My Quest for (and Information about) The Fila

My wife and I ran into a couple of fila's at an AKC dog show (they must have been along for the ride and not showing, as the fila is not an AKC recognized breed.) They were a couple of beautiful brindle females (at least I think that I remember them being females... it was a while ago and my memory may indeed be wrong on that point.) I, not knowing their breed, just swooned at how beautiful the dogs themselves were. They definately had an air about them. My wife informed me that she thought they were Filas. And that began my research. No, seriously, right then and there with the web browser on my cell phone my research began.

The amount of information out there on the filas is actually fairly miniscule. You, when researching the breed, will come across the same 5 paragraph canned speech about the breed on 95% of all web pages which mention filas. This is a very unfortunate circumstance because this breed is *perfect* for the right person and *disasterous* for the wrong person. So I'm going to attempt to aggregate all the information about fila's that I can remember off the top of my head into this post. Seeing as I don't actually own a fila, please feel free to offer corrections as necessary (how else shall we learn) and please don't take this as gospel! Everyone but one man once thought the earth was flat... building on other peoples knowledge is the backbone of discovery but accepting it as the whole truth without investigation is the backbone of ignorance! It's a fine line! Be aware!

First thing that's important to know about filas in this day and age is that there are basically 4 types of breeders all attempting to accomplish different things with the line. This, in itself, lends to some confusion about the breed. The four breeder types come from two characteristics: temperment and appearance.

Breeder #1 Look: Hound, Temperment: Aggressive

Breeder #2 Look: Mastiff, Temperment: Aggressive

Breeder #3 Look: Hound, Temperment: Mild(er)

Breeder #4 Look: Mastiff, Temperment: Mild(er)

These different breeder goals stems from a general disagreement on the original traits of what would be considered the modern day fila. Which of the 4 I agree with will come later on. But this was a necessary side bar to place up front for prospective fila owners to place a special emphasis on choosing not only a good breeder, but the right type of ghood breeder who will give you a dog which fits your expectations.

There is probably quite a lot missing here, and since I am writing this in a stream-of-consiousness style it's probably a bit jumbled. Again I welcome corrections or expansions to the ideas and theories put forth!

(Part 2 To Follow)

---Temperment

It's long been held that the filas temperment is of much more importance to the breed standard than the apearance of the dog itself. The Fila, simply put, is unshaken in the face of danger and uncertainty, is capable of working out a situation or scenario without the help of outside input, and is both protective and loyal to its pack (read: "owners"), and (importantly) it is distrustful of strangers!

Thats great canned text but what this means to you is that a Fila will, weigh every situation that it enters on its own merrits. The Fila will decide if an action is aggressive, or if an intention is bad, or if a person has stepped outside their boundaries. And the Fila will, once it's come of age, (and this is important) actively work to protect its family from anything that it percieves as danger. You do not have to train your fila to be protective of you, your house, or your family -- as a matter of fact they will be protective of you and yours regardless of your training! This means that if your long lost brother Ted comes over and lunges at you for a hug as soon as you open the door He's likely to end up on the ground pinned by 140 lbs of snarling dog in soiled pants. The fila has been described as a bipolar breed: they can be as gentle and accepting of you and your family, and absolutely ferocious to anything that it (not you) considers a threat.

It is for this reason that you absolutely must remain in control of your dog at all times. You must retain a high level of obedience, and you must know how your dog will react before it does (to avoid getting into situations which are undesirable (like poor Ted)

---Bonding

As mentioned earlier all Filas have a distrust of strangers. This can be eased by proper (and prolific) socialization, but It cannot be quite squelched. What socialization will do for your Fila is *not* make it like strangers, but make it understand that not every stranger is, for the sake of being a stranger, out to cause harm. The Best question to ask at this point is "what constitutes a stranger?"

