Jindo

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Breed Details

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Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Jindo is also known as Chindo, Jindo Gae, JindoGae, Jin dog, Jindo Gu and Korean Jindo. It is a medium size Spitz type dog originating in Jindo Island of South Korea. Renowned for its loyalty and brave nature, the dog is among the only three breeds that can hunt the Siberian Tiger. Originally bred to hunt medium and large game, the dog is known for its courage, bravery and exceptional hunting skills that allow this dog to hunt some of the extremely dangerous game. It can trail old scents of raccoons, badgers, rabbits, wild boar and deers. The dog was used to hunt game in packs.

This dog has evolved naturally without any human intervention. It is believed that the Jindo resulted from crosses between indigenous Korean dogs and dogs brought by the Mongols during their 13th century invasion of Korea. The Korean King surrendered, but some of his armies withdrew to Jindo Island, off the southern coast of Korea, where they continued to fight. The soldiers? dogs ended up isolated on Jindo Island, where they developed a very pure strain. Jindos served both as hunting and guard dogs in Korea. In 1938, the Korean government designated the Jindo as a National Treasure. Jindos marched in the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. It stands between 19-22 inches and weighs between 40-50 lbs.

The Jindo has two basic body styles, the Gyupgae and the Heutgae. Gyupgae is characterized by a shorter but very muscular body, a shorter loin and a chest depth that is equal to one half of the dog’s height measured at the withers. The Heutgae has a longer loin and less depth of chest that gives the dog a slender appearance. The dog has a double coat that comes in red fawn, white, black, black and tan, wolf grey and brindle.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI, UKC and AKC (FSS) The AKC Foundation Stock Service (FSS) is an optional recording service for purebred dogs that are not yet eligible for AKC registration.

Color

This breed comes in six different colours which are White, Fawn, Gray, Black, Black and Tan and Brindle.

Coat

The dog has a medium length double coat. The top coat is harsh and straight while the under coat is short, soft and dense. The coat is short on head, legs and ears, longer on neck, withers back and rump and longest on tail and back of thighs.

Personality

The Jindo is a very loyal and devoted dog breed. It attaches itself strongly with its family and home. Known as a fiercely loyal dog, the Jindo is known to cover large distances to return to its original home. This outstanding hunting dog is very clean breed. very friendly and affectionate to its family and specially children, the dog is equally aloof and wary of strangers. Otherwise a non barking dog, it will bark to alert the family of something unusual, like an approaching stranger or intruder. It makes an excellent watch and guard dog.

This highly intelligent breed is very trainable and can pick commands easily but it does have a willful nature and will need positive training methods to get trained. This is a very human oriented dog that needs constant interaction with its family.

It has an exceptional scenting sense and is believed to have the ability to recognize more than 30000 different scents. Because of the extraordinary scenting ability, Jindos were used by the South Korean military in their bases. Being made to recognize the scents of base personnel, the dog can easily detect intruders.

The Jindo is a very loving and loveable family dog with proper obedience training.

Care

Medium length coat needs more than average brushing. It should be brushed 2-3 times a week. The dog sheds heavily twice a year and would need regular brushing every day to remove dead hair.

Training

The dog has an independent nature and may not be easy to train with an inexperienced trainer. It needs an experienced trainer who is ready to put in time and hard work with consistency and able to use positive training methods rather than applying heavy handed training methods.

Activity

This is an energetic breed that loves to play and run at will. This dog will need lots of exercise and physical stimulation to be happy and content.

The Jindo can fit into apartment life if given proper exercise.