I would like to increase to knowlodge here in this topic about the Filas's Pedigrees. The first thing the breeder's need to know when they start a new breed were to surf in pedigrees come back to the old stocks. My contribution now is to help anyone to know more about the strains that have been used in most best Kennels in Brazil and Europe since 1956-1970's... the golden age from the breed... In those time the focus are in temperament "ojeriza" the quality that were very apreciated and a unique characterist from Filas. I invite all Filas breeder to share your pedigrees in this topic. I begin with my own bloodline... with the best description of old strain.. Redcapo's Leo http://www.negociorural.com.br/bandog/leo.html The Dog "Bacanão do Sobrado" were the best dog in Show in 80's. The strain from his sire were from the owner Paulo Santos Cruz. The suffix "parnapuan" from his Kennel were very famous. Santos wrote the Standard of the breed , wiich was recognised by the FCI in 1946. During the 1940's Santos start to visit fazendas (farm) to acquire puppies because he need to colect dogs with protection nedeed and having heard about the excellent qualities of the fezendeitos' dog. The other pure strains very goog are with the Suffix: Gameleira Engenho Velho Itapuã Amparo Boa Sorte Kirimaua Aquidabã Pirai Cruzeiro do Sul São Jose da Lapa ABC Kirigonza Sobrado Seleção Caramona Jaguara Travessão Serra de Minas

These is the copy of the email passing by the Owner of the best line of Fila from brazil.Medium 45kg , fine dogs, with high ojeriza level.Old strain back to 70's. My best regards and I hope that I might also have answered the questions contained between the lines of your email. Olegário SÃO JOSÉ DA LAPA KENNEL FILA BRASILEIRO" ....As you can see Antares fits perfect well the Fila Brasileiro official standard of the breed, including the very sharp and protective temperament. Remember the 9 Th Commandment : "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor". This is the reason I did not point out my finger at any possible mixers, as the author wants me to do, as written in page 300 of her book. If there were mixers in S. Paulo and Rio, what about the mixers from Minas Gerais? Fila breeders in Minas Gerais were the very first ones to mix Filas with hound dogs, Boxers and Great Danes, but Cafib people insist in accusing only breeders from S. Paulo and Rio. There has never been an iron curtain separating one state from another, neither fences around the ranches in Brazil. The Filas would cross freely with other breeds that existed in the ranches, and even with wild dogs. This shows how strong the basic characteristics of the Fila Brasileiro are. The breed survived constant crossings during 300 or 400 years. I have been selecting the so called "pure and authentic Filas", as the author likes to say, for over 24 consecutive years, in accordance with the official standard of the breed, nevertheless I would not be surprised if in some litter a puppy shows up with a bulldog tail or with an undershot bite. These may be the ancestors genes popping out (atavism), just like the gene B for the black color. I can observe the black color in pedigrees, going back to l946, with initial registrations from Filas brought from Minas Gerais. The black list Mrs. van Damme published, the same one from l979, is a joke. It lists Nubia de Samor, an excellent Fila in all senses. Her pedigree shows that she is half Samor and half Parnapuan, coming directly from Uri and Ela de Parnapuan. My first stud was the incredible most condecorated Fila of his time: Gr.Intl.Ch., South Am. Ch., National Ranking Winner in 1980, Orixa do Kirongozi. Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz himself judged him for three times and for three times gave him the Best of Breed. Some time later he called him a "mongrel".... I judged Orixa myself one time and I also gave him the Best of Breed. He had no faults, plus a terrific movement and a sharp temperament, but very well controlled. Nevertheless some blind cafibians placed him in that destructive black list. No one cares about the 9th. commandment. Who is going to believe in cafibians after that? It is right to preserve the breed but not to drag to gaz chambers excellent Filas based on suppositions. Fanatics never prevailed and Cafib is in coma in Brazil. When Mrs. van Damme states in page l47 that "fuera del standard del fila puro están" and gives a long list, in which are included dogs like Cacibe dos Pampas (Trinity) and Araribóia, who actually are the ancestors of Boa Sorte dogs, she is spiting on her own plate. I cannot imagine why she uses dogs who got only two generations in their pedigrees. How can she accuse anyone if some of her dogs got only a Secondary Registration which unfortunately is allowed by CBKC ? This cafibian paranoia about dark brindles and black Filas is based on false information. They always existed in Minas Gerais and other states of Brazil. In accordance with Enio Monte and Prof. do Valle, who got statements from reliable breeders, in the 50'’s there was a ranch in Minas Gerais called Morro Grande, located in Varginha, owned by Coronel Antonio Mariano dos Reis, Besides fawns and brindles, Mr. Reis also has a whole line of black Filas. The Reis family, together with José Gomes de Oliveira, were the greatest Fila breeders during the 40's and 50's in Minas Gerais. Renato Ribeiro Reis started to breed Filas in l948. He used to tell that the Fila that most impressed him was Nero, a black Fila from Morro Grande ranch. Still in the book of Prof. Procópio do Valle and Mr. Enio Monte, we read: José Gomes de Oliveira, from Varginha, MG, was the breeder that furnish the greatest quantity of Filas to São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. His dogs were yellow and brindles, were large, with have heavy heads, lots of dewlaps and excellent temperament, though some of them showed a lot of influence of Great Danes. José Rezende Paiva was the breeder that preserved the last bloodlines of Reis and José Gomes de Oliveira’s Filas.

