American Canine Association

Breeds

Fila Brasileiro


History

Developed from the Mastiff, Bloodhound, Bulldog and Rafeiro breed bloodlines, the Fila Brasileiro is a very strong breed in every single way. This breed has been around for thousands of years and was originally used to track down escaped slaves and return them to their masters. Today, this breed is known for being a fierce guard dog and family companion who is not typically able to be out in public around strangers.

Appearance

The Fila is a massive dog in appearance with males and females measuring 25-29 inches in height and weighing 90-110 pounds in weight. This breed has an extremely large head that is broad and rounded at the sides where their two, large pendant shaped ears fall gently alongside of their face. Their massive muzzle is rectangular, broad and carries extreme jaw power. Skin is loose at their muzzle, causing regular drooling. Their face has few wrinkles on it around their two large, almond shaped eyes available in a light hazel to black in color. Their general body build is long, tall, rectangular and very strong in appearance. Their tail is strong, large in length, thicker at the base and tapers to a point at the end. Their entire body carries loose skin. Their single layer, short hair coat is tight to the skin and semi smooth to the touch, but should always demonstrate a natural shine. Their coat is available in fawn, black and brindle, white is generally on the chest.

Temperament

The Fila Brasileiro is a breed that comes with a warning label. This breed is not suited for most families due to the intense leadership they require within an owner, as well as their strong protection instincts. This breed is good with children that he or she grows up around, however this breed only bonds with few people and will generally only be able to be around those within the family home. This breed is fierce and viscous when it comes to intruders, strangers and any of those who he or she feels is a threat to the family. This is not a breed suited for those families who are social, and enjoy holding social gatherings at home. When owning a Fila, it is important to be fully aware of the breed history, tendencies and personality. The Fila is very smart, strong minded dog, extremely large in size and can easily become aggressive with the wrong owner. This breed is not active indoors, however they required a fully fenced in yard to roam within while outdoors. We recommend owners of this breed take early obedience courses with their dog to learn how to properly remain in control. This breed is not allowed in certain areas and neighborhoods, so be sure to double check all of the information you need to, prior to adding one to your family. Friends of the family, or children that aren't over on a daily basis, need to be aware of you owning this breed, as you as a responsible owner should be sure to have your Fila properly separated from strange company when and if need be. Any potential owner of this breed needs to take all things seriously when considering adding a Fila to their family. This is not a breed that can be re-homed or put within a rescue if all doesn't work out. Potential owners need to be 100% sure that they are choosing the right breed, have the right resources to reach out to for training and assistance if need be, and have a stable home and environment to keep their FIla a part of their family life long, prior to actually adding one to it. When prop

Grooming

This breed does drool and shed daily. Daily brushing and bathing when needed.

Special Notes

This breed isn't meant for most families. Please fully research yourself about the Fila Brasiliero prior to adding one to your family to ensure you are choosing the right breed. Please be certain you are able to provide life long physical and financial care to your new addition. This breed requires a properly fenced in yard while outdoors at all times. This breed is prone to bloat and gastric torsion. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.

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