Just broght home our mastiff puppy

[allsierra123]

We just got delilah about a week ago now. She is 12 weeks old. She is half English mastiff Half Fila Brasileiro. She is black. As of her last vet visit she weighed in at 28# 3 days ago. All in all very healthy and a great little pup. We have been working on her training already she took to the leash very quickly as well as the house breaking and most basic commands in general I was amazed at how quickly she picks things up. But one thing that concerns me is her aversion to strangers she has bonded with my family very well. But anytime we are out or someone comes over she gets very agitated and aggressive. I can calm her but she will turn her back to the strangers and grumble in protest at them being there. Even goes as far as barking and growling when people approach us. Is this a normal behavior? Or is this something I should be worried about?I am very familiar with training and have a lot of experience with bull breeds but this is my first mastiff.

 

[Smart_Family]

Congrats on your new addition! My EM pup is now 4 months old and we have the opposite problem. Anytime she sees a person whether we are out walking or she sees a car go by she wants to run up and say hi and give kisses. This is my first mastiff as well and I'm not as familiar with the fila as I am the english mastiff but I just wanted to pop in and say that I applaud that you are acknowledging this behavior early on rather than dismissing it as her "being a puppy" or letting it get worse. Hopefully someone else will have some advice or experience with filas. Good luck

 

[allsierra123]

Well thank you. Like I said I am an experienced handler So I recognize behavior and triggers for what they are. I am also unaware of the fila. I know what the books say about them I am just trying to figure what the best way to procede with her training.

 

[PuppyPaws]

Congrats to both of you on your new additions

Can you elaborate on what you typically do in response to her growling and barking at visitors? Have you started any very basic training with her yet? I mean does she know, "sit" or "quiet" or "crate" for example?

Thanks!

 

[allsierra123]

Yeah she sits. She know "shhh" for quiet. She knows "bed" for crate. She knows "come" and "out" for going outside. She also gets down when she is told and drops something when told. I have spent a lot of time working with her already. I work from home so Its an easy thing to do. When she growls I have her sit and shhh to quiet her. Thats calms her a good deal she remains Alert though And if the person persists in approaching she will continue to give a low disapproving growl. At first I thought it was a fear thing. But she is not fearful of the people she is very alert and watches strangers from clear across the park She does nothing though until they approach.

 

[AKBull]

From my readings, that sounds normal. There is a reason I didn't get a sweet little Fila boy some many months ago, before I got my Junior. Filas are just a bit too intense and wary for me. I believe I read they are one of, if not the only breed, who can be excused from biting a judge when they are being looked over at a show.
Awesome family dogs! Just not so social. Hopefully with a mix it won't be as untrusting of strangers.

 

[allsierra123]

Thats kind of what i was hoping. Maybe someone who has some experience on the mix can weigh in. Although Maybe that just means she can go either way with her temperament.

 

[AKBull]

She's a good looking pup!

 

[angelbears]

PLEASE, read everything you can on the Fila breed before you end up with a lawsuit on your hands. They are not social dogs and should not be expected to be friendly with anyone outside of your immediate family. Just because she is a mix does not mean that she did not inherit OJERIZA" which means a total dislike for strangers" I'll take it a step further and for some it is a total hatred of strangers. Both of mine will not tolerate anyone coming close to us. I have to crate the female just so my son can come in the house and visit. I'm not a trainer and will not even attempt to tell you how to proceed but I strongly suggest you do some reading and go a step further and call someone with Fila knowledge.

Yes, they are one of the very few breeds that a judge should not put his hands on and the dog is not penalized for not allowing it.

I will tell you that we spent a good bit of money, on what was a well thought of trainer but he had no experience with a Fila, he didn't get very far with ours. You need someone who knows and understands the breed.