As he was in need of cattle drovers, and he found the Filas too heavy for the work, he crossed his stock with "German Boxers", and declared that he was pleased with the new product he got. Another breeder from the 50's was Pedro Ribeiro Junqueira de Souza, of Fazenda do Engenho, in Silvestre Ferraz, currently Carmo de Minas and São Lourenço. He started to breed Filas in 1920 with Filas brought from Cristina, near Itajubá, by his brother in law. He selected two different lines: one dark brindle, which sometimes produced gray and blue colors of medium size, very strong with massive heads and lots of dewlaps. The other one was of very large yellow dogs with plenty of dewlaps. From this yellow color line, Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz got a female registered in 1958 under the name of Fera do Parnapuan (BKC register No 16785) which bred to the famous Tamoyo de Parnapuan brought from Conselheiro Lafayete, gave birth on April 23, 1959 to one of the best Parnapuan litters due to their uniformity, size and beauty, in accordance to Mrs.Antonieta Santos Cruz. In this litter was the famous Orixá de Parnapuan, very heavy, 79 cm (31 inches) weighing 94 Kg ( 188 lbs ) besides another nine siblings, among them the black Fila Ogum de Parnapuan, who was kept by Dr. Santos Cruz for reproduction. Unfortunately this dog died at an early age. By the way, as I have already mentioned, Fera de Parnapuan is one of Camping dogs ancestor. Another well know breeder having Filas from the São Francisco valley was João Accioli from Tapiocanga Kennel (1949). It has been recorded that his family, Martins Soares, owned Filas since the end of 1.800 in Neópolis, at the Fazenda Varzea Nova and Engenho Cadoz. They were called "cabeçudos" at that time. Later on, the family and dogs moved to the state of Goiás. Mr. Accioli theory is that the "cabeçudos" were introduced by the legendary "Bandeirantes" (from São Paulo) in Goiás. "Bandeirantes" were explorers from São Paulo traveling through the wild country looking for slaves, gold and diamonds, opening new frontiers and starting settlements in inhabited areas from Brazil. They were in need of Filas during their long expeditions in order to catch Indians and to protect their mules from jaguars. Mr. Accioli tells that Caixeta family was also a great source of Filas between Pires do Rio and Orizona. They were dark brindles in his majority. In 1923 Mr. Accioli saw yellow and black Filas in the ranch owned by the Gonçalves family. The dog that most impressed him was Chibante, a large dog with a very massive head, black with white owned by Mr. Manoel Gonçalves. He tells a story about Chibante bringing down a furious bull that refused to enter the corral threatening the ranchers’s lives. Chibante was also the pack leader and chief guardian of the ranch. He marked his territory in a triangle: Main house, yard and corral. He would not follow the ranchers when traveling with cattle. This work was done by the "atravessados", mixed Filas with hound dogs, who were lighter and preferable for long distances. Mr. Accioli started his kennel with dogs from Santa Cruz, Goiás, and his best dog was Protetor de Tapiocanga, a brindle with white chest and green eyes, registered under KCP # 1585 on January 15, 1952. This dog had excellent litters, very aggressive, some of them black, with white chest and brown patches. He closed his kennel in 1971.

