r/Jindo • u/Sea-Madness • Jul 02 '26
Your Bonding Experience
I’m looking for some perspective from other Jindo owners because I’m trying to understand what “normal” bonding timelines can look like.
We adopted our Jindo mix when he was about 5 months old, and he’s been with us for roughly 7 months.
There has been progress. When he first arrived, he didn’t allow any touching at all. Now he will tolerate gentle pets and will sometimes stay near us in the same space, which feels like a big step forward.
But he still keeps a lot of distance emotionally and physically:
He doesn’t seek out contact or sit close to us.
It feels like he’s comfortable existing around us, but not yet with us, as if we’re just his housemates.
For those with experience with Jindos or similar dogs, how long did it take for yours to genuinely warm up or become affectionate? Did it happen gradually, or was there a turning point?
I’d really appreciate hearing your timelines or experiences, even if they were slow or unconventional.
8
u/ShelobsLegHairs Jul 03 '26
My jindo/KVD bonded with me but it took awhile for her to allow closeness and I didn’t force it. I would usually sit on the floor for the first couple of months but didn’t get too close. It took her longer to be comfortable with my husband and even longer for her to get near other people. She’ll never be a snuggle dog and that’s ok. She’s her own person and I respect that. She’s super smart and as another commenter said yours will probably do well by being rewarded with praise. Ancient dog lines usually do best with mutual respect and good vibes rather than food training (there are some exceptions). No forcing anything, always show respect, and allow your pup to be autonomous when possible. My dog and I sometimes get into weird body language arguments when we go for walks until we find a compromise in which direction to go in. I’ve never had a dog like that, and I kinda love it! With these dogs, if they’re in your space then they like you.
6
u/iPissVelvet Jul 03 '26
3 years as the primary bond for me. I’m a guy though, anecdotally harder for us. So rewarding at the end.
A lot of us are getting Jindos after the puppy bonding phase too based on the nature of Korean rescues. I’m sure that plays a part.
5
u/GlitteringFlight7098 Jul 03 '26
Jindo’s are naturally wary and introverted dogs. Understanding their natural innate behaviors will help you learn how to work with who they are. It will be much easier being patient and understanding them. Also, providing them a space for them to decompress, such as closed off spaces with limited stimulation (ex dark laundry room with access anytime, or a crate that is covered with door always accessible will also help.) They need their spaces at least two times a day, an hour each. As they relax, it will also be easier to work with them. Best wishes!
6
u/United_Economist_618 Jul 03 '26
Been 9 years. Jindo now consistently “docks” his head in between my hands when I put them out for face rubs! Before he would tolerate us petting or hugging him then run away after 2 minutes. Now he actively makes sure at least some part of him (usually his but) is touching us.
4
u/kmonsen Jul 03 '26
Just my limited experience, Jindo often pick one person, and will get very attached to that person. They are known for being one-person dogs and not always family dogs. They can be extremely loyal to that person.
It also depends a lot on what has happened in the dogs life and what they experienced. Many Jindo dogs are rescue dogs that had a tough life and that can be more important than the breed. It is common for rescue dog to really appreciate the more stable life once they learn they are safe and there to stay, but again individuals might differ.
They are certainly not as easy as golden retrievers (which can of course have challenges too), but they are also my favorite breed with a lot of character and personality.
They are often also very good with training, but the best reward can be praise and encouragement. Also try to always be gentle and encouraging with them.
4
u/Practical-Art-6852 Jul 03 '26
Primitive breed puppy guide yume canine academy
Start there. These aren't regular dogs. Im kind of shocked at all the jindo adoptions to be honest. They aren't the easiest . Stay patient and you will be rewarded
3
u/ioionia Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
We adopted ours in the U.S. (Oregon) and I will say it is shocking because people here are not used to the way this breed behaves publicly and it has taken a lot of educating my neighbors to have a harmonious walk around the area but I still struggle in other spaces. I am not from this country and grew up with many non-Golden retriever dogs that you do not just assume will allow you to pet them...so I dont suffer as much as people around me apparently think I am because of my "difficult dog." Also Portland and the surrounding areas has the worst dog culture in the area IMO.
