Why I'll never own a Fila

[mountainfila]

You Fila members are so defensive about your breed. lol

My statement was about the few Fila I have met in person, which if you reread my post, you can clearly see I wrote that I had not met very many. Actually, here, I'll help you. I wrote...


The bolded text clearly states that I didn't think they were typical of the breed.

What I mean by "real Fila" is one that lives up to the aggressive "man eater" hype that Fila owners always talk about. The ones I met were either aggressive with terrible nerves, or were not aggressive at all to strangers. But again, and I'll bold this text to make sure you see it, I do not think the Fila I met were very good examples of the breed.

I would like to meet good examples of the breed. I would like to meet some Fila who live up to the hype that Fila owners swear by. I have only met a few Fila so far, so the next ones I meet I would like them to be the "real deal".

see now if we were having this convo in person, after you said "i wasnt impressed", i would have said "oh ya, what didnt ya like about them?" im not getting all defensive i just wanted to know why you didnt like them. i was just curious cause you didnt specify what it was you didnt like

 

[fila4me]

and a "real"Fila is NOT a man-eater!None of my friends with Filas or the people I have met over the years of owning and showing have ever referred to their Filas as such.That is a horrible image to project on such an amazing breed.A "real" Fila has a strong and consistent temperament.I can promise anyone with everything I own that my Fila will protect and defend anything and everyone they consider theirs! I can guarantee that my Filas will not hesitate for even a nano second to do their job if the need arises. I can also say the my Filas will not go crazy in public or in a social setting if they do not need to.

 

[BradA1878]

I would like to have a ringside seat when you get to meet your real deal fila. LOL

Yes, fila people are very defensive about their dogs and the breed in general. I think they inspire that loyalty in their owners. I have owned many dogs in my lifetime but I have never had one that has been so dedicated to me.

As you know Brad, finding a good well bred dog is hard in any breed. I don't think anyone should be surprised that they are going to see more poor examples than good.

Man, I hope it tries to eat me (again, this is a figure of speech)! At the end of the day, after owning the dogs I've owned, and being in the PPD world for awhile, I use this gauge whether I like a dog or not: Did it scare the shit out of me? If yes, I want it.

I totally agree, unfortunately there are a lot of unimpressive dogs in every breed. It's very sad.

see now if we were having this convo in person, after you said "i wasnt impressed", i would have said "oh ya, what didnt ya like about them?" im not getting all defensive i just wanted to know why you didnt like them. i was just curious cause you didnt specify what it was you didnt like

Ok, my apologies.

What I didn't like about the Filas I met in person...

1) They seemed to lack "Ojeriza". One came up and greeted me and was friendly, while the other allowed me to pet him. The second one (that allowed me to pet him) was young, so he maybe had not matured yet. But the first one, who greeted me, was 4 years old. Just based on my research and what I have read here, I wouldn't expect them to be friendly toward a stranger.

2) The others 3 I met were not friendly to me at all (this is good IMHO), however when I watched them worked by a decoy I saw some "nervey" behavior that I didn't like to see. Like "air humping" when on the sleeve, or always moving behind the decoy (even while on bite) to avoid head-on confrontation. Also I saw a lot of really active and impressive initial displays and bites, but then once the decoy held ground the fight in the dogs started to die off (which is indicative of a PPD who has never learned to really fight the decoy, they've only ever been reinforced for the initial display or bite). I also heard a lot of "nervey" barking - as the decoy added pressure to the dog the bark got higher pitched and more frantic.

3) This is just a general thing that I saw with the decoys and I have seen this a lot in many of the CAFIB videos, the decoy uses all these objects when agitating the dogs (which is fine). What I do not like, that I have seen a lot with Fila, is that the dogs seem to focus on the objects and not the bad guy. This is bad form IMHO for a PPD. A PPD trained like this can easily be worked around by the "bad guy" simply carrying an object with him as the dog will focus on the object and not the "bad guy".

So, there ya go, that's what I saw that didn't impress me.

 

[BradA1878]

and a "real"Fila is NOT a man-eater!None of my friends with Filas or the people I have met over the years of owning and showing have ever referred to their Filas as such.That is a horrible image to project on such an amazing breed.A "real" Fila has a strong and consistent temperament.I can promise anyone with everything I own that my Fila will protect and defend anything and everyone they consider theirs! I can guarantee that my Filas will not hesitate for even a nano second to do their job if the need arises. I can also say the my Filas will not go crazy in public or in a social setting if they do not need to.

"Maneater" is a figure of speech. It's a common figure of speech in the PPD world. It means a dog who has the civil aggression needed to eliminate a threat. It doesn't literally mean they will eat and consume a man.

Again, with the defensiveness...

 

[fila4me]

would not impress me either! a true Fila should go after the decoy and plow thru whatever it needs to to get to said decoy.I agree you on the,if it scares me-I WANT it!!!that's how I first got into the breed!

 

[fila4me]

"Maneater" is a figure of speech. It's a common figure of speech in the PPD world. It means a dog who has the civil aggression needed to eliminate a threat. It doesn't literally mean they will eat and consume a man.

Again, with the defensiveness...

regardless,not something I as a responsible dog owner like being stated about my breed.irregardless of breed,I have owned Pit Bull for a very long time. I am well aware that there are those that stalk sites such as this to get any kind of info they can use against said breed.what kind of owner would I be if I did not defend my breed(s).speak out of terms about Pit Bull or Dogos and I will get just as defensive.

 

[tojvan]

I would like to have a ringside seat when you get to meet your real deal fila. LOL

Yes, fila people are very defensive about their dogs and the breed in general. I think they inspire that loyalty in their owners. I have owned many dogs in my lifetime but I have never had one that has been so dedicated to me.