Mr. Gumercindo Saraiva, manager of the Sampaio Moreira ranch in Cajuru, in the hinterland of São Paulo state, bought his first Filas from Meirelles family in Campinas, around 1920. They were dark brindle and also black. Later on he added to his stock Filas from Guaxupé and Varginha, South of Minas Gerais. His best dog was Thor de Samor, an excellent brindle, with a white collar, very strong, and with sharp temperament. Thor de Samor was the father of the famous solid coal black female Xita do ABC which, became Penta Brazilian Champion (five times champion) owned by Samor Kennel. I was glad to read at page 280 that Mrs. van Damme considers Uruce de Kirimaua with a "pedigri impecable". Uruce is a daughter from Temporal de Kirimaua x Amazona de Água Boa. Temporal belongs to Prof Procópio do Valle who bred excellent black Filas. Mr. Jaime Hernantes, owner of El Regato de Subiria Kennel from Spain, bought Uruce de Kirimaua and bred her to Cacique de Itavuvu ( a son of the Gr. Int. Ch. National ranking winner in 1981 Alferes do Camping de Sorocaba) imported from Brazil by German judge Roswita Ketelhon, who kept two puppies from this litter. The male Aquila del Regato de Subiria won the World Championship of Dortmund in 1991. I wish to point out that Alferes do Camping de Sorocaba, sire of Caramuru de Itavuvu, had the following parents: Sire: Gr. Int. Ch. S.Am. Ch. and of National ranking winner in 1980, Orixá do Kirongosi, and dam Nubia de Samor, both listed in Cafib’s black list... At page 266 you may read that Dartagnan da Zagaia Verde (sired by Gr. Int. Ch. National Ranking Winner in 1981 Alferes do Camping de Sorocaba x Agata da Lagoa do Jaburu) was the first Fila to be introduced in France by Mrs. Ledroux, who also introduced Zagaia Verde bloodline in Spain. French judge Mr. Christian Delmas imported Estrela de Tamuana (sire Destemido do Camping x Tunisia do Rodrigues) born in 1988. Estrela became a champion in France. Fripon da Zagaia Verde, a very important reproducer in Spain, comes from Apache do Planalto Central whose parents were: Impala II do ABC and Uganda do Kirongosi. If Mrs. van Damme could spend some more time in Rio de Janeiro looking at pedigrees, she would find out many other "authentic" Cafib approved Filas coming out from dogs mentioned in her black list. Cacib dos Pampas (Trinity) shows up in a good part of Boa Sorte kennel pedigrees. Ch. Elo da Boa Sorte comes from Orixa II do ABC. Hur dos Pampas, Bororo do ABC, Impala do ABC and Rubi do ABC... Others so called "pure Cafib Filas" as Castor de Tamakavi, was sired by Jacu do ABC x Conchita do Itacolomi, having Apache de Sta. Olimpia, Guaira das Sete Barras (this female bred by João Batista Gomes, Sete Barras Kennel), Parrudo do Guarany and Fronteira do ABC in his pedigree. Apache de Sta Olimpia shows up in both Cafib and CBKC bloodlines such as Jirua de Muqui and Boa Sorte kennels. Together with Duna, a black bitch, he produced Pemba do Kirongosi. We see over and over again ABC bloodline mixed in cafibians pedigrees, but Mrs. van Damme seems not to be aware of this fact. She also seems to ignore the fact that Mr. Peltier de Queiroz was the owner of a dog called Dumas dos Pampas, son of Araribóia, and that Mr. Queiroz used Dumas dos Pampas in his kennel called CAFIBRA producing the dog Idi Amin Dada da Cafibra, grandson of Araribóia Curiously these dogs Dumas dos Pampas and Amim Dada da Cafibra (both of Mr. Queiroz) did not enter in the Cafib black list. Looking at the pedigree of Itamar da Princesa d’Oeste (father of Nagan do Amparo) you will find the famous Balaio da Fazenda Poço Vermelho, son of Antar de Samor which was a son of the legendary solid coal black female Xita do ABC, five times National Champion in Brazil. Mrs. van Damme seems to ignore again the pedigrees and ancestors of her Kennel Los Tres Naranjos, Acaboclado, São Fila Kennel and others in Spain that used and still continue to use descendants of Nagan do Amparo, Castor de Tamakavi and Boa Sorte dogs. The same occurs in Germany with Três Curumins and Fazenda Carolina kennels, both having the same bloodline of Castor de Tamakavi, Balaio da Fazenda Poço Vermelho, Antar de Samor, and Xita do ABC.

