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    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

Awright, Starting to Doubt (Pic Heavy)

fila4me

fila4me

Well-Known Member
I agree to the heavy duty prong collar advice. it only takes one time and all is left are "only if's".

your boy is only a babe and you are 1st timer,I honestly hope you would at least research the benefits of a prong collar. after 1 or 2 corrections,I rarely correct now with the prong collar on.it is like night and day and much less stressful.

in regards to the leash,I have had the same leather leash for 19yrs and 4 Filas,a Pit Bull and a couple of Dogos !it is still sturdy and strong,I do not trust anything else.I use this one Harness Leather Dog Leash 3/4 in x 6 ft - $17.99 : Dog Equipment, Police Dog, Schutzhund, Service Dog, Dog Agility
and also this one for vet visits
Leather Traffic Lead - $13.95 : Dog Equipment, Police Dog, Schutzhund, Service Dog, Dog Agility
 
chuckorlando

chuckorlando

Well-Known Member
I never used a prong myself. I out gorilla the gorilla. But here the thing..... Untill you see that dog really turn on, you have no idea the strength it will take to stop that first throw. I have literally almost had my shoulder yanked out of socket over a tree stump. ahahaha. It was never there. We was using and and she seen the shadow at night and went full on. I was not even close to ready being we were in our own fenced land. When the golf club deal went down I had to lean way back to hold her. Like the folks in the old V8 comercials only back not sideways.

Not to be a D bag here, but your a women. If you are not 100% sure you have the strength to stop a full on dog, I would look at aids to help you.

I would also say that handle on the harness is great. You grab and lift and lean back. You can pull the dog front slap off the ground with out hurting the dog.
 
Winterspring

Winterspring

Well-Known Member
Oh, those are niiiice. I'll have to ask the man who does the leatherwork where I go ("The Pit Bull Store") what kind of leather he uses, and if he can make one of the short ones.

I don't know why I thought leather was a bad idea.

Actually, I don't. Daddy liked the chain lead. There was a bigger, shorter one, but I told him that was just silly. He's a dog, not an elephant.
 
Winterspring

Winterspring

Well-Known Member
Oh, don't worry, Chuck. You're not being a D-bag here. I AM a woman, and it's easy to imagine me going face-first down the street. For the record, I'm 5'8" and (embarrassingly enough...I can't believe I'm posting this publically) a little over 200 pounds. I'm also no stranger to handling horses and have no problem with 80 pound bales of hay, my only limit being that they're unwieldy and baling wire freakin' HURTS, and have lifted a 260 pound friend off the floor with my back when I was 170. (I add adrenaline into that one. I thought I was being attacked during a particularly nasty panic attack.)

This is why, even though I'd never heard of a Fila before, I had no qualms about handling a Mastiff in general. I'm really, bitchin'ly strong if I need to be. Especially if injury is on the line. And if it looked like he was going to bite? I have no problem cramming my arm into his mouth. I can take a little pain, and heal fast. And I'm fast enough and my arms are long enough to do it. Of course, I'd probably grab the collar, first. Again, long arms, VERY strong fingers. He's only 111 pounds so far, after all.

I don't mean to sound like I refute so much of what people tell me. It's just that I really am physically capable of handling him. (Unless we're "jogging". I smoke too much for that nonsense.) And I've dealt with bigger, more dangerous animals. Yes, I realize horses are herbivores, but Taurus can't kick me in the ribs and break all of them. He can't pin me to the wall. He's not taller than I am, and likely never will be. And he's nowhere near as skittish as some animals I've had to contend with. And some of them are nastier than a Fila on his worst day. I know, because I've dealt with them. I don't think people realize that it's not some little girl on this end that can be easily dragged or that doesn't have any experience at all. I was walking my aunt's Rhodesian Ridgeback when I was, like, seven. I'm just not used to such a unique mind. Trust me, I am taking everyone's opinions into consideration and advice is taken seriously. Just because I don't agree with it or I have other ideas doesn't make your advice less valid, or that I think my dog is "easier". He's not. He's a dog. And any animal can be unpredictable. Just because they're smaller or larger, stronger or lighter, weaker or incredibly well-trained doesn't mean they can't have an "oops". And those "oopses" can be incredibly damaging, if not deadly.

I love him. He's my dog. But he's an animal, and he's not to be trusted to consistently behave in a manner that we consider acceptable. I don't even let people pick my cats up if I haven't clipped their claws, because if they're startled, cat claws can do some real damage. I was hoping that eventually Taurus could be the type of dog that could be petted by people, or that my friends could wrestle with. I know now that can't and won't happen. That just isn't the kind of dog he is. And I'm okay with that. Will I get another Fila at some point? Probably, because I'll take everyone's word for the fact that they're as addictive as tattoos. But I want other dogs, too, also large breeds because I don't care for the small ones. But that's in the future. (Along with a horse of my own.)

:)
 
chuckorlando

chuckorlando

Well-Known Member
ahahahahahahahaha. I dont like to pull the female card and I know some would take offence. But I like to think any one with a fila or other hard breed would understand. It simply aint the same as a normal lunge or dog pulling. It can get pretty damn extreme till you have a handle on their training and they have a handle on their confidence and threat preception
 
Winterspring

Winterspring

Well-Known Member
Ohhhhhhh. THAT'S pretty. If only I didn't hate cleaning under that kind of stuff so much. Eh. Maybe it's not so bad with a dog. They don't sweat, after all. XP A cuticle stick gets under that crap with a bit of cotton on the end to keep from scratching up the leather, and Murphy's Oil Soap, when undiluted and rubbed over leather, then lightly sponged off, gives the leather a bit more grip. Never tried it without caked on sweat and hair, though. I keep being amazed at how easy he is to keep clean, so I might be surprised.