As you know Brad, finding a good well bred dog is hard in any breed. I don't think anyone should be surprised that they are going to see more poor examples than good.

I totally get what your saying I mean I've only had my pup for little over 2 months and already he follows me everywhere in the house, every morning I wake up to trig liking my face, no matter how hard I try, he refuses to sleep alone thus me having to go to sleep with him. Lol I can't go to the washroom without him not jumping on the door and barking. No matter how uncomfortable it is he'll still follow me. I mean how can you not be loyal to a dog like that? how can you not be defensive of such a breed.

 

[aceoutdoor]

I also heard a lot of "nervey" barking - as the decoy added pressure to the dog the bark got higher pitched and more frantic.

A "nervey" bark during bitework should be considered normal for a Fila and doesn't normally translate into other nervous behavior. But they should not go behind their owner at anytime with a perceived threat present, and they should not have any issue with focus. They should pick up an agitator long before he gets close and once they both make eye contact, its on.

 

[BradA1878]

A "nervey" bark during bitework should be considered normal for a Fila and doesn't normally translate into other nervous behavior.

Interesting. Why is that? Do they just typically have high pitched barks under stress?

But they should not go behind their owner at anytime with a perceived threat present, and they should not have any issue with focus. They should pick up an agitator long before he gets close and once they both make eye contact, its on.

Oh, sorry. Maybe I was not clear, I meant the dog would go behind the *decoy*, not the owner.

Yea, hiding behind an owner is a total fail. lol

 

[aceoutdoor]

Interesting. Why is that? Do they just typically have high pitched barks under stress?



Oh, sorry. Maybe I was not clear, I meant the dog would go behind the *decoy*, not the owner.

Yea, hiding behind an owner is a total fail. lol

Partially yes. Also these dogs more than any other breed regard the agitator as a real threat to their and your life, its no game to them. They are a very vocal and emotional breed and they wear their heart on their sleeve. Not all make that noise, but in my opinion some of the most intense temp wise I have seen have.


A good Fila should always stand between the owner and the threat and stay there. However there are dogs that win best of show at shows/expos that do not maintain that position and even circle behind their owner, at the same time there are other dogs that are kicked out of the ring for showing aggressive behavior towards a judge who got way too close for comfort.

 

[chuckorlando]

Kona alerts in a deep tone. She goes full on in a high pitch frantic crazy sounding crap. I dont know how to explain it but it is deff not what one would expect from a big dog with a big bark

 

[aceoutdoor]

Kona alerts in a deep tone. She goes full on in a high pitch frantic crazy sounding crap. I dont know how to explain it but it is deff not what one would expect from a big dog with a big bark

Exactly, its normal for some Filas especially Alpha females and should not be associated with weak nerves or lack of temperament. Filas are just different in so many ways.

 

[dogman#1]

Brad, dont get discouraged. When I was 1st researching the breed I got to see some of the same stuff you are talking about...adults literally jumping on my lap (yep, loose in their own home), begging for pettings and treats like a freaking poodle... the bad nerves is the biggest thing to be worried about. The ones that put up a big display as if... as soon as the agitator comes at them and forces his way in they crumple, pee, tuck tail and run. I have seen some redirect towards their handlers because they are holding the leash that is keeping them from running further. Now the ones that get tricky are the trained ones... remembered all the trained dogs from your PPD days? were they prey or defense driven? most likely prey as that is the easiest to train (notice I wrote train). look for the sleeve happy dogs, the ones that take that sleeve back to their owner with their tail up all proud of themselves, the ones that have been worked on prey for so long that they have that yelp when they get so excited cause they know the "Gift" (sleeve) is coming to relieve their prey driven induced anxiety.... those are examples of what a trained fila who had no ojeriza to begin with but with decent nerve would be.. we all know that a dog with bad nerves would never be any good even if trained, but it can be masked. a dog with bad nerve who was trained (and yea, ive seen this and it is very obvious) hits the sleeve like a sack of bricks however once the sleeve is slipped and the decoy is still approaching you see the terror in the eyes and that "oh shit" stance. Now about that shrieking banshee yell (bark) that filas do... yes it is related to stress, the good ones will overcome the stress and press forward the others will get run off the field. remember these arent supposed to be trained during Temp Tests so they should be stressed the hell out and that is the point. You want a dog that can be taken to the brink put have the courage to stand his/her ground and the confidence to bounce back and take the fight to the bad guy... when we look at these PPD/french ring/schutzhund dogs we tend to compare them to filas, COs, or other guardian breeds... this is comparing apples to oranges. Those dogs have literally been trained pretty much as soon as they could walk to handle that stress and react that way we are now putting a green dog armed with nothing but instinct and expect it to act in the same exact manner... not gonna happen (although you would be surprised how naturally talented some of these guys are).

 

[Geisthexe]

Amen Dogman!!!

 

[aceoutdoor]

It should be noted that pups sometimes make that nervey bark when biting a toy or dragging a garden hose when very young. They are not really stressed at that time.

 

[Tiger12490]

Kona alerts in a deep tone. She goes full on in a high pitch frantic crazy sounding crap. I dont know how to explain it but it is deff not what one would expect from a big dog with a big bark

Athena does it....I always tell her shes too big to make those sounds

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[Kate Williams]

Fila's are amazing. I adore my Corso and couldn't imagine not having one in my pack but I would love to have a Fila.

 

[chuckorlando]

almsot kinda houndy sounding

 

[Geisthexe]

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Tiger .. Clear your email so I can send ya that info

 

[Tiger12490]

Tiger .. Clear your email so I can send ya that info

Done :thumbup:

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