This certainly was one of the most important lines of the Fila Brasileiro history. ABC is responsible for very famous champions not only in Brazil but also in Europe and in the United States. Monte family started their kennel in 1906 with dogs brought from ranchers of Sorocaba, São Paulo state. In 1920 they acquired and brought to Ipiranga district, where they had their textile industry, a large black Fila with white on the chest to be the guardian of their property. In 1934 they brought in yellow and brindle Filas. In 1939 they started a new line of yellow dogs without black mask, short and wide, with visible influence of boxers and bulldogs. Not satisfied with this line, finally, with the help of the Fila breeder Mr. Lemos de Franca, they acquired a pair (Sansão and Dalila) from São João da Gloria, close to Passos do Sul in Minas Gerais. They were yellow, medium seized, with black masks, with massive heads and good angulations. Later on he still added to his kennel dogs coming from José Alencar dos Reis, Fazenda Morro Grande, and from José Gomes de Oliveira, all from Minas Gerais. In those farms they were many fox hounds, and he noted that some of the dogs brought from Minas Gerais presented the influence of hounds, with white chests and long muzzles. Only through the years he succeeded in fixing a better type more on the Mastiff side, eliminating small heads and patched dogs. The most important blood lines from his kennel were it: A) Orixá de Parnapuan (1959) coming from Conselheiro Lafaiate and Carmo de Minas, Orixa had an excellent stable temperament. He was the Pilar of ABC kennel. His best offspring was Bororó do ABC (1974), excellent reproducer, who imprinted the massive head, lots of dewlaps and excellent temperament in his descendants. Bororó was half Mandaqui line. B) Lambaré do Guassu de Parnapuan _ this dog had a height of 80 cm, was long and some what leggish. Mr. Monte used this dog though he was not very satisfied with the temperament of some of his offsprings. This dog was the only remainder of Parnapuan kennel after a leptospirosis plague dizimated Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz kennel who had to start it all over again with dark brindles females given by Dr. Gregori Warchawchic and a male nicknamed Acarajé, from Fazenda do Engenho, Minas Gerais, registered under the name of Tigre de Araruama. His offsprings transmitted a lot of white. C) Jaca de Itapecerica _ This line also transmitted a lot of white, therefore the dog was given to Mr. Mirtho Amaral. From his descendants became the famous Guaçu do Cruzeiro do Sul, dark brindle, almost black (grandfather of the Gr. Ch. Delicado da Fazenda Poço Vermelho). Guapo do Cruzeiro do Sul was white with brindle patches, owned by Mr. Osny Morais Pinto and Luiz Bartuneck. Both dogs were produced by a brindle small female, with some Boxer influence which came from Guaxupé, Minas Gerais. Albatroz do ABC, also white with brindle patches, one of the most aggressive Filas ever known was used by Dr. Antenor Lara Campos, from Km 26, Estrada do Eldorado, Ilha do Sabiá Kennel. Mr. Lara Campos told Mr. Enio Monte that his grandfather Joaquim Pizza, had already Filas in 1910 as guardians of his property. His father also had Filas in Fazenda da Garça, originated from Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo. They were strong, wide, with heavy heads, yellow or brindles with a black mask, and some of them had a blaze. Lara Campos started his own kennel in 1940 in the Haras Riachuelo in Cotia, São Paulo, and registered his kennel in 1958 under the name Ilha do Sabiá to where he moved in and had over 100 Filas. His best female was Brahma do ABC. Another very nice champion owned by Marilia Barroso Pentagna was Elo da Boa Sorte, coming out from Orixa II do ABC, having Boróró do ABC and Impala do ABC as his great-grandparents, besides Rubi do ABC and Araribóia at the mothers side. It is ridiculous to say that only Cafib dogs are pure, once they come out from the same old ABC breeding stock. Anyone having a collection of old pedigrees can verify it.