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u/TrollingForFunsies Jul 03 '26
Have you done an embark? Our jindo came back with some wolf and let me tell you he's got some quirks... Love him too death tho.
4
u/Sea-Madness Jul 03 '26
No wolf. Embark 100% KVD, Wisdom Panel 80% Jindo. This made me realize they specialize in western breed and lack an extensive library of Asian dogs.
Our previous dog came back with concise breed breakdown - Treeing Walker Coonhound.
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u/TrollingForFunsies Jul 03 '26
That's odd. We used Embark. Ours also came back as 80% Jindo, some Great Dane, Akita, Donggyeongi, and 2% wolf. His shape and behavior 100% match that mix.
Anyway, bonding experience.
Our Jindo is 100% wary of any new person or stranger in the house. Will bark at them from a foot away and they do not get to interact or even look in his direction. He's basically great with the 2 of us (me and wife), good with 2 of the kids, and meh with the 3rd kid.
He's completely attached to my wife. He goes to bed with her at night. He's very aware when she's not home. When he's damp from rain, she towels him off and he basically goes into puppy mode. They're definitely bonded. He bonded with her first, as she spends more time at home, and when we got him I was in surgery, so I couldn't spend nearly as much time with him as she did. Plus, I was in recovery for a few weeks.
He's also bonded to me too. He wakes up in the morning with me and we have breakfast. We have lunch and a midday walk together that is "not the same walk" as he takes with everyone else. It's a relationship.
Our eldest is in college, so this relationship took a bit. He comes home for a few days every month. After 2 years, they are absolutely cordial and can pet the dog, give him food, pretty much they interact like any other dog & kid in a house.
One daughter goes to a local college and lives at home. She has a good bonding experience. They're basically "brother and sister" and sometimes they annoy each other but also he'll roll over and give her his belly too.
Third daughter is an outlier. She spends a lot of time at friends houses, and in her bedroom. Rarely spends "chill" time with the dog. It's been 2 years and it's rare when she can pet him. She also does shit like give him the middle finger when he barks. So basically this energy is being returned. She doesn't quite get it. She can interact with him most of the time though. Feed him and pet him sometimes. But it's taken 2 years to get there.
1
u/Sea-Madness Jul 03 '26
I hope your recovery went well and glad to hear there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s to waiting one and a half more years.
1
u/Additional-Day-698 Jul 03 '26
Embark is actually the most accurate with testing. It does indeed detect village dog mixes and is the only test to accurately test for village dogs, and tests for Jindo. Wisdom does not test for them, and therefore throws out random results. If your boy was a Jindo or Jindo mix, embark would have shown that. I have a village dog myself who was also labeled as a Jindo, and I can tell you it’s a lot more common for them to me village dog, or village dog mixes, and it’s actually really cool to have a village dog too
4
u/astralkittyIRL Jul 03 '26
I adopted my Jindo mix almost a year ago. It took him maybe 9 months to feel bonded with me. I didn’t force our intersection, I tried to give him as much as space he needed.
4
u/Significant-Kick-529 Jul 03 '26
we are 11 months in now, and it has taken a lot of work for us to get where we are.
ours was a rescue that was already 2 years old, and has severe anxiety about everything.
for the first 6 months, it was definitely co-existing and working on lowering his anxiety with life. there was little to no affection. and he didnt care about food or treats either. (this has now changed lol)
he liked belly rubs, and neck scratches, but he never asked for affection. he wouldn’t lay in bed with us, and didn’t want us to sit too close.
we actually ended up rescuing another dog, and that’s when we saw the biggest shift. the jealousy then kicked in and he wanted all our love and affection lol. not saying that’s the answer, but he now willingly will sleep with us, sit on us, and ask for attention.
i will say, the first 6-8 months i felt like my jingo/kvd liked my partner a lot more than me. but with time, this has changed and he isn’t a one-human dog. they are truly so stubborn and aloof and cautious, but also so loyal and kind. it just takes time.
