What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

fascinated by the fila

Satchmoe88

Member
Hello Fila folk,
I've had my cane corso for over a year now and have met all kinds of mastiffs , but have never met a Fila. I noticed some in a local paper ad and have been intrigued ever since. I have read several posts here about Filas and it seems the general concensus is that , even a very well socialized Fila will eventually become non-tolerant of strangers in their homes. With knowing this, I find it quite remarkable that you NEVER hear about this breed attacking humans. It seems that the media does tend to calll any large headed dog a "pitbull" when a dog bite happens, but I don't think anyone with any breed knowledge would ever lump a fila into this category. So, it seems that Fila breeders are extremely responsible with their breeding and thus, Fila owners are also incredibly responsible when it comes to their dogs. It is really just curiousity that has me writing this post, as it seems a dog bite can happen with any breed i.e: our next door neighbour had a children's birthday party and their trusted golden retriever did bite a child. So, as a fila owner is it just common knowledge that you would never allow strange children into your home? Thanks in advance to any replies and please forgive me in my "naiveness" to this beautiful rare breed. *I am not thinking of getting one, would just love to hear from fila owners*
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
I've only been in the breed for almost 5 years and I have only owned the 2 but in my opinion Filas are not vicious. Will they bite or do whatever it takes to protect their people, I have little doubt of that but they don't go looking for trouble. Others can correct me if I'm wrong but I have never heard of a pack of Filas roaming the streets. I know that my two Filas would never let me out of their sight to go and look for trouble.

As a Fila owner you learn early on that you would not have your Fila out loose at a B-day party. If you have a proper temp Fila their contempt for strangers is very obvious, only a fool doesn't take that seriously. If you are on their property or they are out with their people they will protect.

Unlike owning a lot of other breeds, like the Golden, where you never know if they will bite with a Fila you know they will bite. So you know you have to be careful at all times.

I originally got my Fila for a protection dog but they are so much more. There is an old Portuguese saying, " Faithful as a Fila" until you own one you just can't understand it. They are so loving and gentle with their people but the minute they think there could be danger they transform into a junkyard dog, the moment the threat is over they are right back to being the sweet, lovable pup that lays by your side for hours on end.

This is a very clumsy attempt at describing a Fila but this is the best I can do. Especially, while trying to watch Criminal Minds. LOL
 
Last edited:

aceoutdoor

Well-Known Member
I find it quite remarkable that you NEVER hear about this breed attacking humans. It seems that the media does tend to calll any large headed dog a "pitbull" when a dog bite happens, but I don't think anyone with any breed knowledge would ever lump a fila into this category. So, it seems that Fila breeders are extremely responsible with their breeding and thus, Fila owners are also incredibly responsible when it comes to their dogs.



Luckily there are some very responsible Fila breeders and owners who love and want to protect the breed. And then there are those who are not.
 

Satchmoe88

Member
Thanks to all the replies. Angelbears that was a great description. They sound like sweet, loving loyal dogs. It sounds like they are the only watchdog one will ever need. How are they when you take them out walking? A little less "on guard?" Also, do you know of any who have been successfully re-homed? It is difficult for any dog to lose his home but it seems like a dog who is so in tuned with it's home environment and family it would just be devastating.
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
my friend is on her 2nd rescued Fila. depending on the age and the bond with the original family, it can take a bit of work and trust
to get them to adapt and accept the new family.

on a walk they should be aware of everything, but sure enough to not be a lunatic on a leash.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
I think the key is that naive/permissive owners with golden retrievers can get away for a long time without a problem.... not so much with a Fila. :)

Fila owners (from what I've read here) seem to be more dog-knowledgeable people - even if they weren't in the beginning, I don't think it takes long for the Fila to provide them with some learnin'!
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
Satchmoe, I can't take my male, Cane out walking. 99% of that is my fault. The other 1% is that he is an A-hole. He started showing his temp at a very early age and by 6 months of age he was already stronger that I am. He could pull me to where ever he wanted. I was very nervous handling him and he picked up on that. He didn't trust my decision making skills. So, he was always on alert. Once he matured and we learned each other, he is much more calm. However, I still wouldn't take him out walking. He is too big, too strong and I don't trust people not to rush up on us.