I'm glad you asked! The Fila bonds with its pack at a bery young age. Anyone who spends a good deal of time with it when it is a very young puppy is not a stranger. I have to admit that I'm unclear on how difficult it is to get someone from "stranger" status to "family" status with a 1 or 2 year old Fila as opposed to a 4 month old puppy. My assumption is that with a lot of time and effort it is possible, but requires a lot of patience, understanding and commitment on the new person's part. Therefor when you get your young Fila it's important to immediately go about socializing it both with the people that it should trust as family and other dogs. My suggestion is: your vet, your groomer, anyone who will come over to the house a lot, and anyone who might be watching them when you need a babysitter.

---Physical characteristics

Of all of the characteristics of the fila this is actually the least important. Especially as the breed standard is in flux as far as the hound vs mastiff debate goes. Get one and love it. Doesnt matter what it looks like. I, personally, want a Mastiff Brindle, but will be extactic to get a Hound Faun as well!

---Other pets

Filas are not dog aggressive. But they do have both an herding and prey drive, so it is important to socialize them as early and often as possible. A fila seems to view other pets as they view family members, and are thus very gentle and kind, gauging their strength on te basis of the strength of the other playmate. I do dont know of any specific examples of behavior at dog parks, per se, but my reading sugggests that a very well trained obedient dog who's been properly socialized as a pup and has an attentive owner should have no problem in a dog park situation.

---So how will te behave when ticked off?! (or scared)

Another excellent question! The short answer is that any dog who has been driven to the point of anger, or scared, is a dangerous thing and must be handled properly. From the little rat-dogs to the big giant dogs... A scared or angry dog is not a thing to be taken lightly.

But for a more specific answer to your question: The fila will not spook. Any sign of cowardice in an adult fila is directly against the breed temperment standard. Allow me to digress. There are several temperment tests for this particular breed, and two of them are: Having a gun fired within 15 feet of the dog and it not showing any sign of fear (no flinching, shirking back, tucking the tail) it should simply observe with interest what the person with the gun does next, another test for the temperment of the fila is that if someone attacks the owner with a stick or other impliment the dog should respond in an aggressive and protective manner wihtout any regard for its own life. Again I must stress that these things are not taught but are instintive in the breed. You HAVE to be in control with this breed. Experienced owners only!

Back to the matter at hand. The Fila probably wont tuck tail and avoid the situation if it feels something or someone in its care is threatened. However, once this percieved danger has passed the Fila should no longer care about the source. The Fila probably wont hold any sort of drudge against the aggressor unless they come back within an uncomfortable range. Luckily you wont have to chase your dog down the block to stop running after someone. It'll simply be happy that you're no longer in danger.

Again, please, much of this is from research only, and not my experience in owning a fila!

---Health problems

The Fila suffers from the same health problems that most giant breed dogs suffer from: Hip and Joint problems, Cancers, And Bloat. Buy from a responsible breeder, Avoid kibble if at all possible, and make sure that you go to the vet for regular checkups.

---Breed history (short version)

The Fila is the nationa dog of Brazil.. It's spawned the brazilian truism/proverb "Faithful as a Fila." In brazil you might hear someone say that their truck is faithful as a fila, meaning that the truck has never let him down.

The fila was originaly bred to fufil the plantation owners need for an extremely versatile dog. Mastifs, and Hounds (from england) were bred together (possible with some bulldog (an extinct breed) and... great dane (although that was stopped because this didnt add anything to the line from the perspective of the farmers))

The Farmers needed

A guard dog
A companion
A hunting dog
A herding dog
A tracking and holding dog

The filas, as a guard dog, were employed to protect the owners property, sometimes in huge areas.

The filas, as a companion, were used to watch children

the filas, as a hunting dog, were used to hunt jaguar, and boar (anything which threatened the owners livestock)

The filas as a herding dog were used to control cattle

And, during the time that slavery was legal in brazil, the fila was used to track down and detain run away slaves. It was undesirable to kill the slave, simply to detain them (thus holding)

---Is this the breed for you?