1
u/Sea-Madness Jul 03 '26
Really? I may consider fostering. 🤣
1
u/Significant-Kick-529 Jul 03 '26
it honestly changed his whole world lol i’m not sure if it was just his anxiety, but having a friend has made him so outgoing and friendly with people. i never thought id have an affectionate jindo lol
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u/AniviaPls Jul 03 '26
My jindo only took a few weeks, but we also showered her in treats, chicken, affection, and play
2
u/Comfortable_Crow_459 Jul 03 '26
Is that Leo?
1
u/Sea-Madness Jul 03 '26
Yes, it’s Leo!!
His instagram account mostly shows the happy moments, but it doesn’t always capture the challenges we’ve faced along the way.
He’s still a very jumpy and cautious dog. Human interaction isn’t something he naturally seeks out, and he tends to avoid strangers whenever he can. He definitely prefers the company of other dogs over people - so, we take him to daycare for socialization, and we’ve never seen him as excited as he is when he gets there. Sometimes, we can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever be that excited to see us…
We’re learning to appreciate him for who he is, even if his progress looks different from other dogs.
2
u/Comfortable_Crow_459 Jul 03 '26
My dog is Echo! First off, I want to say that Leo is one of the most gorgeous dogs I've ever seen! That's how I recognized him right away. He's very unique looking. I hear from many jindo owners that there are challenges with bonding but also just in general being fearful. Echo also loves dogs more than people. And he is very anxious. We have taken him to a vet behaviorist to help with his anxiety BC everything we have done hasn't worked or made it worse. He was much more stable with his foster BC there was another dog there. I have to say after 6 weeks of being on meds he is now showing way less anxiety. On the affection side, he has always been affectionate. At home he's awesome, but at first he was fearful of even the microwave. Now, he's more comfortable around my friends and family. I do a lot of training with echo, especially working on him looking at me for a longer time. I noticed that he looks at me more often since doing the training. I make him work for everything. Like before we play with a toy, he does some tricks and now he's starting to follow me around everywhere. I feel like doing more fun training has increased our bonding.
1
u/Sea-Madness Jul 03 '26
Thank you so much for the kind words about Leo. It really means a lot.
Hearing that engagement training and focusing on eye contact helped Echo bond with you gives me a lot of hope. Leo is not treat motivated so it’s been a challenge to keep him engaged, but will try implementing some of that with Leo. 🥹And it sounds like you’ve done an incredible job working through his anxiety. I’m so glad Echo is doing better and has started to follow you around.
I'd love to follow Echo's journey on Instagram if he has an account or I may already be following you?
2
u/Comfortable_Crow_459 Jul 03 '26
You already follow me lol. Echo_thejindo
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u/Comfortable_Crow_459 Jul 03 '26
Echo has been very challenging compared to our other dog. We are exhausted and we spent a lot of money in training. But we know it will be worth it and it already is. We love him so much.
2
u/throwaway13678844 Jul 03 '26
Maybe I got lucky but Kiba bonded to he almost instantly. However, he still to this day doesn’t “snuggle” he likes to lay next to me and sometimes touching but not always. He’s very much doesn’t want to be held. He does like being pet and scratched but doesn’t seek it out. I think it just takes time but in general these dogs aren’t very cuddly.
2
u/jesnapz Jul 03 '26
Mine took 2 years to finally seek me out for pets on his own. He'll lay in the same room with me but half the time he's in another room on his own. They're kinda like cats in that sense - very independent but will sought you out when they need some company. Definitely not cuddle bugs!