Mr. Morais Pinto started it with a female brought from Guaxupé, Minas Gerais, called Guaíra (with initial registration BKC/KCP-22668). She was brindle, small, but strong. Together with Juca de Itapecirica, she produced the famous Guaçu do Cruzeiro do Sul (BKC/KCP-23054), 70 cm heigh, weighing 73 Kg. From this line descends the National Champion Hudson of Bras Dog, who shows up in Orca, Xavante, Baiana, Vereda, Juriti, Hunno, Fumaça, and Aroeira do Boa Sorte pedigrees. Besides this, the pedigree of Raio de Paraibuna,( breeder is Cel. Arthur José Walter Verlangieri, owner of Paraibuna Kennel in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, founder of CMCFB -Clube Mineiro dos Criadores de Fila Brasileiro), shows Hudson of Bras Dog (paulista line) as sire of Raio, Rás, Rainha, Riga, Recruta, and Reiuna de Paraibuna. Paraibuna kennel was a traditional "mineiro kennel" located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, who extensively used "paulista" lines from Bras Dog, Cruzeiro do Sul, Guaporé-Açu, and Itacolomi kennels. At page 189 under the title "Colores permitidas por el standard de la FCI", Mrs. van Damme includes the grey colors (ceniza claro, ceniza prateado), when actually in order languages, "ash", "grey", "cinza", this color is not permitted. Maybe there has been a confusion made with the colors "champagne" and "vinegar" which are permitted under the classification of fawn, not grey. Also, Mrs. van Damme a continuously keeps repeating that black or dark brindles are not permitted by Cafib. She should keep repeating that black and dark brindles are permitted by the official FCI standard. Brindles having a basic color being the stripes either of less intensity or with very long stripes. When you have a black dog with only one yellow stripe, he is considered a dark brindle, not a solid black one. At page 139 the author writes: "La Confederação Brasil Kennel Club no se preocupaba de limpiar su propio establo, al contrario, seguia con los ataques a los "disidentes" del Cafib". I have to say that "the stable" where Mr. Paulo Roberto Godinho (who wrote the prologue of Mrs. van Damme book soaked with Cafib propaganda) is homologated as a judge, will look at the same regulations that suspended judge Christopher Habig from judging in Brazil. No CBKC/FCI judge is allowed to promote a dissident club and Mr. Godinho is openly a declared Cafib follower. "The stable" has a disciplinary and ethical council that will take care of Mr. Godinho soon.

There are people who think the black Fila is not accepted, but that is not true. The official CBKC standard has always accepted it. The reason for the doubt concerning the black color comes from the end of the 70's. In 1978, the group of breeders who formed the Comissão de Aprimoramento do Fila Brasileiro (Cafib), stated that the black in the breed indicated poor breeding - breeding Filas with German Dog, which was done in the 70's. The highest ranking authority entity at the time was BKC (Brasil Kennel Clube, currently CBCK); they did not agree with the statement, and the black Fila continued to be welcomed. The committee decided to dettach from BKC and founded a separate club with their own standard prohibiting that color. The name remained the same, Cafib, but initial "C" stood for Club instead of Committee. In that same year Cafib started to work independently, they launched a monthly journal about the breed. One of the issues addressed frequently was the fact that the black Fila was considered "mestiço". "The negative promotion done by Cafib against the black Fila influenced people," comments Araceli Souza Pontelli, from Kennel Aguascalientes, Valinhos, SP. "Even today, there are many people who come to my kennel and are amazed when they see the black Fila; they ask if it is a pure-bred dog." Carlos Alberto da Costa Gonçalves, from Kennel Borghetto, Bento Gonçalves, RS, adds that the prejudice agains the black individuals has made breeders disinterested in working with this color. "With less people breeding the black Fila, there was less selection in the breedings of this color," says Carlos Alberto. "This is why there are some typical flaws in the black, such as lack of dewlaps and low croup. The evidence that seems to prove that black Filas don't come from the German Dog is that the black color was present in its forming breeds. The most probable theory for the origin of the Fila is the mixture of ancient types of the English Mastiff, English Buldog and Bloodhound. So it is natural that the genes for the black color have been transmitted to the Fila. Besides, if the presence of black because of breedings with the German Dog occurred in the 70's, how could the existence of black Filas before that be explained? Joana Szitkowski, who breeds Rilas since 1939 testifies: "As soon as I started breeding I came across black dogs." Jether is another eye witness. "Around 1945 I used to live in a farm and there were black Filas with the same physical characteristics of the other Filas." To stop once and for all with the rejection of the black color, breeders are working on a campaign to favor black. The initiative came from CBKC. The column of the Fila Brasileiro, inaugurated by the CBKC journal last November and December has been published three times. In all three of them, the issue of the black Fila was addressed.The journal also asked readers to send pictures of good black individuals, so they could be published. In the last edition (April/May), the column headline was "Champion Black