 

[allsierra123]

Thanks for the advice. We will proceed with a caution. And for the time being while she is small I will keep socializing as much as I can to see if she makes any improvement. As well as keep reading whatever I can. I have adequate fencing that can keep her contained outside. And We also have a large kennel inside the fence. So We can kennel her if need be. DO you have any recommendations as to who would be someone good to contact with fila knowledge?

 

[angelbears]

www.thefilabrasileiro.com

That is a place to start. Like anywhere, you will get good advice, silly advice and downright wrong advice but at least it is a place to start.

Fila's are great family dogs but if they have the correct temp. they will protect you with their life and people they don't know are a threat. To people he is raised with, by that I mean live with him day in and day out, he should never show aggression and be kind and gentle just like anyother mastiff.

 

[PuppyPaws]

You might want to start now establishing a routine at the door or any entrance/exits of your house. You take take control of the door. This is just "off the cuff" and just an idea, but something like:
Put her in a sit away from the immediate entrance once you hear a knock or the bell.
If she knows what "quiet" means, tell her to be quiet. (If she doesn't know this, try working on it).
You answer the door.
Greet the guest and allow them into your home
Maybe come up with a word or phrase that you use to show your dog this guest has your approval. Make sure others in the house know the phrase or it could be a gesture or both...
If she does not listen or does anything to push her luck - crate her, no fuss, no overly correcting, just calmly remove to the crate.

This is just an idea. Others with more fila experience, might have better suggestions/ideas or even corrections to the above... This was just an idea.

 

[allsierra123]

Pretty much what Im reading is there is no training it out of them its kind of the way it is. I am going to continue to socialize and see how it goes. and continue with her training. But when it gets to the point where im sure its just the fila in her she just wont be a social dog ( if she doesnt improve before that time).

 

[angelbears]

Great attitude for a fila owner. As long as you understand what you have I would continue to socialize her. At 9 months, we quit allowing people to touch our male, Cane. We would take him out and he would allow most people to approach but you could tell he did not like it. Well, the last time we tried it, a guy went to pet him and as fast as a ninja, Cane grabbed his hand and spit it right back out. We got lucky! Around that same time, a neighbor came and knocked on the front door. Cane dove through the window(not jump up and the glass happened to break) to get him. Needless to say, that glass was replaced with bullet proof glass and we quit all socializing.

He has calmed down quite a bit but between 9 months and 2 years, he would go off at everything.

A couple of random thoughts: Like most puppies, they go through fear stages, do not take this as a sign that they have lost their temp. it comes back with a vengeance. If you have kids, your kids friends are not part of the family and a Fila may react, so always take caution. Some dogs don't come into their full temp until about the age of 2. So you always have to be watchful.

All this being said I have NEVER heard of a Fila that randomly goes out and attacks people. The few times Cane could have hurt someone, he didn't. He warns and that is all he really has to do. He has never been challenged but I have no doubt he would protect us.

 

[JennQ]

