Catscan, People who are not willing to learn about a breed, regardless of the type, should not get one. The Fila is one that has much misinformation surrounding it and its temperment. Sadly there are many breeders out there of filas with incorrect temperments, and they dont inform a buyer what they are getting. Some will even go so far as to say you can socialize the temperment to being more mellow. Not true in a dog with correct temperment. The fila that bit their friend was doing what filas correctly should do. The dog should have never been placed in the situation to try to determine what needed to be done. That was the dogs car and the friend was trying to 'steal' from it. This breed is not aggressive, but highly protective. There is a difference. Pit bulls are not a people aggressive breed but have been bred to be unstable by those wanting to make a quick buck. Most Chihuahuas are more people aggresive than most pit bulls, you just dont read chihuahua attacks child, because they cant do the damage any larger breed of dog can. Its physics. They assess a situation and protect what they feel most needs to be done. They are known for rounding the kids up in a group to get in front of them when faced with a stranger. NO amount of socialization will OVERCOME a correct temperment filas natural instinct to guard, anymore than you can teach a basset hound not to sniff. This breed is not for 99.999 % of the american population. I have owned the breed for 18 years now and currently own 4 of them. My dogs are well behaved, and unless you try to pet them or harass me you would never know the potential. They are NEVER allowed access to strangers, PERIOD. Unless you live with me and are considered one of the family, be you people or other species, I would not allow my dog to be uncontained around you. They are devoted to the death for those they consider family. The bond is so extreme that when I get one into rescue sometimes they refuse to eat til they die, pining for their loved ones. Once we are bonded, regardless of the filas age, it is like I raised the dog. A correct fila would die before it hurt a family member. They are the national dog of Brazil. They say "Faithful as a Fila". They have "Ojeriza", meaning hatred of strangers. I have had a Fila get in between me and my daughter when she was about to get a spanking. Stopped me in my tracks, the look in his eye as he layed his head over her. Some get upset when I tell this story, but i give my filas the right to protect my kids over all else, and he did. Amazing intelligence and judgement. I have never felt unsafe while in the presence of my filas. They just give me warning and time to grab the gun. ANY dog can be dangerous with the wrong owner. Punish them, not the dog. We should always be responsible for what they do and where they are. Kathy aka Filaluvr
