Korean Jindo

Jindos are double-coated spitz-type dogs. The keen and alert appearance of the Jindo gives the impression of intelligence, strength, loyalty, and agility. Other features include forward-pointing upright ears and prominent testicles.

Korean Jindo owners have traditionally divided Jindos into two body types:

• Tonggol or Gyeopgae: This type is more muscular and stocky with the Korean National Dog Association (KNDA) recognizing an equal proportion of height at the withers to length (10:10). The depth of chest is approximately equal to one-half the height at the withers. The loin is also typically shorter.
• Hudu or Hotgae: This type is more slender with a somewhat less depth of chest and a slightly longer loin. Moreover, other physical features tend to have an increased length, such as the ears, muzzle, and head. This results in an appearance that is longer than tall with the KNDA recommending a height at the withers to length ratio of 10:11.

The KNDA also recognizes a third body type called Gakgol which is a gradually emerging combination of the two traditional types, retaining the length of body of the Hudu and the depth of chest of the Tonggol.

In regards to the Jindo's body appearance, the United Kennel Club currently states, "The squarely built Jindo has a chest that is moderately deep but not too broad. At its deepest point the chest reaches to, or just above, the elbow. The brisket is well developed and the ribs are well sprung. The back is strong and straight and the loin is well muscled, taut, lean and narrower than the ribcage. There is considerable tuck up."[8]

Jindos come in six colors:

• White (baekgu/백구) - This color is actually an off-white or ivory shade with tan or light brown around the tips of the ears, the back of the hind legs, and the tip of the tail. Some whites may have a subtle tan stripe running from the head, down the top line, to the tail.
• Fawn (hwanggu/황구) - The color of well-ripened wheat.
• Wolf Grey (jaegu/재구) - This coat looks gray from a distance but is actually made up of individual white, black, and fawn colored hairs.
• Black and tan (Nenunbagi/네눈박이) - Black with tan on the muzzle, legs, and paws, and an eye-shaped tan spot over each eye.
• Brindle (hogu/호구) - Also known as "Tiger" pattern. Thin, dark brown or black stripes like a tiger's on a fawn base. These stripes appear at an early age.
• Black (heukgu/흙구) - Solid black, very rare.

Some Jindo Island residents value black, black/red, and red/white Jindos as good hunters. The United Kennel Club recognizes six different coat colors: white, red fawn, wolf grey, black, black and tan, and brindle (tiger pattern).[9]

white, male Jindo

The feet are of medium size, round in shape, with thick, strong tan pads. Nails are hard and may be black, cream or gray.

• The Jindo moves with strides of moderate length.
• It is a quick, light, elastic trot which enables the Jindo to travel quickly over any terrain.
• The forelegs and hind legs are carried straight forward, with neither elbows nor stifles turned in or out.
• At a normal walking speed, the Jindo tends to lower its head.

• The top skull of an adult dog should be broad and rounded between the ears and free from wrinkles.
• The under jaw 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), yet are unique among other spitz breeds for ears that splay out to the sides, creating a shape similar to airplane wings. The inside of the ears should be well-furred and thick cartilage is desired. 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 do 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.
• The Jindo has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth with a scissors bite.
• Typically, males have larger heads and females have more fox-like features.

Desirable height at maturity, measured at the withers, ranges from 19½ to 21 inches (or 48 to 53 cm) for males and 18½ to 20 inches (or 45 to 50 cm) for females.[10]

Weight should be in proportion to the height, giving a well-muscled, lean appearance without being too light or too heavy. The typical weight range for a male Jindo in good condition is 40 to 60 pounds (18 to 27 kg); for a female, 35 to 55 pounds (16 to 25 kg).

The tail is thick and strong and set on at the end of the top line. The tail should be at least long enough to reach to the hock joint. The tail may be loosely curled over the back or carried over the back in a sickle position. The hair on the underside of the tail is thick, stiff, abundant, and twice as long as the coat on the shoulders, which causes the hair to fan outward when the tail is up.

In 1993, a 7-year-old female Jindo named Baekgu (백구; 白狗; translated as a White Dog), raised by Park Bok-dan (박복단), an 83-year-old woman on 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, Park, after seven months, haggard and exhausted. Baekgu remained with her original owner, who decided to keep the loyal dog, until the dog died of natural causes seven years later. The story was a national sensation in South Korea and was made into cartoons, a TV documentary, and a children's storybook.[12] In 2004, Jindo County erected a statue of Baekgu in her hometown to honor the dog.[13]

Another Jindo, also named Baekgu, a four-year-old male at the time who lived alone with his owner Park Wan-suh (박완서) residing on Jindo Island, did not eat anything and mourned for his dead owner for seven days after the owner died from a liver disease in June 2000.[14] According to Chosun Ilbo, the dog accompanied his dead owner for three days until other people came to find the body, followed the owner to his funeral, and came back home, not eating anything for four days. The Korean Jindo Dog Research Institute (진돗개 시험연구소) brought him under its care, but a person related to the Institute announced that the dog would not interact with anyone except for his feeder as of 2005.[15]

A 2020 study showed that Jindos and other East and Southeast Asian dogs share some common ancestry with the New Guinea singing dog.[24] These dogs were shown in this same study to be more phylogenetically related to each other than to other more selectively bred dog breeds, most of which contain far greater percentages of the Modern European lineage.[25] DNA analysis indicates another common ancestor around 900 years ago that the Donggyeongi dog and the Korean Jindo separated from.[26]

In a genomic analysis of the Jindo dog, several mitochondrial DNA genotypes unique to the Jindo were noted.[27] Within the same study, the Jindo's unique mitochondrial DNA genome was reflected in its similarities to other dogs but distinctive branch on the mapped canine phylogenetic tree.[28]