How far and long to walk a jindo?
Jindos love to walk and are always ready for an adventure.
Jindos are strong, fit dogs and for mental and physical wellbeing they require daily exercise. A minimum of two 30 minute walks per day is recommended. That is about 3 1/2 miles or just under 6 kilometres daily. These distances should be cut back when temperatures are high.
My two dogs are ready for walks at any time of day, no matter the temperature or how far they have been. Jindos absolutely love being allowed off leash, it is just so much fun. But unless your Jindo is extremely well trained they can become hard to control due to their hunting instinct. All but the best trained Jindos will ignore commands once the chase has begun.
Jindos when given the chance can easily spend all day roaming and guarding their territory. When my Jindo-Cross Doogie was young, he use to leave the apartment shortly after breakfast and will not be home until dinner. He just loved exploring, hanging out with the neighborhood dogs, and probably traumatizing the local wildlife.
Jindos love to poo in private and far from home.
Jindos are very clean dogs, so they are very reluctant to poo in their homes. So if you want them to go toilet, you might be forced to take them for a long walk. Jindos can easily hold on for several days rather than pooing in their kennel.
Even on walks away from their house, Jindos still seek privacy before doing their business. My little ones insist to push into thick vegetation, well off the side of the walking trail.
Some Jindos love to play
With training some Jindos love to play. My Doogi absolutely loves to play fetch and will run around the house after balls for as long as we are prepared to throw them.
He also loves to turn it into a game of tag of room. He wants us to throw the ball, but we have to get it off him first and he normally does not surrender it without a little play.
Running with your jindo
In the cooler months, my Jindos absolutely love to go for runs and, just make sure to go slow enough so they have time to scent marks and smell their surroundings. Male Jindos particularly insist on spending a lot of time scent marking.
Living in korea, I have even seen Jindos running beside their owners on bicycles and motorbikes. With the right motivation, they can certainly sprint.
Hiking with Jindos
Jindos enjoy longer walks in the mountain. It is a real adventure for them with plenty of new scents to smell and investigate.
My middle age jindo seems to be able to handle 5 or 6 mile hikes just fine, but if the weather is warm he will be very tired by the time he gets home. Just make sure to bring plenty of water to keep them hydrated.
Jindos do poorly without exercise.
While living in rural Korea it was not uncommon to see Jindos who spent all day on chains or in their kennels. It was not a pleasant site. Jindos are tough dogs, so they will endure such conditions but it does their mental and physical health no good.
While living in Korea, we use to look after and walk one young female Jindo owned by an elderly farmer. Despite, getting sufficient food she was just a skeleton of a dog due to the lack of exercise, and despite being only one year old her overall health was poor.
The first time we took her for a walk, she had poor balance and struggled to walk in a straight line. Since then we walked her daily, and she has grown into a strong healthy happy dog with nearly endless energy. She was so excited to see as, that we gave her the name happy.
