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Shyness ?? - FILA PUPPY

lmscott91

Active Member
So as some of you may know, We have an almost 4 month old Fila male. We also have a 2 yr old female who is pretty self explanitory.. shes very independent, protective but not too, and she doesnt need extreme attention.

Our puppy tho, i have noticed, he will bark when someone comes inside our home or yard but will run around the corner or stay right where he is. My boyfriend has also noticed he will lean on my legs or stand beside/behind me if a stranger is approaching. My boyfriend is the "alpha dog" i guess, and i think the puppy thinks of me as mommy. I am worried bc he is wary of strangers but it seems like hed rather hide and bark (lol) than investigate like our female. I just dont want him to become fear aggressive. Hes very tolerant and loving once he feels comfortable. Im just not sure how to handle it.

Thanks !
 

chuckorlando

Well-Known Member
Sounds like he may be showing some Fila temp early to me. He's not old enough to have any confidance to back up his bark. Socialize, socialize, socialize. If that is the temp comng through that young, you may end up with a hard temp dog.

I say this all because kona was the same real young. At about 6m she would try to sneak in a bite. 8m she did not hide her dislike or desire. Now, well we'll just say she aint the friendliest dog though she's easy to calm down. Once she feels you pose no threat, she will just sit or lay at my side. This is of coarse if your walking at us. Not just random folks going down the street. But she dont tolerate strangers coming up to us
 

Tiger12490

Well-Known Member
yea that little boy is going to be a trip lol I agree with Chuck he's young to have any confidence shoot most don't have stable confidence until a year...but he is displaying temp..Athena showed that early socialization is going to be key for that one

Tapd on my Skyrocket
 

lmscott91

Active Member
Thank you! Sorry i havent replied but yes now he'll be 4m on the 6th.

I have been taking him everywhere. well... not everywhere but you know, petsmart, dog park, etc. Hes doing a little better. I should have also added to my first post that its mostly around kids. Our neighbor had a 1 year old who wanted to pet him and Maka showed no signs of aggression not even body language.. he just didnt know wtf it was ha! same at the dog park, the girl was about 6 and he was a little wary at first, then he let her pet him and relaxed. but when she stepped closer he backed away. Next time, my boyfriends nephew came over (8yrs) and Maka acted like he wanted to smell him and play and as soon as his nephew went to pet him, he climbed on the couch and pouted.... which is weird bc our female LOVES kids.

idk if im like in denial that he isnt socialized enough or what lol (my bf thinks maybe he was taken from his mother too soon. he was exactly 6.5 wks, we wanted to wait but the breeder wouldnt hold him for us).... maybe its when hes around me? idk.

Thanks for all your advice!!!!!! :) I have so many questions, since our female is 2 and was raised by my bf, this is my first fila puppy so im still figuring it out ! lol
 

chuckorlando

Well-Known Member
Still sounds like temp. Sounds bought like Kona at that age. Filas are'nt supposed to take to strangers. Even kids. From a young age they may show this distrust. Some would tell you a proper temp Fila will not let ANY stranger pet them. I would disagree with this. But it will take training far beyond what I can do to get Kona to be friendly.

If you've ever watched a child that eats all hs veggies even though he really dislikes them, thats likely how your fila acts. Doing it because he thinks you want him to, but dislikes every second. Each dog is gonna be diffrent. Your girl may be cool, but the male maybe hard as hell. But most still wont like strangers at all. Even if they lay in the corner and never bother them, they want nothing to do with them. All the socalizing in the world wont make a true fila like strangers.

Do you have some pics of the two? Is the female a Fila as well?
 

Tiger12490

Well-Known Member
You have a fila and you need to watch those kids Athena would gladly snack on a trick or treater that moves to fast you have a dog that by breed HATES strangers I don't mean to sound rude but did you know what you got yourself into? No friend will be able to be there unless he has known them his whole life and still its pushing it nephew nope.... family not around him give him 7 more months and you think what your going through now is bad I see everyone wanted to be nice but you are going to have a very dangerous dog by the time he is one and no socialization will get rid of that temp I thought I would honestly lay it on the table