My other Fila, Ziva is a rescue. Fila4me is correct and by the way has much more experience with Filas then I do. Ziva was 3 when we took her. She was picked up by the pound. She didn't have a bond with anyone. Which was very helpful in integrating her into our household. She has a much softer temperament than Cane and is not as big or strong. She could be taken out for walks. She bonded with me very quickly. It took her a month or two longer to bond with my partner, Debra. Ziva did snap at her a couple of time. Never making contact. 2 years later Debra is the one she adores. It did take about 6 months before I was totally comfortable with her. I'll post some pics. She has come a long way and I'm so proud that she chose to trust us. Ziva May 2011.jpgIMG_2060.jpgCain July 2010 022.jpg
The first two are Ziva and the last one is Cane.
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
My other Fila, Ziva is a rescue. Fila4me is correct and by the way has much more experience with Filas then I do. Ziva was 3 when we took her. She was picked up by the pound. She didn't have a bond with anyone. Which was very helpful in integrating her into our household. She has a much softer temperament than Cane and is not as big or strong. She could be taken out for walks. She bonded with me very quickly. It took her a month or two longer to bond with my partner, Debra. Ziva did snap at her a couple of time. Never making contact. 2 years later Debra is the one she adores. It did take about 6 months before I was totally comfortable with her. I'll post some pics. She has come a long way and I'm so proud that she chose to trust us. View attachment 33435View attachment 33436View attachment 33437
The first two are Ziva and the last one is Cane.
she is so pretty!!! I just love Cane.
 

dogman#1

Well-Known Member
my friend is on her 2nd rescued Fila. depending on the age and the bond with the original family, it can take a bit of work and trust
to get them to adapt and accept the new family.

on a walk they should be aware of everything, but sure enough to not be a lunatic on a leash.

This is true but the last part (in bold) is not something that comes naturally... for a Fila with proper temperament and ojeriza it takes ALOT of work, patience and socialization to get them to not lunge all the time on a lead while walking them around folks
 

tojvan

Well-Known Member
my friend is on her 2nd rescued Fila. depending on the age and the bond with the original family, it can take a bit of work and trust
to get them to adapt and accept the new family.

on a walk they should be aware of everything, but sure enough to not be a lunatic on a leash.
My dogs good on leash if nothing catches his eye, as soon as he thinks something is fishy then all bets are off and lunatic is putting it lightly. A stranger cant have a conversation with me without pissing him off. I think it depends on the individual filas personality/ojeiza and how he perceives threats.
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
I think it has to do with the confidence of the handler and the dog. That is after a ton of work is put in training the dog. I have seen a couple of bad ass dogs that could become pure evil in a split second but if their owner said no, Then no it was. The owner not around to say no, then I pity who ever decided to come on the property.
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
I think it has to do with the confidence of the handler and the dog. That is after a ton of work is put in training the dog. I have seen a couple of bad ass dogs that could become pure evil in a split second but if their owner said no, Then no it was. The owner not around to say no, then I pity who ever decided to come on the property.
I agree. years ago was at a Fila specialty in DC, no lunging lunatics to be seen in the Fila breed.all of us were standing around chatting, some Filas laying down by owners/handlers, some sitting, some standing. no growling, no barking, no crazy Filas. strangers all around, some dog show people, some bystanders visiting DC for Cherry Blossom festival. thousands of people, all strangers and all well behaved controlled Filas.

