Response to Renee750il

Renee750il said-"in short, your life is about to change drastically"/endquote

If you only knew the truth in that. This may be a bit of a snoozer post and anti hunters may be offended so consider yourself warned.

Last elk hunting season was really an eye opener for me. I had to pack out an elk that was in a horrible place to have to walk, let alone walk with a large load of meat...several trips. At the end of the day I came face to face with the awful reality that I am in terrible condition compared to just the last season. I was also much less than pleased with my hunting partners. They complained about the cold constantly, they talked constantly, They refused to learn skills because it took time away from making money, they wouldnt stay near me even though they didn't have a clue about navigating in the woods and on top of that I felt obligated to share the meat several ways. Then I had to do all the butchering since they didnt know how nor did they try to learn how. As I reflected on this trip more and more I decided that perhaps I should just get a dog.

I was surfing the internet to find a breed that would match my lifestyle and I came across this strange breed called Fila. I read the articles from one breeder and I found it very hard to believe. I started making phone calls to ferret out the B.S. from this mans claims of the Fila breed. Everyone I called said the same thing about these dogs, which is the same thing Renee750il has been saying. While talking to the breeder that I have decided to go with I was a bit alarmed at the diet he suggested. I was roped in by the claims of big companies about how their diet (which is completly against nature) was the best and I was distrustful of the breeder. The more research I did proved him right and the big company wrong. Men motivated by money, power and sex are some lying SOBs!!

So I have decided to feed my soon to be new best friend a diet more in line with what nature had intended for carnivores. When I came upon that revelation I was enjoying my lunch of enriched wheat flour, Niacin reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt, potassium carbonate, sodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, turmeric, BHT, monosodium glutimate, hydrolyzed corn, wheat and soy protien, lactose, powdered cooked chicken, cabbage extract, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate. /pant all washed down with carbonated water, citric acid, potasium benzoate, sucralose, taurine, caffeine, acesulfame potasium, glucuronoloctone, insitol and pryidoxine. To the layman (and I are one) this is known as Ramen noodles and an energy drink. I am a chemicalvore!!

Now this is all gonna change. I bought a hunk of land way out in the boonies. I have had many a chat with the wildlife officers in the area who said they would call me when they had a fresh deer that needed disposed of....road killed or fence killed ect. All that I have to do is get the meat out of the leather container and I have NATURAL dog food. I will supplement it and keep the variety so that he doesnt get bored with it. As for myself I will be eating home grown meat and vegetables right along with him. So when you say my life is gonna change from the city dwelling, money obsessed, out of shape, non dog having chemically polluted person that I am now I SURE HOPE SO!

Jake

Sounds great, Jake!

Now, a word about the Fila diet . . . these dogs are true omnivores. They crave vegetables and fruit; it's part of their heritage. They come from a very poor part of the world and have evolved to live and thrive on a diet that seems strange for a dog. They've just GOT to have those fruits and vegetables along with the meat. That was one of the big factors in choosing the Innova line over some of the others that were of comparable quality.

They are also highly accomplished foragers NOTHING is necessarily safe being left out where food is concerned, lol! Shiva has been known to steal the last tomato off of the kitchen windowsill. She once pillaged a bag of gourmet raisins I'd splurged on and was planning to use in something special . . . opened the cookie jar and ate an entire bag of Oreos . . . you get the picture Kharma, I'm sure, has committed most of the same crimes at some point, but she's much, much slicker about covering her tracks Kharma has a passion for cabbage hearts, and Shiva has been licking the necks of Negro Modela empties since she was a pup . . .

Which breeder/lines are you getting your Fila from?

And do bear in mind if you're in a climate that gets very cold in the winter that although these are hardy dogs, they do come from Brazil and aren't going to be all that happy trekking about in 15 degree temps for long periods of time.

All in all, you should be a lot happier with your new hunting buddy than with your old ones

By the way, if you want to learn a great deal about the Fila, this link is excellent. I've met and made friends with the woman who set it up, and she really knows her stuff!

http://www.mindspring.com/~anableps/fila.html

And here are some of her dogs: http://homepage.mac.com/gaheld/PhotoAlbum13.html

By the way, you and Blue are gonna have a LOT to talk about

Thanks for the links. There is a ton of info in there. Those puppy pictures are too cute, I dont know how she can keep from squeezin him to death. I have spoken with my breeder (Paul Sheuits<sp>)and he has recommended lots of veggies in the diet as well. It seems like we can pretty much eat the same dinner. I will also check out the innova line. As far as the cold goes.. we will be living at under 5k feet elevation in Colorado. So it isnt too bad. I usually hunt in sweat pants and a sweat shirt and generally shed the shirt if im walking much, so the temperatures here are pretty mild during hunting season IMO. I plan on having him hanging out with me pretty much all of the time and I dont enjoy wearing heavy clothing so I hope he will be comfortable in the same approximate temperatures I am in. Certainly no nights out in the winter cold and I will watch him closely for signs of thermal discomfort.

Sounds good! They just don't have the coats for long periods of time spent in heavy cold, but if you're comfortable, he should be too.

I'm guessing, since you're in Colorado and Shoo-Its is near me in Tennessee, that you're having your pup shipped to you?

I'm kind of curious, since you're going to such a great distance to get a pup, why not a Camping Fila ( http://www.campingfilas.com/owners.html) or an Eshabeta (http://www.campingfilas.com/owners.html)? The Eshabeta is in Washington - much closer to you, and both are among the paramount Fila breeders today, particularly Clelia of Camping Filas.

Yes, I am having him shipped. The reason I decided to go with shoo-its is
1.because he has great looking healthy dogs
2. he has great reviews from other fila owners
3. he has spent hours on the phone with me, he really seems to love the breed.
4. he seems to have a very stress free(on the dog) way to ship.
I am not saying that the other breeders dont have the same qualifications or may even look better on paper, I dont know, I didnt investigate them as I did shoo-its.
I guess in short I just took a shine to the guy=)

Until I came here, I had never heard of the Fila, and that kind of surprised me. Thanks for teaching me something new! Are they being subjected to any of this BSL that is plauging the PB's and AmStaff's right now? Or are they in low enough numbers to avoid the worst of it?

Right now, Zoom, they're under the radar, but the UK has them on their banned list, giving the excuse that they are fighting dogs like the Pits and Tosa Inu . . . which couldn't be farther from the truth. They're remarkably non-aggressive toward other dogs. Dummies

Buckshot, I'll be very interested to follow you and your new pup, as I've heard the opposite from the Fila people I've been in contact with over the past few years, although it's like pulling teeth to get them to actually express any overt disapproval if they don't know you well . . .

Actually, Clelia is recognized as the standard bearer when it comes to Filas and is greatly responsible for rescuing and preserving the Fila Brasileiro breed as a healthy and viable working breed. I'd love to have one of her dogs - Kharma has several Camping Filas in her lines, along with the Jaguara line and a couple of others I can't remember right now. I've really GOT to get her papers scanned into the computer . . .