To long-time fans of Jindos, a Jindo's temperament is much more valuable than its appearance. An "ugly" Jindo that has all the treasured qualities of a traditional Jindo is much more valuable than a "pretty" Jindo that has none. After all, there are many imitations and mixes that can recreate the look of the Jindo, but a pure Jindo's temperament is unique.
Loyalty/Faithfulness
Once a Jindo chooses a master, the Jindo will always have a bond with him/her. If one wishes to train a Jindo, the owner must be the one handling it for two reasons. If the Jindo has not fully committed to the owner, it will place its loyalty to its trainer instead. If the Jindo has committed fully to the owner, it will be ignore the commands of the trainer. Contrary to certain Korean dog manuals, beatings with a stick will not ensure mastery over a Jindo. (I severely disapprove of such types of "trainings." It will either create a hand shy wary dog or an unpredictable, violent dog.)It is possible to transfer ownership of a Jindo to another, but close supervision must be maintained on the dog for months or even years so that it does not escape. Even then, it will have a special place in its heart for the original owner.
An exceptional trait of a Jindo is its ability to find its home no matter where it is. In Seattle, there was a male Jindo that had escaped from his owner in a park. The owner couldn't find him and returned home without his dog. Little did he know that another person witnessed the missing dog being hit by a car. The dog dragged itself up onto 3 legs and chased after his owner's car. The dog returned home with a broken leg several days later. I heard another story of a Jindo from LA that was lost during hunting and found its way home despite the fact that it was a 2 hour freeway drive back home. There are remarkable stories of Jindos in Korea returning to their masters, too. Two documented examples stand out among these returns. A recent one happened in 1993 when Baekgu found her way to her original owner on Jindo Island after 260 km and 6 months of travel on the Korean peninsula. An even more amazing return happened 30 yr. ago before the bridge connecting the pennisula and Jindo Island was constructed. A Jindo dog that had been sold to a front-line army troop 450 km away found its way back home despite the existence of strong currents (~10 knots) that separates the island from the pennisula.
There was a test conducted on the homing ability of the Jindos in Korea. A few Jindos were taken from Jindo Island and released on the Korean mainland. A few were seen and videotaped running across the bridge connecting Jindo Island and the mainland at night. All the Jindos that survived (several were injured by cars) returned to Jindo island or were on their way to Jindo island.
Independence
The Jindo breed developed out of necessity to be an independent breed. On Jindo island, the dogs had to learn to hunt for food on its own and live in minimal comforts for centuries. A Jindo is sensible dog that is not fearful in storms and yet knows when to find shelter.In order to thrive under the rigorous, mountainous conditions of its native island, the Jindo had to learn to wander great distances in order find food and return to its master. The homing ability, as mentioned before, was derived from this behavior instinct. In an urban environonment, this independent nature can translate into difficulty restraining a Jindo in a yard, especially when his owner is absent.
The Jindo's independent streak also comes out during training. Usually obedient to its master under controlled conditions, the Jindo has been known to make its own decisions when presented with new and more interesting things. Recalls amid distractions are usually unreliable unless intensive training and proofing is accomplished when the Jindo is still emotionally dependent to his master (usually in the puppy phase). Because of the Jindo's constantly thinking nature, repetitive and dull commands can cause the Jindo to lose interest in obeying as would any independent, intelligent breed.
Among other strange but accepted dogs, some Jindos seem to prefer to watch from afar rather than participate in effusive play. In addition, some Jindos respond to even introduced strangers with aloofness and actively avoid being touched, but I believe the lack of socialization has some part in this.
Cleanliness
A Jindo puppy will learn to be house-broken by itself and seek to relieve itself in the farthest portion of a yard. The exception to the rule are dogs that were kept under dirty conditions while they were puppies.Because of the Jindo's double-coat, they should have minimal odor. Baths can be given as needed.
Intelligence
Jindos are very intelligent and learn commands readily (abet doing them repeatedly is another matter). They are eager to please their owners and learn faster under positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement. However, they can be good escape artists- opening cages, slipping out of choke chains and harnesses, climbing out of yards, etc.The intelligence of this breed often becomes obvious when one observes the Jindo hunting its prey. On Jindo Island, packs of Jindos have been observed driving deer down a steep slope in order to slow down the deer. Rather than waste energy pursing the much faster deer on level terrain, the Jindos work together to chase and ambush the deer on uneven terrain. Much tougher prey like mature boars are harried from the rear to first tire it out. Birds are caught by either patiently waiting for them to walk from brushwood or by seeking them out after a rain.
Patience/Alertness
Jindos are very patient. They should be very tolerant and patient of children and other puppies. If raised together, a Jindo will live peacefully with other animals such as cats and livestock.However, this does not mean that Jindos are lazy and sluggish. On the contrary, they are excellent, alert watch dogs. They are able to respond to their owner's attitude and distinguish between friend and stranger. They are discriminating guardians of their territory, rarely giving voice without just cause. On a military base, it is said that they can smell and distinguish between a thousand different military personnel and a total stranger. In an urban setting, they can anticipate an owner's arrival home by simply the sound of that particular car's engine. They often take up positions inside and outside of the house where they can watch their neighborhood. If an uninvited intruder, whether it be dog or man, invades a Jindo's territory despite its warnings, the Jindo will not stop at barking to drive the intruder away.
Bravery
I haven't heard of a Jindo actually being trained to be an attack dog (against people), but a Jindo's bravery is legendary against enormous odds during a hunt.There is a Jindo organization that tests for this characteristic by conducting "temperament tests" at their dog shows. That's just a glorified way of saying dog fights. Whatever this Jindo organization's true intentions are to improve the breed or not, I cannot say. I will say that the breeding towards these aggressive dogs will harm the Jindo's reputation and establishment in the United States. Already, there are Jindos that HIGHLY dog aggressive and require INTENSIVE training to be controllable by their owners.
For those people who might consider fighting their dogs, here's something to consider:
In the United States, the Animal Welfare Act prohibits participation in any animal fighting venture, by causing one animal to fight with another animal for purposes of sport, wagering or entertainment, whenever one or more of the animals was moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Criminal violations of the AWA are punishable by imprisonment for up to one year and fines not to exceed $100,000 for each count of conviction.
Dominance
(This characteristic should not be mistaken for the highly atypical aggressiveness of the above.)A Jindo is very dominant among other dogs. They will seek to be the number one (alpha) over any other dogs no matter the odds. However, once dominance or a ranking order has been established, there should be some semblance of peace among the dogs. (Excluding inter-male aggression during a female's heat.)
The main problem lies in that when a Jindo meets another dog while on a walk, the Jindo might also want to dominate that dog. However, early puppy socialization with other strange dogs will teach the Jindo not to assert its desire to be dominant by fighting. Instead, the Jindo will use body language (stiffly walking on toes, stares, accepting only frontal sniffs) to communicate his/her dominance if so desired.
Unfortunately, due to irresponsible, mixed, or poor quality breedings in the United States, there has been an increasing number of Jindos that display very serious dominance aggression problems towards not only introduced humans, but also towards their family members as well. Let me state this clearly and boldly,such aggression is NOT a desired or traditional Jindo trait and should never be accepted as the norm. Do not delay but get help immediately in dealing with human-directed dominance aggression via a dog behaviorist or trainer. Do not breed such animals and perpetrate the problem.
More info about a Jindo's temperament can be found at the JCA site.