If you are an experienced dog owner. If you know how to be the alpha dog with a strong willed pack. If you have a low traffic house, and a tollerance for slobber. If you dont mind a 140 lb lap dog. If you have time and energy to spend being with and bonding with your pet throughout its life, if you have high sturdy fences, and if you have more than a small back yard, If you want a dog to be loyal to a fault and protect you and yours with its life, to be tollerent of your children and other pets, and to serve you with its last breath with unquestioning love and obedience, this could be the pet for you

If you are not strong willed. If you are unable or unwilling to be a stickler for obedience, if your home gets a lot of strange traffic, if you cannot handle routine, if you arent ready for a dog with a real individual (not just breed secific) personality (complete with unique quirks), if you've never owned a dog before. this breed is NOT for you.

---My personal opinions

I personally like the mastiff look better. But this in no way reflects negatively on the hound look

I personally think that an even temperment is probably closer to the original temperment mainly because of the fact that they were farm dogs. With any farm you get hired hands coming in in shifts with certain seasons. A dog unwilling to accept that new hired hands are allowed to work their feilds would be counter productive, and on the other hand they have to be wary enough to disallow strangers from entering the house unaccompanied.

Inu... hmmm..

So are you looking to get one? Or just researching the breed because you like the look so much?

I want to get one. Once we're in a position to own more than one dog (landlords rule...) I thought I'd post this here to kind of aggregate information about the breed. There are a lot of different sources with bits and pieces of information. but relatively few thorough sources on the subject.

Sorry, Inu?

^Your avatar, it means "inu" dog in japanese... Sorry, I see so many symbols all over the place and rarely do people know what them mean, I'm japanese. I saw a guy once that had "niwatori" tattooed on his arm, it was supposed to say "eagle" but it really means chicken..LOL

HAH! Ahh!

Thanks for the info there. I'll have to remember that. Truth be told I kind of just browsed through a bunch of avatars and picked one suitable. My apologies for spreading and participating in ignorance!

Note to self: Avoid tatoos in foreign languages. Makes me wonder how many english tatoos are mispelled abroad!

LOL thats hilarious!! A friend of mine went to get a chinese symbol that says "Princess" on her ankle.. once it was done and such, someone told her it meant "Prince" instead. lol so she got a tattoo over top of it lol

that would suck!!
Sorry.. off topic..

Oh my gosh! I cannot believe Renee, Buckshot, and myself, have missed this post.

Let me clarify a few things. First and foremost...we never use the word aggressive as a Fila dog owner. It is a forbidden word in our realm. Our dogs are not aggressive, they are protective, and defensive. Their is a difference, a major difference.

Filas are an extraordinary breed. It is not about dominating a Fila, it is all about outsmarting a Fila. You have to be smarter or at least as smart as your dog. A person that isn't, will not be able to handle a Fila. They are very smart, calculative, manipulative, and egotistical dogs. I am convinced they are aliens from another planet. They love to be noticed and are convinced they are the best thing since the creation of dirt. However, they don't want strangers touching them.

The reason for heavily socializing a Fila is to teach the dog the difference in situations. It is imperative they recognize a dangerous situation from a normal situation. Thus, knowing if Ted is going to hurt you, or if he just giving you a hug.

As far as dog parks...I would never recommend a Fila at a dog park. It places your dog in a very high risk situation. Not necessarily the dogs, but the people. It just isn't a wise idea, it is not a controlled environment. These dogs are already banned in several countries, and on bsl lists. Why push the issue and take a chance?

I do have a lot of company that frequents my house, but it is an controlled environment. My husband has clients that come over and buy crane parts and check on their equipment. I have clients that drop in. Brutus as well as Roxie have both been heavily socialized, at home, and away from home. They both are wary of strangers, but they have their favorites that they have accepted long ago. The others, they prefer to stay away from. They have also been taught the phrase, it's ok...they know to chill.

I think too many people are under the impression that Filas are maniacal killers. They are not. They are very smart and can size up a situation and human faster than you as a human ever will. Even as a young puppy they have a very discerning spirit.

As Renee has always said," they understand cause and effect, very well"

They are great all around dogs. They do have a high prey drive, they love to catch and eat snack food, or fast food as Renee calls it. A fila would not have been afraid of the possum on your fence. It would have been trying to get the possum.

I don't worry about Brutus jumping my fence. It is only 4ft high, but he would rather be with us and stay close to us. They are very, very, velcro dogs.

