Ann Kim
1. I currently reside in San Diego County, California, and work in the power generation industry. I can be described as a Generation X as well as a 1.5 generation Korean-American. I have been involved with Korean Jindo Dogs for 30 years after being introduced to them via my father, and I have been a breeder for 10 years, co-breeding the first-ever recorded litter of AKC-FSS Jindos. My kennel name is Yooshin Kennels.
2. Within the AKC-FSS population, I would not say that the breed has been stabilized yet. The number of imports that have turned into breeding founders are still in the single digits, with four of them related to each other via a popular sire in their lineage. We do intend on importing new females and utilizing foreign frozen semen that has been shipped in, but for the most part, the growth of the breed will likely slow down. In Korea, there have been comments that the number of entries is getting smaller and I have seen some breed mentors who have retired and exited the breed. But I have hope that the younger breeders there will be able to continue on with breeding quality dogs.
3. It’s a positive thing to see people younger than me who are involved in AKC Conformation, Performance, and Companion events. I do feel regretful that the AKC-FSS Open Shows in my area have not given the best experiences that beginner exhibitors should have, though. The “old-timers” such as myself show despite knowing the shortfalls in not having our sponsored awards included in the premium, not having correctly marked flats, and not being assured of the judge knowing the ring procedure for an Open Show. But I wish we could have provided a nicer memorable experience for the new people. I don’t mind the current number of AKC-FSS Open shows in my area. They are held only on two weekends in the year, but they have drawn large entries as far as Open Shows goes. I’d rather have those than multiple shows with less than five dogs entered.
4. This year, our focus has been on building the breed club and continuing on the steps to be recognized as the designated parent club in the AKC. Our AKC breed name did change from “Jindo” to “Korean Jindo Dog” to better match their chosen international name, and so we’ve had to update our various club documents.
It takes a certain amount of fortitude to be a breeder of our breed. There is the unknown of health, as the country-of-origin does not document health like we do in the Western world. There is the difference in rearing, which permits some temperaments to be fine in one environment but sensitive in another. As a Preservation Breeder, we are and will be responsible for every dog that we produce, and we hope that the homes we choose to place our puppies with fully understand that they will be embarking on a journey of discovery with us. We hope our good-faith intentions will be satisfactory.
As an exhibitor, the main challenge may be that our dogs have very long memories. I also feel that a couple of them exhibit better with their owners and not handed off to a co-owner/breeder/friend. If one is bringing multiple entries, they can be a challenge to show when they can end up in the same ring.
5. In my opinion, social media acts as an accelerant and doesn’t have to be harmful in and of itself. Much depends on the nature of the person using the social media. For instance, it can quickly rally the fancy when it comes to assisting a fellow exhibitor who had experienced a devastating loss, or it can quickly degenerate into a toxic, hurtful environment.
6. I can’t speak about the dog show community as a whole, but I have heard about the loss of show venues as well as laws describing certain breeds as “tortured” breeds. Though the first situation has been attributed to exhibitors not picking up after their dogs, I suspect that it’s more that dog shows and dog breeds have lost their value in a community. We can increase their value by continuing to share our breeds in the non-fancy community instead of staying within our comfort zone of dog shows and dog trials. Perhaps the Meet the Breeds can travel across the country again.
7. More than 10 years ago, there were people who would talk about Jindos in the AKC-FSS that led people in Korea to believe that the Jindo was advancing when, in actuality, not a single one of their dogs was recorded with the AKC-FSS. We’re now in a situation whereby maybe our growth is slower than what some people would like, but it’s a true effort with authentic progress with additional channels of communication with the fancy in Korea.