I am not a fila owner nor am I a trainer... but I my Pitty/American Bulldog cross Rox was a lot like your girl deliah at her age and up to about 4 months of age. Rox was great with me and close family that she say everyday (like my parents whose house we visited pretty much every other day), but in the real world around people albeit strangers on the street or friends that she would only see once in a while, she was extremely leary of and would growl a deep deep growl and concetrate on their every move. She is about 1.5 yrs old and for the most part she is very good with people. We can walk around town and she does not care about the people really, some she will wigglebum up to and love, others she will just ignore, but there will be the occassional person that for whatever reason she does not take to and will bark/growl at. When she was younger and I was first faced with her issues, I read many articles and spoke to trainers and there were many reasons why she was doing this, some said fear stage, others said guarding, others said it is just socialization. So I combined the theories and found what worked for her and me. That was to do what you are doing and get her out as often as possible and into many different situations everyday. I taught her the "leave it" command and instead of forcing her to let someone pet her or try to achieve the goal of making her like people I decided to make the people a "non-issue" meaning that when we were walking and I could see her tense when a person or something was coming her way I would say "leave it" and I would walk on by totally ignoring the person. then after a week or so of that when people would approach I would say hello to the person in a nice upbeat voice, if she stared or growled or half-barked I would say "leave it"and then keep walking. After a few more weeks of doing this I noticed that Rox seemed to care less about the people. So then I started initiating the "hello" to people, if they stopped to talk I would tell Rox to "Sit" and then step in front of Rox have a conversation with the person and then release Rox from her sit praise her (if she was quiet) and move on. When I got to this point I notice that Rox was not as fixated on the person, that she was looking around and looking up at me she even scratched once or twice, I kept this up for a while and then one day when a friend approached and as we were talking he asked about her and I said oh this is Roxi, and when I said her name she got out the sit and sniffed him with a waggy tail !!! I told him to ignore her and not look at her, he did and then she sniffed his hand and he started petting her whiel still talkign to me and she was ok with that!!! I immediately said "Good Girl, give kisses" and she licked his hand and I gave her a big treat!! I am still cautious because I know that she will never be 100% in love with people and will always be slightly leary of strangers, and so I have accepted that and won't put her in situations where I know she will be uncomfortable but she has come a long way from where she was! One thing I also noticed that triggered her growly side was when someone was standing still in her presence and staring at her, that would set her off, it still does at times! so I would tell people to ignore her and not look at her. I don't know if any of this will help and I know they are totally different dogs. Your girl is so young still so I say keep doing what you are doing and the more comfortable she gets with everything, as she grows she will get some confidence and it may be a non-issue for you! I wish you luck, and saw the pic of Delilah and she is soooo cute!!!

 

[bullyBug]

Is it normal for the Fila temperament to surface at such a young age? I didn't think it was possible for a dog to show true aggression/guarding behavior until much later. My first guess would be that this is a fear response.

 

[angelbears]

Yes, some Fila pups will show there temperament very early. Before I got my first Fila I thought their aggression was fear based, I don't believe so anymore. I have seen my guy, Cane afraid of something and his reaction is totally different than when he is around people. He just really hates people. When he was a pup and we were trying to socialize him, he would sit still and let people approach but you could see he hated it. He would not back up but would sit there and tolerate it. Now a bag blowing across the yard and he would squirm under my chair.

 

[Cody]

Welcome to the forum, there are a few knowledgeable Fila folks here
From my understanding of the breed that is what is wanted in a Fila as far as temperament goes. Even with socialization I am doubtful that you will be able to train it out of him.
I am not trying to be rude, but prior to getting your pup had you researched the Fila at all? They are stunning dogs IMO, but they require a serious and dedicated handler. I love the breed, but know that in my current lifestyle, with children and friends that is not a breed that would work with our us. I suggest that now that you have one to do a serious crash course. Having a dog with the the size and power of an EM with the Ojeriza of a Fila could be very dangerous in the wrong situation.
I agree with the above posts, find a trainer who has worked with or is aware of the true nature of the Fila and remember for your dog the trainer is a stranger.
Good luck and we would love to see pictures. Keep us posted

 

[allsierra123]

No offense taken. I was familiar with fila's prior. But honestly not as familiar as I should have been. We kind of hoped being a mix she wouldnt get the fila temp at all. We are prepared to deal with it. We have a very well built fence around the back of our property. And a nice kennel inside that fence. So containing her when needed isnt a big deal. We dont have anyone in our area willing to work with fila's but I did manage to get her into a puppy socialization class our vet has. If nothing else just to get her around different kinds of people and situations. Thanks for the kinds words and the welcoming. Im kind of thinking she will make border crossing into mexico a little more difficult when she gets older LOL.

 

[angelbears]

allsierra123, I think you will make a great owner. Hope you don't mind I have one more suggestion. While she is young, I would take her to the vet, try to stick with the same one if you can, as much as possible. You really need to get her use to them if you can. Not a paid visit, just a social call. We used to take Cane in to be weighed and just to say hello.