Tapd on my skyrocket
 

lmscott91

Active Member
You have a fila and you need to watch those kids Athena would gladly snack on a trick or treater that moves to fast you have a dog that by breed HATES strangers I don't mean to sound rude but did you know what you got yourself into? No friend will be able to be there unless he has known them his whole life and still its pushing it nephew nope.... family not around him give him 7 more months and you think what your going through now is bad I see everyone wanted to be nice but you are going to have a very dangerous dog by the time he is one and no socialization will get rid of that temp I thought I would honestly lay it on the table

no i completely understand. I personally have never had a fila before. my bf is the one who raised our female since she was a puppy. ive been talking alot to the breeder who sold us our puppy just to get a better understanding of what is their normal temp vs behavioral issues. just because in the past i have had pitbulls and i understand that THEIR behavior problems come from the owner and i have always been successful in socializing them and have never had a problem taking them anywhere. So, yes i do know what i got myself into. Our 2 year old female was NOT socialized at all and shes fine around kids and id trust her alone with them. i think his bloodlines are a little bit stronger so i think Chuck is right, hes a little harder than she is. I just wanted to make sure thats normal for the breed and not something we are doing wrong. and yes we will continue to socialize and he starts training soon! :)

---------- Post added at 03:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:38 PM ----------

25pshar.jpg

This was before he had the skin removed from when he tried to eat out of our females food bowl at the same time. and her attitude towards him has changed completely, they are best friends !

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chuckorlando

Well-Known Member
Very pretty pup. I've heard of Filas that had zero issue with kids. I've heard of them had an issue with anything breathing as well. But also believe with the right training a fila is able to sit and ignor. I dont have that ket to the puzle as Kona will do her best to eat you untill I get her calmed down. But I've seen way to many vids and read way to many things on filas being at least indiffrent. If it was'nt possible they could never be rescued
 

lmscott91

Active Member
Thanks !

and yeah, i mean even though the breed is known for it, that could happen w any type of dog really... my moms 7 pound pekingese seriously goes after ANYONE no matter who they are or where she is. lol im just glad people are willing to answer my questions because most of the time its ignorance that leads to attacks and bad behavior. so thanks again!
 

k_hodges

Member
6.5 weeks is too young to leave it's mom/litter mates. They are the ones that teach manners, bite inhibition and all that. But that doesnt sound like it's an issue for this pup. From everything that I've read, that's normal Fila behavior.
 

lmscott91

Active Member
Okay.. I have another question. I didn't want to start a whole other thread though! :eek:

I was just reading on another thread where (I forget the OP's name) was looking for a male to breed and someone had mentioned the CAFIB Breed Standards. that got me wondering if our dogs are up to standards. we do have papers for Maka. Its not really a big deal since we haven't ever seriously considered breeding them ( we would rather leave that to the experts lol) or showing them.

But I would like to know if the breeder who sold us Maka was legit and if we would ever be able to put Molly on the registry?


Thank you to everyone for reading my longgggg posts and answering my millions of questions!!! :)
 

chuckorlando

Well-Known Member
If your pup really is Gray, then I dont think she does. Cafib has a smoke Gray color that she may fit I'm not positive. You really need side standing. frnt chest. head from front and side, alot more pics. You said she had papers, from who? ckbc? Get some good pics from all kinda angles and I'm sure someone could tell you. I could point out major issues but nothing like a judge. Just probly the most pronounced faults.

I dont much care though. If it looks like a fila, good enough to me.
 

lmscott91

Active Member
If your pup really is Gray, then I dont think she does. Cafib has a smoke Gray color that she may fit I'm not positive. You really need side standing. frnt chest. head from front and side, alot more pics. You said she had papers, from who? ckbc? Get some good pics from all kinda angles and I'm sure someone could tell you. I could point out major issues but nothing like a judge. Just probly the most pronounced faults.

I dont much care though. If it looks like a fila, good enough to me.

Yeah I totally agree with the last part it really doesnt matter much. Just wondering what would allow us to get papers for our 2 yr old. Ill look to see which registry hes on. I dont think it was the cafib.

Oh sorry to clarify, maka is our male, the almost 5 month old. Hes registered. Molly is our 2 yr old female and we never recieved her papers, although they told us she had them.
 
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angelbears

Well-Known Member
Did you get Maka from a kennel? If you would like to name the kennel or the person who you got Maka from. I'm sure one of us could tell you more. Without knowing what lines he is from it is just guessing.
 

lmscott91

Active Member
Thank you!

No, we got him from a small breeder we found on our local classifieds. They only had 2 females there at the time we picked him up, im guessing they are just breeding small time, they said theyd only had 2 litters since last year. both parents were registered though.

my bf got our 2yr old female, molly from a family that was moving and their landlord did not allow her. She was I think 3 months at the time. They told him she could be registered (they never sent it in) but he never received the papers. We dont know what breeder she came from but they had moved here from a diff state.. Im just not sure if she was bred by a known breeder.. She looks sooo different from Makas mommy.lol

---------- Post added at 09:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 PM ----------

Angelbears: I will look on his registration and let you know the parents.

Sorry my puppy terminology is not the best ha!

Thank you for all the help and advice everyone!