Fila's AREN'T supposed to be...

[StephyMei1112]

...Overly friendly/social are they?

We just met one Fila girl and her handler - a older European guy. I asked and he confirmed she was indeed a Fila - and she did look very Fila. She was around a year old and really...friendly. Like super friendly, out-going, and social, slightly hyper too. Very puppy like and enthusiastic.

She might have been poorly bred or perhaps she's got something wrong in her gene pool, maybe she's not even a pure Fila - but that I highly doubt - she looked VERY Fila - in face and figure and everything. *shrug* I dunno - but was something that seemed really peculiar to me and wanted to ask. They're supposed to be extremely distrustful/aloof with strangers but this one was just so...outgoing. Nice dog and really nice looking - but considering she was what she was...unusual in temperament.

[Romy]

It might have been the puppy in her still, but yeah, some individuals are softer than normal. I've never met one who was that outgoing, but I have met filas who would let me pet them and acknowledged I was there after their handlers introduced us.

[StephyMei1112]

Nope, this one came up to me and buried her nose in my crotch then tried to play with Katalin unheard of in the history of the breed I'm sure... No introduction or any interaction with her owner was at all made beforehand.

[Zoom]

There are exceptions to every breed. Or she may not have turned on yet/been of softer temperament. It's hard to say. Then again, one of the harder bitches I know--Renee's Kharma-- put up with some pretty crazy stuff after being properly introduced. These dogs can function out in the world and around strangers just fine, without compromising proper temperament, with proper handling and socialization. Kharma went from chilling out with a group of strangers and their dogs to almost tearing down the front door to go investigate some gunshots in the distance.

[Renee750il]

You'd be amazed at how quickly some of them pick up on the concept of being worshipped, lol. And they can be extremely good at picking up on who is okay and who isn't if they've been well socialized and exposed to a lot of the world and they can make some very subtle differentiations; for instance, Kharma is fine with sitting on a patio at a bar with people drinking, even some of them a little too drunk. She's even been known to share a beer (import only, and sometimes without the beer owner's knowledge), but let a DRUNK walk down the sidewalk and she is ON.

But yah, Kharma can go from socialite to "something needs my very special attention" faster than you can blink.

At a year old, too, there may still be a lot of puppy. Some don't come into their ojeriza until maturity -- and then there are some that simply have a soft temperament. But never bet on that

Oh, and they seem to have a thing for redheads, lol.

[ihartgonzo]

I have met several friendly, chill Filas. Definitely not a Lab but dogs that are more like an English Mastiff in temperament and aren't bothered by nice people and other dogs. It seems like when ever I meet one, I comment about how outgoing they are, and the owner laughs and says their Fila(s) at home are not so friendly. And they are also shocked that I recognize that it's a Fila!!! It's nice that with this breed the owners know when and where is the place for their dogs, depending on their individual temperament. It's so rare to see dog owners who really respect their breed!

I think that just like with any other breed, there are "working" specimens and "pet" specimens. Like there are hot and cold Pit Bulls. And Border Collies with no herding instinct.

[Aleron]

The only one I have really been around was a male who was dog aggressive but never seemed even suspicious of strangers. I'm sure he was probably different at home but a 12 year old kid brought him to 4H, had him at the county fair a couple years, etc. TBH he seemed to be a sort of dopey, mastiff-y type boy dog. Filas have gained popularity here with pet and umm..the wrong sort of owners and I do wonder how uncommon more tolerant or even social temperaments really are in the breed these days.