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Carioca Filas

ryanpaul

Member
Was wondering if anyone has heard of this kennel? I sent them a lengthy email detailing my interest in a Fila and sharing my past history with working dogs. They acknowledged me on Facebook, but never responded to my email. Its only been a day, so maybe they are busy busy busy. I just hope they were not put off because I have a disability or my shared love of APBTS as well as Molossers. That being said, I enjoy the forum, and hope to bring home either a South African Boerboel or Fila puppy this spring! Would love to hear everyones input on this kennel or any other good Fila breeders in the United States.
 

iwannafila

Well-Known Member
I have no info for you, but, am interested in the responses. They are one of two breeders I am considering getting a Fila pup from.
 

ryanpaul

Member
I have no info for you, but, am interested in the responses. They are one of two breeders I am considering getting a Fila pup from.
From my research there are not many breeders of the Fila. I have seen a lot of negative reactions to Lions Den Filas, but I have spoken with them and they seem like outstanding people. They answer questions and try to give potential owners important information to help make an informed decision. I am VERY disappointed that Carioca Kennels would not even respond to an email that took me hours to write. I can understand if they think a Fila might not be the right dog for me. At least they could explain why, so that I could eliminate the breed from my search or do the things to make my home or myself more Fila ready. I will probably go with a Boerboel as there are at least 5 breeders in my state of Virginia. This is huge plus, as I would like to visit the kennel first before I decide to purchase a puppy. I think some breeders say they want to learn about the homes their dogs are going to, but some just want you to hit a pay pal button and send them some money.
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
Please do your research on Lions Den. Everything I have heard or read has been terrible. They have a very bad reputation in the Fila world. Do a search here on the forum and you should get a couple of horror stories. As far as Linda at Carioca. I've not heard anything bad about her. I know of a couple of people who really like her. She breeds CAFIB dogs. I can't stand CAFIB so I haven't had a reason to get to know her. Most all breeder's are really bad about answering email. I would call or be very patient and wait. BTW, have you done research on the temperament of a Fila? A correctly bred one should not tolerate strangers. If you ever have to have EMS out to your house it could become a nightmare. I no longer have Filas because I'm getting older and if we ever needed EMS or help in our house a Fila would not allow it.
 

ryanpaul

Member
Please do your research on Lions Den. Everything I have heard or read has been terrible. They have a very bad reputation in the Fila world. Do a search here on the forum and you should get a couple of horror stories. As far as Linda at Carioca. I've not heard anything bad about her. I know of a couple of people who really like her. She breeds CAFIB dogs. I can't stand CAFIB so I haven't had a reason to get to know her. Most all breeder's are really bad about answering email. I would call or be very patient and wait. BTW, have you done research on the temperament of a Fila? A correctly bred one should not tolerate strangers. If you ever have to have EMS out to your house it could become a nightmare. I no longer have Filas because I'm getting older and if we ever needed EMS or help in our house a Fila would not allow it.
I have differently done my research, and I appreciate you bringing up a possible issue I could have with owning a Fila. My condition is stable enough now that, I should no longer have the need for EMS. Its funny you brought up the EMS situation. My aunt has a Mastiff mix and had a heart attack while walking him. EMS was unable to render help and a passerby (small town) had to call a relative to come and get the dog before my aunt could be taken to the emergency room. Until that happened I had never thought about a situation like that. From my take the CAFIB seems to focus on the Fila keeping a working temperament? I can't speak to the quality of puppies Lions Den produces, but at least they return emails. When I was in college I volunteered at my local SPCA. I dealt with some seriously nasty dogs (many injured and non socialized) breeds ranged from American Bulldogs, Mastiff Crosses, and all types of Pits and Shepherds. Other than that I use to shadow and decoy for the local police K9 and military units. I've taken hits from Dutch Shepherds, Euro line GSDs and Seal level Malinois. Among elite dog trainers the Fila has zero respect. They considered it to be a fear bitter and with weak nerves. I never put much stock in their position as they were so jaded to GSD style dogs. My hope was to gain more knowledge from a breeder who has years of experience. As I said above I will probably just move on to the South African Boerboel.
 

Hector

Well-Known Member
There is a man that I've spoken to on facebook and he has had 32 filas at one time and is probably the least biased fila person I've spoken to. He is nothing, but for true temp filas and he said the only person he'd ever buy from in the states is from a person named Jesus Llano. He can be contacted through facebook. Good luck.
 

