old female Jindo named Baekgu, born and raised in Jindo Island, was sold to a new owner in the city of Daejeon which is located about 300 km (180 mi) away from the island. The dog escaped her new home and returned to her original owner after 7 months, haggard and exhausted. Baekgu remained with her original owner, who decided to keep the loyal dog, until the dog died of natural causes 7 years later.
The story was a national sensation in Korea and was made into cartoons, a TV documentary, and a children's storybook. In 2004, Jindo County erected a statue of Baekgu in her hometown to honor the dog.
Miscellaneous
Other characteristics
Jindo dogs will housetrain themselves as puppies. Even off lead or without direction, they will often relieve themselves in the farthest corner of the yard. They are also renowned for their almost uncanny homing instinct.
Availability
Pure Jindo dogs are rare outside of Jindo Island even in Korea, however this very much depends on the definition of what a pure Jindo dog is. The situation is complex and not easy for an outsider to navigate.
• Dogs born on Jindo island are not necessarily purebreds, and dogs born outside of Jindo island are not necessarily mixes. Indeed, a Korean documentary revealed gaps in the checkpoint of Jindo island, which allowed the export of an adult Jindo dog from the island and the import of a crated Japanese Shiba inu into the island.
• A dog with pedigree papers has no guarantee of purity. Even if there is no issue of impropriety in registering dogs, closer examination of pedigree papers can reveal unknown dogs, often referred to as "Jindo-sans", in a 7- or even 3-generation pedigrees. Conversely, a dog without pedigree papers could have a known history for 7 generations but the breeder simply chooses not to participate in politics and does not register the dog with any organization.
Description
Appearance
The Jindo is a medium-sized, double-coated spitz-type dog. Identifying the Jindo from mixes and other breeds is often done by close examination of head features.
Head
• The topskull of an adult dog should be broad and rounded between the ears and free from wrinkles.
• The underjaw is well-developed and helps give a round or octagonal shape to the head when viewed from the front. Coarse hairs stand away from the cheeks.
• The ears are triangular and upright (leaning forward past vertical). The inside of the ears should be well-furred. Ears on puppies normally lie flat until they are past 5–6 months.
• The eyes are almond/round. They should be a shade of brown (a dark reddish-brown being preferred). Some dogs have light brown eyes but this color is not desirable. Jindos should not have blue eyes.
• The nose should be black on non-white dogs. White dogs may have mottled portions of tan or pink in the center of the nose.
• The muzzle is well proportioned without being bulky. The lips should be taut and black. The preferred color for the tongue is solid pink. Jindos do not have blue-black tongues like Chows and Sharpeis.
• Typically, males have larger heads and females have more fox-like features.
Body
Organizations have attempted to categorize the different body types of Jindos. There are two body styles that are most often referred to: the Gyupgae and the Heutgae. The former is muscular and shorter in length, with a chest depth equal to one-half the height at the withers and a shorter loin. The latter is more slender with less depth of chest and a slightly longer loin, resulting in a height to length ratio of 10:11. Some Jindo Island residents value black, black/red, and red/white Jindos as good hunters. The United Kennel Club recognizes five different coat colors: white, fawn, gray, black and tan, and brindle (tiger pattern).
Temperament
The Korean Jindo Dog is well known for its unwavering loyalty and gentlemanly nature. Because of this there is a misconception that a Jindo will be loyal only to its first owner or the owner when young. However, there are many examples of older Jindos being adopted out of shelters in the United States and becoming very loyal friends to their new owners. They are highly active and are certainly not indoor-only dogs. Jindo dogs need reasonable space to roam and run. Jindos require a lot of care and attention. If kept in a yard, the fencing must be at least 6 feet high.
Because the Jindo is an active and intelligent dog, it requires frequent interaction with people or another dog in the family. For some the Jindo may even be too intelligent, for it will commonly think for itself. The same intelligence that allows the dog to learn commands and tricks very quickly can be a bit too much to handle. If left alone for a long stretch, it finds its own entertainment. A young Jindo may attempt to climb over a fence or wall, even by way of a tree or digging under, or tear up the house if confined indoors. Because of this many Jindo dogs are found in animal shelters, abandoned by owners who often did not know what they were getting into when accepting the responsibility of a Jindo. Also because the breed is not well known, there are many good Jindo dogs available for adoption.
