Both Ama and Jenaro are gorgeous and large molosser guard dogs – each with its own, quite distinctive character. Fila Brasileiro dog breed (also called Brazilian Mastiff) has a long and interesting history with sad chapters of mix breeding that – fortunately for those who truly love or would love to get to know the breed – has less and less influence nowadays. I need to emphasize that we at Harakhan kennel had a (mis)fortune to acquire first mix bred then purebred Filas and we speak from own experience – it is a HUGE difference. The mix breeds that we unwittingly ran across suffered from poor health (our male died of bloat while another male had dysplastic hips) and bad character, a mixture of cowardice and aggression.
Our Ama (Ita do Itanhandu) was born in Itanhandu kennel, famous for breeding authentic and healthy Fila Brasileiro dogs. The first Fila that we imported from Brazil came from the same kennel. Shira (Fenix da Serra de Itanhandu) lived with us for 13 years in very good health, and her Fila temperament was evident throughout her whole life – her loyalty and devotion, will and readiness to protect her human family in all situations without a hesitation or delay. For both these reasons, very good health and strong ojeriza (distrust toward strangers), we decided to have another Fila from Itanhandu kennel.
Ama is curios, joyful, playful and fearless, a dominant female in her pack but also righteous, not aggressive to other dogs, the protector of the youngsters, even kittens. Her temperament is both daring and charming. She looks to us as if we were divine and though it may seem funny that any being treats you as a godly figure, this is a part of the adorable Fila character – they are addictive to their owners.
Jenaro (Fito de El Siledin) is a young, 18 months old male with a true Fila temperament, strong ojeriza and strong devotion to his human family. Jenaro is unbribable, he has his family which he loves absolutely and all others which he doesn’t like and doesn’t allow coming near. He is massive, agile and cheerful, always on guard, patrolling the entire property, an impressive Fila Brasileiro dog with the most beautiful head and a special coat color (araca, like a tiger).
Ama’s father – Pacara do Itanhandu – was selected as a representative of what CAFIB standard points out to be a typical Fila in every segment (exterior and temperament wise). And on her second birthday following her father’s footsteps Ama won the third place at the World Dog Show in Milan competing in open class. We were so proud! Yet another, more important reason to be proud of is that she has shown a calm disposition, exceptional self-assurance and self-confidence, remaining undisturbed by either strange noises or circumstances throughout both the dog show and later during the long walk through Milan city center.
One can often hear that an early socialization of Fila Brasileiro dogs is needed (desensitization to external environmental stimuli). With Ama and Jenaro we approached to this matter differently: Ama underwent a thorough desensitization while Jenaro did not. Ama today is a self assure, reliant guard dog that we can take everywhere with us. Both of them show ojeriza typical of the breed. Jenaro being a male and without a thorough desensitization has grown to be a dog that we are not able to take to FCI dog shows since judges here are allowed to approach and touch Fila and this would end up with the judge being bitten. With Ama we had this opportunity to travel a lot and she met a significant number of people out of her home during the first year.
Jenaro has many wonderful character traits but those that we love the most are his boldness and his soberness. We point this out because Jenaro lives side by side with a big, mature Tosa male and it takes both courage and intelligence to live conjointly with such a dog in the same house.
Ama and Jenaro will be the parents of next spring litter that we plan for May 2016. Call us and reserve a beautiful and healthy puppy from their litter! Rest assured that you will acquire a healthy and bold dog, a typical Fila Brasileiro that you will easily fall in love with, and that in return shall easily learn from you and protect you at all times.