I say Filas, because there were some crazy lunging Tosa's, Presa's and some other breeds. of course we had signs telling others to not enter the Fila area.

this is just another reason I love this amazing breed. no doubt that anyone of were Filas, but the bond and trust level is amazing with this breed. my breeder had a male that was bad ass. he was not a joke and let everyone know it. it took me 6 mos of sweet talking and lots of treats to finally be able to stick a finger in and scratch his back. he would only present his back to me, then one day he rolled over for me. not sure if I finally won him over or if he realized I was determined as hell and wasn't going away. he and I had an amazing relationship for the last 6 yrs of his life. at the age of 12 I had to take him to be pts, he just wasn't able to get up one day. I held him in the back of the van while he was sent to the bridge. he was still trying to get the vet!! which we laughed about!!

this boy showed my the true spirit and nature of the breed. he made me want a Fila even more than already did. I still have a picture of us together hanging my house.
 

tojvan

Well-Known Member
I agree. years ago was at a Fila specialty in DC, no lunging lunatics to be seen in the Fila breed.all of us were standing around chatting, some Filas laying down by owners/handlers, some sitting, some standing. no growling, no barking, no crazy Filas. strangers all around, some dog show people, some bystanders visiting DC for Cherry Blossom festival. thousands of people, all strangers and all well behaved controlled Filas.

I say Filas, because there were some crazy lunging Tosa's, Presa's and some other breeds. of course we had signs telling others to not enter the Fila area.

this is just another reason I love this amazing breed. no doubt that anyone of were Filas, but the bond and trust level is amazing with this breed. my breeder had a male that was bad ass. he was not a joke and let everyone know it. it took me 6 mos of sweet talking and lots of treats to finally be able to stick a finger in and scratch his back. he would only present his back to me, then one day he rolled over for me. not sure if I finally won him over or if he realized I was determined as hell and wasn't going away. he and I had an amazing relationship for the last 6 yrs of his life. at the age of 12 I had to take him to be pts, he just wasn't able to get up one day. I held him in the back of the van while he was sent to the bridge. he was still trying to get the vet!! which we laughed about!!

this boy showed my the true spirit and nature of the breed. he made me want a Fila even more than already did. I still have a picture of us together hanging my house.
Standing there chatting, it sounds like you guys were standing right next to each other like a foot apart and talking. I'm still new to the breed and i don't mean to be rude or anything, but to me it sounds like a watered down temperament. From experimenting with my pup and reading the works of PSC and other authors about the breed, I've learnt that fila is a very possessive dog, it doesn't like its things being touched and i think it was PSC that said that the owner is the filas most prized possession. I did an experiment with my dog tied him to a tree at the park my friend talked loudly to himself jumped around about 30 feet away, the most he got was a growl and a few warning barks. I told my friend to go around the field. After he left I went where he was standing; as my friend came around and started getting near me trigger started barking and the closer he got the worse it got. Needless to say i found it very fascinating, it also made me understand why people say fila is not an aggressive breed but a defensive one. The fila doesn't give a rats ass about what a stranger is doing as log as he is not messing with him or his things. You being right there talking to a stranger, a simple hand gesture could have triggered a fight, the dog should have been very uncomfortable. Please don't take anything i said the wrong way, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the situation.
 

dogman#1

Well-Known Member
tojvan.. there are pictures and videos of "Filas" having their mouth inspected by a judge..... I guess they are filas if you follow one standard but not if you follow the other.
 

tojvan

Well-Known Member
tojvan.. there are pictures and videos of "Filas" having their mouth inspected by a judge..... I guess they are filas if you follow one standard but not if you follow the other.
I know what you mean, I've seen those exact pictures, if I'm correct I believe the breeder was quiet proud of the fact that her dog was letting the judge put his hand inside his mouth. Truly sad situation, breeding down the temperament like that. There are plenty of other alternatives if you want a friendly dog.
 

