Anyone know about Fila Brasileiro's - Page 1

This is a breed I saw a few days ago and I am intrigued. But when I did a little research, I did not find much and I do not think it is recognized by AKC.  Does anyone know anything that they could share? I would have posted on the mastiff forum but it does not have traffic. It is also called a Brazilian mastiff.
Stephanie

http://mastiffdogssite.com/the-brazilian-mastiff.html

I would contact Jesus Llano. He breeds them and is a very knowledgable trainer as well. He is located in hialeah florida and worked with phil hoelcher a long time. He trained and bred gsd's as well and wanted to breed to a male I had years ago. Very nice guy. Kurt

You can look into the breed through the American Rare Breed Ass. - http://www.arba.org/fila_brasileiro.htm 
Also find shows local to you where you can go see the breed & meet breeders. I've had close friends that owned this breed. They are laid back calm dogs around the house. Loyal & affectionate with family. But they are a serious guardians & do not accept strange people or animals in their homes / property. You will need to be a very responsible dog owner & have experience to handle this breed. They are not the type of dog you bring to your local dog park for play time. But they service their jobs guarding their family & property better than any other breed I've ever seen, if you live in the right environment for them. They would not do well in the city / suburbs / high traffic area, only because liability & containing the dog will present more challenges. My 3 friends with Fila's all had different experiences with the breed. One was more open with strangers & more friendly in public than the average for the breed. He lived with 3 small children & other dogs. My other friend had 3 Fila's who were all more standard in temperament for the breed. They were wonderful with the family & their other pets, but could not be handle / touch by anyone else. My 3rd friend lived in Brazil & her family had the breed for generations. In that country most home owners have large stone walls around their property. The Fila's rome around the property guarding from thieves / poachers.
They adored the breed & rely on they for protection. They are a wonderful breed if they fit your lifestyle & you require a strong guardian.
Good Luck, & hope you get more info.

  

I had a Fila bitch in the early 1990's - I bought her from a Brazilian breeder who moved to Texas - Clelia Kruel. Abby had a typical Fila temperment when she was an adult - suspicious of strangers (i.e - anyone who was not family), but the dog was very clear-headed and was well aware who constituted a threat and who did not. Filas are mastiffs so they drool - you HAVE to have a drool towel! Filas are well suited for living (and guarding) some acres in the country but I think the temperment of the dog does not suit it to living in the city. 

Back when I had my bitch HD was common (breeders didn't Xray) - I think that breeders have addresssed that problem but I have not kept up with the breed stats.

Kate

Just out of interest, in the UK

Pit Bull Terrier

Japanese Tosa

Dogo Argentino

Fila Braziliero 

 are all banned.

Im sure you all knew this anyway, i wasnt arguing a point or trying to make a staement, simply sharing the information out of interest.

 

here in Mexico they are famous for being excellent guard dogs. It is the only FCI breed which the judge is not allowed to touch, since they are not meant to be friendly to strangers. Very fierce protectors, though would not consider it if you live in a crowded/urban area.

I used to see quite a few of them at the ARBA shows, and we had a couple here we trained for clients a ways back. Kind of a typical Mastiff, not overly quick or emotional for the most part. The drool, however, is absolutely disgusting, most of them at the ARBA shows wore bibs until it was time to go into the ring IIRC.

Annette

One of my son's friends had a Fila, NOone could visit. The dog went through a hollow bedroom door once after a stranger. No issues with family members, but they lived in a medium sized house with a little yard, & the dog was huge. It's territory was the house & yard, & it was locked up much of the time to prevent disasters. Didn't have much of a life, but it sure loved it's family.
Never knew it's name, poor thing. jackie harris

I owned one 15 years or so ago. My family has always had a large dog, ie. rotts, dobes, and a real presa canario. I bought my fila as my own dog, and will say they are very loyal to their family, and quite gentle and laid back, but will perceive anyone that doesn't belong to them as a threat and will react as such. Some tend to get HUGE, but my male weighed in at 172 pounds and had a 31" neck. This is the type of dog for someone wanting a loving family dog that will protect for real, and not for someone wanting a big mean dog to show off. I was told by a reputable breeder when I was researching the fila that "you don't train them to attack. They know how to do that just fine. You have to train them to not attack." I did sell my dog to a relative because I wanted something a little more active for my lifestyle, and at the time my relative lived in a less than ideal part of town. He lived to be about 10 years old before he passed, and my uncle, who's handicapped, was one of the few houses in his neighborhood that didn't have any issues with break-ins. After I sold the fila I bought the canary dog, and in comparing the two, the fila, even though he was 60 pounds heavier, was by far the easier to handle and far less stubborn than the canary, who recently passed at the age of 13 years. Sorry if I rambled, but I hope the info helped.