Fila." It portrayed the picture of a black female which won the title of best of the breed on an exposition in 1989. The text, with a touch of nostalgic celebration read: "It is with the utmost satisfaction that we receive the picture of the Champion, Great Champion and South American Champion, Saíra do Samor." WHITE IS NOT ACCEPTED If some think the black color is prohibited, others think the white color is accepted. But it isn't. White Filas may be born in any broods, maybe as a heritage from the British Buldog, which can also be found in this color. However, not even in the first standard, written in 1946, this color was allowed. The determination, apparently for aesthetic reasons, was always followed by all with no questioning. It is not uncommon for people to mistankenly associate white color to albinism, which brings skin problems due to lack of pigmentation. That is why, for instance, the white color is not accepted in the Boxer. But, in the Fila this reason is not mentioned. People who have already had white dogs confirm this. "In my kennel 8 white Filas were born, and none of them was albino; their nose, lips and eye rim was completely pigmented," says Antonio José Brasileiro. The dappled Fila is not accepted since 1983. The decision to exclude it was made in the national congress of breeders that took place in Rio de Janeiro. According to Romero da Costa Machado, breeder who was present when decision was made, the reason is that in the dappled dogs there is a predominance of white, and therefore, the chances of breeding completely white individuals grow if they are bred among themselves. Just for curiosity sake, in the history of the Fila Brasileiro, the first Best of the Exposition title among dogs of all breeds was given to a dappled Fila in 1952.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Constantly, here in Brazil, we've had the same questions asked by new Breeders who are interested in Filas. There are some people, in Brazil and out of the country, whom in my opinion are old and experienced breeders . When I am in doubt about a dog or some details about a pairing, it is to them that I report to. No one knows everything. There are some breeders to whom I ask questions related to morphology. One of the greatest experts of dogs that I know, no matter the breed, and who always helps me , and I do respect his opinions, no doubt, is a breeder and judge of Dobermans and also a breeder of Pigeons, Mr. Mauro Zuin. When I have any doubt about an animal I ask for his aid and his opinions always make a lot of sense. Even without being a specialist of the BRAZILIAN FILA breed his wisdom helps me. Usually when this question is raised, the question is to get validation, so that we can get support from the "EXPERTS" that like the type of dog that we have. Hence, the great controversy is brought about when a hasty response is given. It is necessary to prepare it so that there is no doubt. Few amongst us accept a severe critique when it comes to our dogs. The best advice that I can give to all breeders who are truly interested in the Brazilian Fila is to follow the opinions and advices of someone they regard as a good breeder, no matter whom that is, and not keep searching for answers from various people and places. That is without a doubt a good starting point for having a fila.

Almost all animals, even Man (the most difficult) can be trained, conditioned and be tamed. Regardless of the natural behavior. I need guard dogs, for this I keep my Filas with a strong temperament and I do not try to condition them in another way. In farms, the behavior of the Fila is and has to be conditioned. During the day, when the stream of workers is more intense, they are left to sleep and conditioned to accept the people passing close by without attacking them. Almost always ignoring them and only warning with a snarl. Keeping distance and serenity. They do not play with the people and they do not attack. If and when they do, the farm, owner or even the worker to whom the dog it is most used to will correct its attitude. The dogs were and are conditioned to do the work and the function they have to perform. I've been to farms in which I could enter during the day and others that I could not even leave the car. (A fact which occurs when the owners are not present ) Recently I went to a farm that had filas but I couldn't get through the gate, not because I was attacked but because the Fila was laying down in the middle of the way to the gate and I did not have courage to step over it. I could only go up to a certain point, not any further. If we want a dog for shows, we can train it for such. If we want a guard dog, let us leave it as it naturally is. It is enough to give them affection and they will protect us. I believe that the Fila can be trained to coexist and that it does not have to be trained for the attack and defense because it is already natural to them. Therefore, coming back to the initial subject, follow the advice and instruction of whom you trust and respect without mixing it up a lot. As for me, if anybody wants something more specific, you can contact me personally so I can send photos of old and recent dogs which I consider Fila, that is, dogs that I would like to have and dogs that I would like that my dogs to look alike. I will do my best to try to help. It is also the correct way to form opinion. Seeing dogs or photos of dogs, not of our breeding, which we consider FILA and to try to obtain some which will look more like them.