dogman#1

Well-Known Member
For the original poster... There was about 2 Xs I have ever heard about the Fila Brasileiro breed in the news. One was the time that Ving Rhyames' dogs supposedly killed their care taker... http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-08-03-rhames-dogs_N.htm (they didnt, the guy died of a heart attack) and another one was when some kid was getting bullied, went home, got his fila and let it loose on the bullies. the dog ended up biting 2 lil girls and a boy about 10 or 11 years old... I cant find the link for that now but I remember us having a discussion on it on the old FB forum. IMO where you will get "accidental" bites is from those that believe that they have 100% control of their dogs and thats when you hear... oh my God, she never did that before, the other person mustve done something to set her off, I just looked away for 1 second, etc, etc... the one's you will hear nothing about are the ones that know that they cant possibly control every waking moment of every waking day and therefore they dont put their dogs in situations where something could happen.... it is the only way to keep these dogs out of the news and BSL.
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
Standing there chatting, it sounds like you guys were standing right next to each other like a foot apart and talking. I'm still new to the breed and i don't mean to be rude or anything, but to me it sounds like a watered down temperament. From experimenting with my pup and reading the works of PSC and other authors about the breed, I've learnt that fila is a very possessive dog, it doesn't like its things being touched and i think it was PSC that said that the owner is the filas most prized possession. I did an experiment with my dog tied him to a tree at the park my friend talked loudly to himself jumped around about 30 feet away, the most he got was a growl and a few warning barks. I told my friend to go around the field. After he left I went where he was standing; as my friend came around and started getting near me trigger started barking and the closer he got the worse it got. Needless to say i found it very fascinating, it also made me understand why people say fila is not an aggressive breed but a defensive one. The fila doesn't give a rats ass about what a stranger is doing as log as he is not messing with him or his things. You being right there talking to a stranger, a simple hand gesture could have triggered a fight, the dog should have been very uncomfortable. Please don't take anything i said the wrong way, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the situation.
lol, no we were not standing next to each other, all dogs and owners/handlers were at a distance from each other. but, chatting can still happen at a distance comfortable to a correct Fila. we were all Fila owners, so all well educated and aware of what we had/have and are very aware of not using many hand gestures, excited loud voices, etc.

no one, was messing with anyone, no one was being threatened, no one was crowded,we were not trying to pet the other dogs,etc, so the Fila were ok. they were alert, as they should be, but not menacing. I really do not see how that can be not be understood or how it means some how their temp was not true.

I have issues with the thinking that a Fila is "watered down" if it is confident enough to know what is a threat and what isn't.

as you have stated, you are new to the breed, do some more research observing live dogs versus reading and you opinion will change. feel free to come visit anytime and I can introduce you to 13 Filas who will let you know they are not "watered down". :)
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
tojvan.. there are pictures and videos of "Filas" having their mouth inspected by a judge..... I guess they are filas if you follow one standard but not if you follow the other.
have seen the pics and videos also, have never seen it with any of the Filas I have been around. they would be minus a hand.
 

tojvan

Well-Known Member
lol, no we were not standing next to each other, all dogs and owners/handlers were at a distance from each other. but, chatting can still happen at a distance comfortable to a correct Fila. we were all Fila owners, so all well educated and aware of what we had/have and are very aware of not using many hand gestures, excited loud voices, etc.

no one, was messing with anyone, no one was being threatened, no one was crowded,we were not trying to pet the other dogs,etc, so the Fila were ok. they were alert, as they should be, but not menacing. I really do not see how that can be not be understood or how it means some how their temp was not true.

I have issues with the thinking that a Fila is "watered down" if it is confident enough to know what is a threat and what isn't.

as you have stated, you are new to the breed, do some more research observing live dogs versus reading and you opinion will change. feel free to come visit anytime and I can introduce you to 13 Filas who will let you know they are not "watered down". :)

Fila4me thanks for the reply. Filas are very rare in my area; in the 10 years I've lived here I've never seen a fila other than my own, the closest one probably is mountain who lives up north. I will never stop learning, even 10 years from now or 15, you can never have enough knowledge. The more the better. lol i really did think you guys were standing next to each other and having a ball, thanks for clarifying that.