Hector

Well-Known Member
By the way, the guy's name is Drew Podietz on facebook. He is happy to talk about filas to anyone.
 

ryanpaul

Member
Well, were you happy with what they had to say?
It was just a quick, I got your message email. They said they had been super busy dealing with some sheep issues. The promised to write me back in detail in just a few days. They seem like a solid kennel so far.... and they have a breeding in April. Once I speak in detail with them I will offer up my opinion.
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
I am in Va also.Carioca has very nice dogs and is far from a newbie in the breed.Glad you heard back. A lot of these breeders are a bit too busy to respond via email post haste . Fb is much easier and they probably get a notification on their phone , unlike email. My friend who breeds Dogos rarely checks her emails unless she has a litter or expecting an email. Now she is all over her fb account, lol.I agree to staying away from Lionsden, stay far away. Just because they are nice and respond quickly means they are top notch. Have had Filas 22+yrs now and have many friends with Filas.In my experience most trainers who talk trash about Filas are afraid.My Fila breeder trained dogs for the military in Hungary and for the police here in America . He also did private training at his facility. I had the privilege of meeting lots of trainers and do lots of Schutzhund training and trials(not with my Filas)with my Rottweiler .Did you get a good feel with Carioca?
 

fila4me

Well-Known Member
It was just a quick, I got your message email. They said they had been super busy dealing with some sheep issues. The promised to write me back in detail in just a few days. They seem like a solid kennel so far.... and they have a breeding in April. Once I speak in detail with them I will offer up my opinion.
Lol you replied while I was typing , sorry
 

spearchucker

Well-Known Member
Was wondering if anyone has heard of this kennel? I sent them a lengthy email detailing my interest in a Fila and sharing my past history with working dogs. They acknowledged me on Facebook, but never responded to my email. Its only been a day, so maybe they are busy busy busy. I just hope they were not put off because I have a disability or my shared love of APBTS as well as Molossers. That being said, I enjoy the forum, and hope to bring home either a South African Boerboel or Fila puppy this spring! Would love to hear everyones input on this kennel or any other good Fila breeders in the United States.
Brenda Tobey is one breeder that I trust. If my two don't spit out pups this cycle, I plan to get a female from her. Her and her husband are hones and reliable. She is in facebook under her name and sometimes posts here. I think her name here is ' filagiel'
 

ryanpaul

Member
Brenda Tobey is one breeder that I trust. If my two don't spit out pups this cycle, I plan to get a female from her. Her and her husband are hones and reliable. She is in facebook under her name and sometimes posts here. I think her name here is ' filagiel'
Thanks for the response, I will check them out as well. Has any forum member ever had a Fila imported from Brazil? I have seen videos (never spoke with or visited) of kennels in Brazil and their agitation (during temperament testing) is quite intense. I assume this is temperament testing (of Ojeriza) natural and not protection/guarding training which would be unnatural. From everything I have read one would not or should not have to teach their Fila to protect its own family/property?
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't ship one from out of the states. If you have a problem you are just screwed and there are problems. Sure they will send you a replacement dog but you are paying to ship the puppy back to them then paying to ship the new dog to you. I have actually heard were someone paid for 3 different dogs round trip before the 4th one was a keeper. That is a little steep for my pocket book and too time consuming.
 

iwannafila

Well-Known Member
Protection

I think most trainers that work with GSD's and Mals talk crap about Filas because they don't take a deep bite on the sleeve. It appears to me, their dogs treat that training as a simple game. The Fila WANTS to PROTECT you! Two things to remember here: 1) The Fila's in those temperament vids are NOT trained in any way in protection. They also don't back down if properly bred. Pretty impressive if you ask me! 2) The Fila does not care a bit about the sleeve, it wants the decoy! I would love to see a totally untrained GSD perform that well! Personally, I don't have 10 or 15K to have a dog trained in protection. I would rather have a Fila anyway.
 

ryanpaul

Member
Re: Protection

I think most trainers that work with GSD's and Mals talk crap about Filas because they don't take a deep bite on the sleeve. It appears to me, their dogs treat that training as a simple game. The Fila WANTS to PROTECT you! Two things to remember here: 1) The Fila's in those temperament vids are NOT trained in any way in protection. They also don't back down if properly bred. Pretty impressive if you ask me! 2) The Fila does not care a bit about the sleeve, it wants the decoy! I would love to see a totally untrained GSD perform that well! Personally, I don't have 10 or 15K to have a dog trained in protection. I would rather have a Fila anyway.
I agree with some of the points you brought up, and the other things I just can't speak on. I am friends with a lot of guys who's lives depend on their GSDs, Duchies etc so get why they love them. I am trying to gain more experience with the Fila, but breeders are far and in-between. I still have not heard back from Carioca Fila. I've chalked it up to being busy, I am moving on at this point.
 

Esand

Well-Known Member
Re: Protection

I think most trainers that work with GSD's and Mals talk crap about Filas because they don't take a deep bite on the sleeve. It appears to me, their dogs treat that training as a simple game. The Fila WANTS to PROTECT you! Two things to remember here: 1) The Fila's in those temperament vids are NOT trained in any way in protection. They also don't back down if properly bred. Pretty impressive if you ask me! 2) The Fila does not care a bit about the sleeve, it wants the decoy! I would love to see a totally untrained GSD perform that well! Personally, I don't have 10 or 15K to have a dog trained in protection. I would rather have a Fila anyway.
Mals and GSD do treat training as a game. They have lots of drive which makes them highly trainable. That is a plus not a minus.

Fila's are low drive dogs which makes them a lot harder to train and training is quite different. Even in Brazil, working filas, with the police and armed forces, are only used for guarding fixed locations and tracking. For most work they use GSDs (and possibly Mals).