I might print out the picture and bring it to my leather guy. See what he can do.

And I know, Chuck. :) I'm sure. *hug* It's the hurtling towards me while I'm prone and half-asleep that's the scary part. I swear I'm gonna get that dog nail caps so he doesn't rip my pancreas out in his exuberance. But then he wouldn't keep his nails nice and short on the concrete. I am PETRIFIED of cutting his nails. But I think a trip to the dog groomer is a BIG fat "hell no". ;) I treat him like he could start rearing and throwing himself around at any second. I wish they made actual halters for dogs. Those "Halti" things are a joke with him. They don't fit right. I'd say it was wasted money, but he likes toting it around the house and shaking it.

I'm not exactly butch, just chubby. Hee. I leave the heels at home when I've got him with me, though. And it isn't a problem anymore because ​he dug my favorite pair out of my closet and nommed them to oblivion.
 
D

dogman#1

Well-Known Member
I'm a guy, 5'11 and 200lbs.. in alright "shape" (round is a shape you know, lol). I have used Prongs for pretty much any dog I have ever owned.. you dont choke a dog with them or a choke collar... it is a VERY quick snap, it isnt supposed to stay tight for a prolonged period of time.. Trust me when I tell ya, research how to use them correctly, no damage and almost instant results. You'll wonder why you didnt do it before.
 
Winterspring

Winterspring

Well-Known Member
It's also worth mentioning that he's just not around people as often as I'd like. I generally walk him at 0-Dark-thirty because...well, I dunno. We just walk him late. Or very early in the morning. If we go out during the day, we have to make absolutely sure we're going somewhere with shade and he has to wear his socks or he won't get out of the car. You know how they say you can fry an egg on that concrete? They ain't just whistlin' Dixie. (And I hate sunlight. *hisssss*)

And you know what, dogman? Maybe you're right. Maybe a prong collar ISN'T the devil. Maybe a choke chain ISN'T "teh ebils'. But they've been condemned as "cruel" and "mean" and "awful" for so long, I don't even KNOW anyone who knows how to properly use them, or where to go to have someone teach me the RIGHT way to do it. I guess people have been using them the WRONG way so much, they're a lot like the dogs we love. Big and possibly dangerous if not handled well.

The way you say it, it's used as a "reminder" of sorts? Because yeah, I could wrestle around with my dog and practically pick him up, and blah, blah, blah. Do I WANT to? Oh, hell, no. Hauling back on Taurus, 2" wide collar or not, is not my idea of a good time. (MY idea of a good time is getting him to tug me across the floor with his Fuzzy Tuggy on the tile! Whee!) I don't even dare ask a trainer or anyone about them, because then one gets a tirade about how horrible, horrible, horrible they are. They're dismissed out of hand, and maybe I was conditioned to think the same way.

I do NOT mind taking the time and energy to teach him impeccable leash manners without using prongs or chokes. I don't mind going a little uphill. I don't work, and he's never alone, and he likes learning. So hitting an "easy button" isn't why I'd want to look into it. But I think we all know how pig-headed they can be. So this is something I would probably look into at this point, given the recommendations, but I don't even know where I would begin to a) find someone that wouldn't crucify me for even considering the notion, and b) find someone I trust that could show me, face-to-face, how to reliably and correctly use training aids like this. Can I muscle my dog back? Sure. I trust I can't hurt him. I'm just afraid if I don't know what I'm doing with prongs and choke chains (I actually wear one of the ones with the nylon pulled through it...looks great!) and will hurt him because of a lack of expertise. Which, of course, is probably why they're frowned upon.
 
Winterspring

Winterspring

Well-Known Member
Hrmph. You got that one right. I mean, half the forum is about getting different opinions on things.

Of course Filas are dangerous dogs. They're dogs. I don't trust anything with a maw full of sharp teeth that can rip off a finger. Or teeth that can cause permanent muscle damage from blunt force trauma. Even just playing, he'll get up in Daddy's face and a widdle tooth will slide up the poor guy's nose.

Yuck, by the way.

But Daddy goes very still because he doesn't want accidents.

I have seen the scary pictures of what prong collars can do, and I do NOT want to be someone that could cause that kind of damage. Thank you for the links. I will look at them, and hopefully, if I decide I want to use one or both, I can find someone trustworthy to teach me in person. I don't dare try it without supervision at first. I'm conditioned, I admit it, so I'm afraid of them. But now that it's a consideration, caution. Extreme caution. I really would rather cram my arm in his mouth than hurt him. And frankly, if it weren't for the BSL or cops, I wouldn't care WHO my dog bit if they were that stupid to get that close to a dog they didn't know. But I'm not going to ruin it for everyone. Or my shoulder sockets.

Of course, at some point, one's dog goes from being 111 pounds at a year and 2 months to 3,000 with the muzzle, the harness, the thick collar for walking, the choke chain and the prong collar. Then we just have to worry about our dog charging things and head-butting them.

Huzzah! I've found my answer! TO THE SCA for full-body dog barding!!

Did I mention I was a nerd? Sorry. I'm a nerd. [defensively clutches D&D book to chest]
 
Winterspring

Winterspring

Well-Known Member
Okay. I DO care if he bites someone, I just get a little bitter about reading about how Breed X dog mauled X-year-old kid because parents and/or dog owner wasn't watching properly and the kid didn't behave properly because they weren't taught. Just nix that part. I would have edited it out, but I was over my 10 nanosecond time limit.
 
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