TERMINOLOGY

TERM	DEFINITION	Level in the Average Jindo ( = highest) -opinion only-
Drive	Subconscious impulses to react to stimuli	-
Temperament	Attitude towards life	-
Behavior	Observable activity in an animal	-
Courage	Absence of fear towards objects or situations	variable
hardness	Resiliency toward unpleasant experiences.
softness	Remembering unpleasant experiences.
sharpness	Tendency to react aggressively to stimuli.
sensory threshold	High / Low Amount of stimulus to obtain a reaction.	(low stimuli obtains a reaction)
hunt drive	To pursue objects. (out of sight, etc.)
tracking drive	To follow ground disturbance odors, (animal or human tracks)
air scent drive	To follow wind born scents.
retrieve drive	Drive to bring back prey (objects) to handler. (pack leader) The Jindo does not need to be trained to bring back prey animals to his/her owner. However, they can be easily trained out of this inadvertantly.
prey drive	Drive to bite and kill prey. In the Jindo, this should be limited to only prey animals. Highly unusual to be directed towards cars, bikers, or running children.
fight drive	Drive to measure physical prowess with rivals.
guard drive	Drive to warn intruders by barking, growling, or biting to stay out of territory.
protection drive	Drive to defend the pack. (family or handler)
rank drive	To achieve higher rank in the pack.
trainability	Drive to please the desires of the pack leader.
survival/flight drive	Drive to flee from real or imagined danger.
homing drive	Drive to return to territory, or pack. (handler) The Jindo breed is reknown for their homing instinct but not their recall ability.
play drive	Drive for physical contact with pack members.
activity drive	Drive to move and act. (digging, chewing, running fence, etc.) The Jindo does not dig or chew indiscriminately, however, they still require plenty of exercise.
pack drive	Drive for emotional contact with pack members. Limited to chosen owner.

 

DISCUSSION

The Jindo breed has evolved into its present state by hunting deer, boar, and small animals on their own. They have a high prey drive and should be cautiously introduced to other pets and animals in a family. Some Jindos will accept other household animals as family members, but some other Jindos will not. Strange animals will most likely be viewed as prey and the Jindo will most likely be untrustworthy around them.

The Jindo is an intelligent breed. Perhaps too intelligent. They have the ability to easily learn new commands and tricks, including how to open cages or escape from yards. It should be noted though that inherent intelligence does not necessarily equate to automatic trainability. The Jindo is also an independent breed and a rappore between dog and handler must be present before a Jindo responds with enthusiasm. For this reason, the Jindo responds best to obedience training that utilizes a balance of positive reinforcement and fair negative reinforcement by its owner. Handing off a Jindo to be trained by someone else, especially someone who uses only heavy-handed methods, will cause the dog to balk and "shut down."

Jindos are very territorial dogs. A Jindo rarely barks without cause, but when he/she does, the bark (a woo-woo-woo sound) is deep and penetratingly loud. They have a highly developed sense of territory and will defend it tenaciously from intruders. They do not need to be chained or trained to bring this defensiveness out. Unfortunately, there can be complications when the dog's definition of intruder conflicts with their owners. This doesn't happen very often when the owner is present, but this instead happens when the Jindo is alone or allowed to wander free.

Jindos are reknown for their ability to escape and so the concept of a territorial dog that wanders might sound contradictory, but that's not so in the Jindo's mind. Your Jindo is not "roaming" in its mind. It is conquering new frontiers and enlarging its kingdom. This can go over poorly with your harassed neighbors and endangers your Jindo's life as even the quick and nimble Jindo cannot avoid a speeding car. A person must know how to responsibly restrain a dog in order to responsibly own a Jindo.

Owning a Jindo can lead to certain inconveniences. For instance, abruptly assigning a new house sitter while you go on vacation might not go well with the Jindo. (How is the dog to know if the sitter is an intruder or not?) Kenneling a Jindo in an unfamilar boarding kennel/location can unduly stress the dog. Planning ahead, socializing the dog in various kennel settings, and introducing the dog to a new sitter, goes a long ways in smoothing out these potential problems.

Probably the most difficult aspect of the Jindo is its dominant nature. Good quality purebred Jindos should not be dominance aggressive towards human family members, but unfortunately, the breeding of poor quality dogs or mixes among backyard breeders and unscrupulous breeders have caused the number of dominance aggressive dogs to increase. Professional advice is strongly advised when this occurs, especially if there are children in the family.

If there are other dogs in the household, the Jindo will try to move up in the pack order after the puppy turns 6 months of age or a few weeks after an adult has accepted the home as its own. This is normal behavior for this breed. These shifts in pack order will probably include dog fights and so the Jindo is not for the inexperienced or timid individual. It is ill-advised to get a Jindo, even a puppy, if one already has a dominant dog of the same sex.

A properly socialized Jindo is a supremely self-confident animal and should not be dog aggressive on neutral territory. When its personal space is invaded or directly challenged by another dog, the Jindo will most likely react with extreme displeasure, but otherwise, they should not be snarling and snapping uncontrollably at the sight of another dog.

Undersocialized or fearful animals will sometimes react with a threat display and so its very important to socialize your Jindo as much as possible. Obedience school is recommended at 6 months of age, but earlier socialization under safe, controlled conditions is strongly recommended for this inherently suspicious breed.

Sadly, there are Jindos that have been bred for dog-fighting or mixed with pitbulls and so there will be dogs that are extremely dog aggressive even on neutral territory. In these cases, dog aggression can be controlled by intensive training but never completely eliminated. The owner must be aware of this and take appropriate precautions to prevent the chances of a dog fight from occurring.