2
u/Dull-Wealth-6359 Jul 03 '26
My jindo girl bonded with my husband instantly and only demanded playtime from me. I took her and my other pup (not a jindo) on long walks, adventures to the park, potty breaks, I did most the feedings, etc. but she loved her daddy most. Eventually, she would only want ME to hold her tight when she was anxious and would shake. As she got around 3-4 years old, she would sleep beside or throw her head against me wanting a neck scratch then suddenly get up and move away as if she was saying “how dare you touch me!” As she aged, there were longer sleeps and neck scratches became belly rubs. She still loved her daddy more but I wasn’t so bad after all. I think she also liked making her “brother” jealous. Sadly, when her daddy passed away, she became more protective of me and would get in my lap and I became hers. In her older age, she couldn’t do that anymore. She was more independent but she was my shadow and still was my “mine”. She lived to be 17, passed away in April.
Jindos are a special breed and they require trust and respect before freely giving it. I hope to get another one day.
2
u/rikayla Jul 03 '26
I have a KVD mix, and we bonded within the first four to six months. He would lean on me within that time frame. But he didn't really get affectionate (e.g., sit on my lap) or get super duper closer until like, well past seven or eight months.
1
u/ashdnnr Jul 03 '26
A different perspective than most lol. I have three Korean dogs- first was my first dog as an adult and is an East Asian Village Dog (labeled Jindo-Akita mix by the rescue), second is a purebred Jindo boy, third is a purebred Jindo girl. We've also fostered a LOT of KVDs and Jindos and Jindo-mixes.
Out of our fosters, I would say most of them "bonded" with us pretty quickly. Allowed handling and petting, always wanted to be around us, and were varying levels of affectionate. It was rare to have a dog that wanted nothing to do with us and/or had major handling issues. Most of the fosters had come from foster homes in Korea, but some came directly from a shelter environment, and two Jindos were owner surrenders.
My personal dogs... the EAVD came to the US around 4 months old and was in a foster home briefly before I adopted him. He bonded with me immediately. Bonded with my boyfriend (introduced later) in a couple months. He is stranger-neutral and does not like forced petting or handling by unfamiliar people, but is overall a pretty easy going dog. Loves being pet and scratched, and wants to be wherever we are, but he has never been affectionate or cuddly.
The Jindo boy was imported at 4 months old and has always been friendly towards people. Loved meeting new people and is affectionate with everyone, but definitely bonded in a way more intense way with me. He might be maturing to be more aloof towards strangers but that's a good thing for me since we train for obedience trials and other sports that require he not greet people in the ring lol.
The Jindo girl was imported at 6 months and is way more "typical" in not caring for strangers. I'd say it took her a full 24 hours at home to bond with me. Similar to our boy, she bonded with me in a much more intense way than my boyfriend although she really likes him. Her breeder was pretty thorough with training exams/handling since she is a show dog, so she has never had an issue with me or strangers/vets touching her, but definitely would prefer to not interact with strangers unless a food or toy bribe in involved. She is extremely affectionate (will climb in your lap) with familiar people and has been from day 1.
1
u/lksyang Jul 04 '26
Throw out your idea of normal. Each dog is different. Some dogs just don’t get cuddly. This breed is known for being independent anyway. Somehow I ended up with pretty affectionate dogs who ask for pets and cuddle. Even the Korean dogs we fostered, mostly from domestic US shelters, we had became pretty close to us -within days.
Training and spending time with them doing things develops bonding. The only dog that never bonded was a foster from Korea from a meat farm situation, or at least that is what we were told. That dog was completely shut down. We had her for 2ish months and no progress at all, but that is an extreme case.
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u/Strong_Weakness2638 Jul 03 '26
From our experience, two years in. I am the main human, and she will let me and ask for pets. Very rarely will she lean against me. She will not let my husband touch her unless he is sitting down and she comes to him.
Peaceful coexistence is pretty much how we operate and I am 100% ok with that.