You will find a Fila is going to be very different than Buddy. You have to use different tactics to train a Fila than most ordinary(normal) dogs.

One other thing... I would never recommend crate training a Fila. Not a good idea for those legs, and bones.

And...they love redheads.

For starters, here's the link to the real deal on Filas. I've met the woman responsible for this site, even met one of her dogs, Betina. She's been immense help to me and an invaluable source of accurate information on a subject (Filas) where there is a gross amount of misinformation floating around.

If you'll do a search using the term "Fila" here in the Chazhound forums, you'll turn up a whole library of stuff and some very funny stories.

My Shiva is here at the store with me today to shoot some TV footage for a cable women's show that we are hosting this month

Lovely dogs! I do go to a lot of dog shows (at least one every month) and I have met quite a few Fila owners and also breeders. There are many from Italy that come and show in my country and also from Austria. We have 2 breeders that have very nice dogs and I can proudly say that I hugged and kissed most of them ...... they are lovely breed for experienced owners (not me though) and if I was a breeder i'd be very careful about who gets one of my puppies.
Good luck with your search! Here are the sites of our breeders..... just to give some idea :
http://www.do-ribeiro-preto.com/ABOUTUSEN.htm
http://www.sloland.net/eindex.html

I figured I was just being ignored

Ahh, yes, in the breeder differences section. as it was explained to me there are breeders who are specifically working on steering the breed towards the super distrustful bordering on maniacly protective... and while I dont agree with that idea (at ALL) still anyone looking to get one of these amazing dogs needs to know that the question needs to be asked: "how are you breeding for temperment" and not to let "I breed filas with temperments as they were originally" go without good clarification!

Wow, ok, sorry, let me clarify... "in control" and "heavy obedience", to me, is not anything like "beat down the dog at the drop of a hat" NO! NO WAY! but coming when called, regardless or any desires or distractions. and a *strong* "leave it" are what I mean.

yes, precisely!

buddy goes to the dog park every single day (almost) and he's always understood the idea of neutral territory. I would think that as long as we can , from a young age, have them go together, and really "get" that this is not "my area" it would be alright, wouldnt it?

spiffy that is exactly what I want!

unfortunately the human condition makes a past time of ignorance...

I look forward to the research, and the challenge!

hmm... Good point... Will have to think about that... I would like to have an area (even if not a crate) which was roughly the same (safe place, nap time, etc)

"Honey... we need to go get you some hair dye!"

I'd love to visit the site! Link please?

Yes, definately breeders ought to be careful about who gets these dogs. They are not for your average person! I just hope they never become so popular as to become the "dog of choice" for things like protecting drug labs or some other equally as obnoxious thing... That would almost gaurantee bad press and bsl...

Thanks!

*smacks forehead with heel of hand* I've done it AGAIN! Sorry . . . http://www.mindspring.com/~anableps/fila.html

When they're pups, we puppy-proof the laundry room and let them stay there when we're gone. As soon as they're reasonably reliable about housetraining, they sleep in the bedroom with us. They are Guardians, and it drives them crazy not to be able to check on things. A crated Fila is a crazed Fila . . .

Housetraining has been a breeze in my experience. Buffy didn't even need any. She was fine from the hour she came home. Shiva and Kharma took a week or so each. Of course, I had Bimmer to help

Oh, and here's a first hand description of the Fila temperament and what to expect from a properly bred Fila: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5105&postcount=4

Brutus was very easy to house train. He is the only dog I have ever had that would actually pee on demand. Not so much anymore...he is twelve months old. I don't enforce it that much...he knows when he needs to go.
I used my master bathroom or the laundry room for him...depending on day or night. After that he slept with us until he took the king size bed over completely.
One thing...you can talk to these dogs. You don't have to try the usual methods of training. You can talk to them and they understand. When I thought it was time for Brutus to get off our bed and back in his own. I talked to him. I Told him why, and he understood. He will not get back on our bed for nothing. I tried when Keith was out of town, he looked at me and went to his bed. I miss snuggling up to him when Keith is gone, but he knows he needs to help Roxie watch the house, as she is going blind in one eye. He took that responsibility very seriously.