What to feed my Jindo?

In traditional Korea, Jindos hunted and scavenged for most of their food. They were only given a subsistence diet by their owners.

Jindos thrive on a varied diet similar to that of a wild landrace dog. Such a diet will keep them healthy for many years.

Most owners in Korea feed their Jindos a combination of dry pellets and household scraps. While they survive on such diets, they do not thrive.

This is because dog nuts with a high corn or grain content are unsuitable for a Jindo digestive system. They are accustomed to digesting proteins rather than carbohydrates.

Some owners feed their Jindo raw meats, bones, and even fish, but they can also thrive on a high protein grain-free dog nut.

Obesity and other health problems can result from eating too much carbohydrates.

Feeding habits and preferences

I have first hand experience with several Jindos, and their feeding habits could not be more different. The typical Jindo can be a fussy eater and one which is able to self regulate. Unlike some domestic breeds, they do not eat for the sake of eating.

My first Jindo, Doggi, well Jindo-cross (most of them are), is quite representative of a typical jindo. He a very selective eater, and is anything but food motivated. While he enjoys, maybe even loves doggy snacks. He rarely finishes his bowl of dog nuts. He does get extremely excited for cheese and will appear whenever a slice of cheese is opened.

He typically waits until after the humans have finished to start eating. Food is certainly not a priority in his life, although as he matured he has become somewhat plumb maybe he does overeat slightly.

When offered treats, he always takes them gently and takes his time to finish them. Even when competing with other dogs he does not rush his food down.

As typical for Jindos, he loves to hunt and will chase after anything that even resembles prey. He rarely ever catches anything, so I am unsure if he will eat his prey given the chance. This strong hunting instinct are strong characteristic of the Jindo breed.

My second Jindo, Happy is a young female who could not be more different.

In some ways she is extremely food motivated, and her next meal is always top of mind.

Happy is still a Jindo and in her own strange way she can be fussy. She will happily leave a bowl of nuts untouched, but on walks, she will constantly try to scavenge and find anything to eat. When she was young, she will even try to eat garden gloves and random pieces of rubber. Anything even remotely edible will be consumed. It took a lot of training to suppress that natural instinct of hers.

When offered treats, she goes after them eagerly and with great passion but never aggressively. She will happily show her excitement by licking my hand and jumping all over the place.

Unlike my first Jindo, she has no hunting instinct. She is a scavenger, not a hunter. The only time she will only give chase to keep up with Doggie, not to take part in the hunt.