Head - Typically has a rough inverted triangular look. Females tend to have a foxy look. Males are typically more masculin with broader cheeks. The head should not have any straight lines or wrinkles, should blend evenly from backskull to nose and should be without a distinct stop (or break from the forehead to the top of the muzzle. One of the best descriptions I've heard is that it should look like a spindle tightly wound with yarn. The muzzle should be smooth, clean, and basically round in shape, tapering gently from nose to base. It should blend evenly into the cheeks, which curve slightly to meet the base of the ear, and there should be no droopy lips or flews. The muzzle should look fairly refinded and not bulky or heavy in comparison to the head and should taper to the nose.
Females -
Males-
Eyes - Round or almond shape. The outside corner should point slightly upwards towards the ear base giving a bright interested expression rather than a droopy sad one. Always brown of some color, and never green or blue.
Ears - Prick ALWAYS. Medium to thick looking and feeling. NOT thin like a German Shepherd Dog. Generally lean/pitch forward a bit. Can be either high set and close together or lower set and far apart but they should appear to be on the top of the head and firmly erect. They should also give the impression of being medium to small for the size of the dog, and triangular in shape (about as tall from base to tip as they are wide across the base. Excessively large ears, or long tall ears, suggest a mix. Floppy or drop ears are generally indicative of mixed breeding and should raise red flags to look closely for other characteristics of mixing. Tipped ears (ears who's base stands normally but who's tip flops over) are seen in young dogs and in some lines.
Incorrect Heads
Chow Mix - The head appears very bulky un unrefined. The ears sit to the sides rather than on top of the head. The muzzle is bulky with droopy flews (lips). The outside edges of the eyes droop down giving a sad expression.
Akita Mix - The muzzle on these dogs is the give away to them not being purebred Jindos. Notice how large it looks in comparison with the head. The lips are also a bit loose, and the end of the muzzle is blunt rather than ending in a point at the nose.
Sharpei Mix - Again, the bulk of the muzzle is the first thing noticed that suggests this is not a Jindo. It is very large and bulky compared to the head. You can also see wrinkles on the forehead, around the eyes, and on the cheeks. These dogs have a very short velvety coat is also a clue that they are not a Jindo.
Look closely and you will see that this boy's ears are the right size and shape for a Jindo. The bases of the ears stand, however the tips are over. These are called tipped ears. There are some Jindos who end up with ears like this.
Tongues and Noses – Jindos do not have purple tongues or tongues with large purple splotches. A small black spot on the tongue is possible, however any large amount of color suggests a mix and is an indication to look for other signs that the dog is not a Jindo. White dogs normally have pink or brownish noses, though in young dogs they can be darker. All other colors should have a black nose.
This dog has a rather Jindo-like head.
The purple tongue means he's a chow mix, however.
Not a Jindo (obviously) but a good picture of the kind of tongue spot that is sometimes found in purebred Jindos as well as other breeds. While a spot like this is not a direct indicator that a dog is a mix, many who have these spots are mixes. It's best to treat dogs with such spots with reservations and to look closely for other signs of mixing.
This dog's blue eyes may be beautiful, but any color other than brown is totally incorrect for a Jindo and never seen in the breed.
These tall thin ears belong on a German Shepherd, and are clear indicators that the dog is not a Jindo.
Not as tall and thin as the dog above, but again these ears are much too large and out of proportion with this dogs head.
White Jindos, like the dog on the right, often have pinkish or brown noses. This is normal for the coat color, and the other pigment (lips, eye rims, and area around the nose) is always black.
The dog on the left, a Siberian husky, has brown or liver pigment. If you look closely the rims around the eyes, the area around the nose, and the lips, are all dark brown rather than true black. Jindos never have brown pigment regardless of their coat color.
Droopy eyes (eyes who's outside corners tilt down) are a classic clue that the dog is a mix. This tends to give the dog a sad expression.
Tipped ears are the norm until a Jindo pup is 4-6 months old, though the trait is considered highly undesirable in adult dogs. Tipped ears by themselves do not exclude the dog from being a Jindo, however in an adult dog it's a clue to go looking for other non-jindo characteristics.
Jindo ears always lean slightly forward and should not point straight up in the air as seen in these dogs.