The standards set the minimum limits for the dogs height,being this size measured at the shoulders. Nothing is easier to decide upon. How about the average size, which without any shade of doubt satisfies all the criteria? How about at 69,70, 71 cms. height? They fulfill all the criteria. Weight. Most of the time It is more humorous than important. Every time I ask a breeder what the weight of his dog is, most of the time I'm told an idealized weight and not an actual one. I've even heard responses thatsome times exceeded more than 10 kilos the real weight of the dog. Recently, a breeder brought a female to my house to mate and saidthat it weighed 75 kilos and, after some consideration we placed her in a box and we weighed her on my scale. Result: 56,8 kilos. It is predictable that he argued that myscale was wrong. I asked him how much he weighed, to which he replied 93, 94 kilos. We then weighed the breeder and the result was 98 kilos. Since then he has decided to go on a diet and it improve his dogs feed in order to achieve the desired weight. How about females weighing around of 52 kilos and males around of 58 kilos? They will be big enough to satisfy our ego for a strong and huge dog. Not to mention that some could be as we human beings are, some with tendencies to be lean and others to be fat. My standard says that according to my height, I would have to weigh 90 kilos. I weigh 120. There are fat people and there are lean people. We speak here of the normal weight. The farmers of old time, who lived in mountainous farms, which produced milk and therefore they did not need to move cattle to long distances, had larger, heavier Filas. UNFORTUNATELY, THE FATTER THE DOG THE LESSER IT EXERCISES. When they raised cattle for slaughter, which needed to travel great lengths, it was noticedthat their dogs were leaner and more muscular. Apt to cover great distances and to fight. QUERO DE SÀO JOSE DA LAPA AKA REDCAPO'S LEO

[quote=fila-alfa]Well, I`ll join this topic. My fila female Alfa Taiger Spata (Russia) is 70 sm and about 60 kg at the age of 2 y.o. She can jump 1,5 m barriers easily without touching them. [/quote] Nice dog you have. Unfortunately i don't know the dogs from the pedigree... Some of them come from Rio de Janeiro Brazil, but the name from the Kennel is newcomer, if you got more 3 generations i will could trace the ancestral for you.But looking the picture you got a rare strain.

[quote=Tiago]Marcos, Interesting that you mention these kennels. A good friend of mine has dogs from Caramona, Engenho Velho and Amparo. I have personally seen and tested the dogs, but was not impressed. The dogs were very sharp and had a lot of "guard" instinct, but lacked the nerve strength to commit with strong bites. Usually the bites were chewy and lacked crushing power (due to the conflict inside the dog's head). I am curious if the CAFIB temp tests have been designed by actual dog trainers with proper knowledge of canine temperament, or designed by people that observed certain characteristics and decided thats how a proper Fila should be. We actually sat down and watched many tapes of CAFIB shows with temp tests and the pattern for the behaviour which I did not like was always present. Regards and thank you.[/quote] You need to see carefully when you analize the pedigrees because some old Kennels lost all the bloodlines and now they have been rebuilt the bloodline with the same Prefix name. We have now in Brazil to majors lines for working , the Gameleira a nice strain for Hearding but they have high homo zygotic bloodline. The strain from São Jose de Lapa (CAFIB) is my favorite because Olegario have been select dog more functional, short and around 50 kg and were the best temperament for guardian and some of them just for professional owners. I have one strain that we didnt have all the genealogy but these strain have showing good balance, and working ability so as guardian they come from unknowing breeders usually farmers breeders.