With Jindos, establishing the hierarchy (humans above dogs) with care and affection is essential. It is important to socialize Jindos at a very early age. As with humans, Jindos will test boundaries to establish themselves at the top of dog hierarchies—a true alpha dog—due to the way in which the breed evolved.
Jindos serve as excellent watchdogs, able to distinguish family from foe, friends from strangers. The Korean Army is known to use Jindos as guard dogs at major bases, where it is said they can learn to recognize 30,000 individual scents. They are conscious of their owners' reactions towards others and act accordingly. Because Jindos rarely bark aggressively, especially in familiar environments, an owner may lend special credence to the warning of his/her pet. Many are also finicky eaters and will not take food from strangers
Some Jindos display a curious aversion from running water and avoid situations that might get them wet. They let themselves be washed, although with great reluctance.
People adopt Jindo dogs because of their beautiful appearance, high intelligence, loyalty, and sometimes for their fighting spirit, then quickly realize that raising a Jindo dog to be a well-behaved member of the family takes a lot of effort and time. Many Jindo dogs are abandoned in the US because of the difficulty of training them. Potential owners who are prepared and determined to have an intelligent, loyal, but independent companion can adopt a Jindo dog from shelters.
History
There is no written record of the origin of the Korean Jindo Dog, but many authorities agree that the Jindos originated and existed on Jindo Island for a long time.
It is now protected under the Cultural Properties Protection Act.
In 1962, the Korean government designated the Jindo as the 53rd Natural Monument and passed the Jindo Preservation Ordinance. Jindos marched in the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. The United Kennel Club recognized the Jindo on January 1, 1998.
Hunting
The Jindo are renowned for their outstanding hunting ability, due to their courage, cunning, and pack sensibility. Besides the usual prey of medium to large game, their hunting prowess is displayed in a legend of three Jindos that killed a Siberian tiger.
They have mainly been used as deer and boar hunters. There have been anecdotal reports of Korean owners being awakened by their Jindo one morning to be led deep into the forest to a deer the dog had taken down alone. There have also been reported cases in America of intruding coyotes being killed by Jindos defending their territory.
In traditional Korean hunting without guns, a pack of well trained Jindos was extremely valuable. A master with a loyal pack could hunt without much trouble at all, for when the pack brings down a deer, boar or other target, one of them returns to the master to lead him to the prey, while the others stand guard against scavengers.
Baekgu
In 1993, a 7-year-old female Jindo named Baekgu, born and raised in Jindo Island, was sold to a new owner in the city of Daejeon which is located about 300 km (180 mi) away from the island. The dog escaped her new home and returned to her original owner after 7 months, haggard and exhausted. Baekgu remained with her original owner, who decided to keep the loyal dog, until the dog died of natural causes 7 years later.
The story was a national sensation in Korea and was made into cartoons, a TV documentary, and a children's storybook. In 2004, Jindo County erected a statue of Baekgu in her hometown to honor the dog.
Miscellaneous
Other characteristics
Jindo dogs will housetrain themselves as puppies. Even off lead or without direction, they will often relieve themselves in the farthest corner of the yard. They are also renowned for their almost uncanny homing instinct.
Availability
Pure Jindo dogs are rare outside of Jindo Island even in Korea, however this very much depends on the definition of what a pure Jindo dog is. The situation is complex and not easy for an outsider to navigate.
• Dogs born on Jindo island are not necessarily purebreds, and dogs born outside of Jindo island are not necessarily mixes. Indeed, a Korean documentary revealed gaps in the checkpoint of Jindo island, which allowed the export of an adult Jindo dog from the island and the import of a crated Japanese Shiba inu into the island.
• A dog with pedigree papers has no guarantee of purity. Even if there is no issue of impropriety in registering dogs, closer examination of pedigree papers can reveal unknown dogs, often referred to as "Jindo-sans", in a 7- or even 3-generation pedigrees. Conversely, a dog without pedigree papers could have a known history for 7 generations but the breeder simply chooses not to participate in politics and does not register the dog with any organization.
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