Fila People- Need Help

It's been a while since I've visited the forums here, but when this situation was brought to my attention this is the 1st place I thought of.

A guy who works with my wife has a Fila that has recently started attacking small furry dogs. Only small furry ones, they probably look like prey to him. He's killed 2 in the last couple months. I don't know how he's getting to them, or any background on the situation, only that the owner is pretty desparate at this point. He's probably being sued and all that stuff.

He needs to rehome the dog, and I know this will be difficult due to the breed's traits. The dog is 2 1/2 yrs old, probably just finishing his growth and maturity.

I told them I'd ask here for any advice- especially if you guys know of rescues or someone who might be interested in adopting the dog. We still have a full house here and are not in a position to take the dog. I bet this furry animal aggression is something that could be trained out of the dog with the right person. I dont' know the person who owns the dog, and have never seen the dog. He's got 5 kids and the dog is fine with them.

Any help is appreciated as always!

Umm.. I know you don't know the situation but first things first that dog needs to be CONTAINED.
Higher fence, better door, not leaving the yard, shorter leash, control collar, kennel run.. I don't know but something needs to be done in the mean time because a dog getting out and killing not once but TWICE is simply irresponsible and is going to get that dog killed! (not to mention the poor owners of these small dogs!)

Now, I would start with emailing FILA specific rescues
Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue
http://www.risingphoenixmastiffrescue.com/ for example
Try to look for mastiff/fila experienced rescues in your area, even if they can just list the dog

I would ask the family to get some good pictures of the dog as well as traits, size, age, health and HISTORY of how these events occurred.

This dog will be hard to adopt out for sure.. Adult filas are tough period but with a history of killing other dogs :/

So I would start with the pictures and such, email some rescues and I'm sure some chaz people can cross post and try to find a fila/dog savvy home without small pets.

The more pictures/information you can get, the better! Video is great too if you can make your way to their home or if they can get a video of the dog interacting with the kids/being generally well behaved.

Find out the background if you can; if these little dogs are just running upto him and he has a snack, then that's something that can be managed.

Also, with these guys, a rescue more experienced with LGD's would probably be better suited to the Fila temperament, as many mastiff reduces have gotten too used to the big marshmallow English mastiffs and don't know what to think or how to screen for a Fila.

You've gotten good advice so far, Dan

Seriously, if the dog is contained and the small dogs are coming into his space, it's a shame and it's sad, but it's game on. It is odd behavior though, for a Fila.

Oh, and have they contacted the breeder? The breeder should be ready to take the dog back.

Please tell me they didn't get the dog from Paul in Turtletown TN, or from someone who bred a dog they got from him. :madgo:

thanks for the replies so far, i knew this was the place to come for help! i'll find out more tomorrow. i did learn that he hasn't killed any dogs, but he's definitely attacked them.

I'd go through Dianna if possible. The first link posted are not nice people.

Sorry, I have no experience in the area. I got the link from a forum where they were suggested for a rescue fila in a similar situation

No worries! Nobody has any control over what google puts out.

I got some more info today.

The dog is 2 1/2 and neutered. The family lives on 1.5 acres that is fully fenced. There is a gate at the driveway. The owner's parents came over, opened the gate to come in, and usually the dog sits and watches as they come in. This time there was a small dog running loose and when the gate was opened, the Fila took off after it and attacked it. The prior incident was 8 months ago.

The wife is apparently not much of a dog person and while she's not forcing him to get rid of the dog, it's something they are considering. Personally I think this is a pretty easy training issue to resolve, but it's their choice on what to do.

I'll forward him the info you guys have provided.

That's not even an issue, Dan.

The fact that he let the people come in without challenging them tells me he's damned stable -- the small dog was a new interloper who had not been properly introduced. That was a case of handler stupidity on the part of the small dog's owner. They're the ones who need training. :doh:

From what you've said, he sounds like a helluva stable dog!

Well, in this case both dog owners were at fault. While almost all will state that the Fila had no business bolting and running free, the small cutesie wootsie fluffybottoms of a dog had no business running free.

If two dogs are off-leash and there's an incident, it's either both owners take the blame or it's a "no fault" incident.

As for this situation, without knowing the history of the other situation, I'd say that all that is needed is some responsibility to not fling gates/doors wide opening when entering/leaving and go back to done basic obedience training (like the good ol' "leave it" or "out" commands").

my wife spent some time with the owner today and told him what you guys have said and what we thought- that it was not a dog problem, but a training one. i told her to tell him how Gunnar has dog aggression issues, and how we keep him out of situations that set him up for failure, like dog parks. We also suggested a lock on their front gate so the in-laws can't show up and let themselves in like they did, another way to prevent the dog from being placed in a no win situation. He likes the lock idea and agrees that this is something that can be fixed. He doesn't want to get rid of the dog.

I told her to ask about the other dog (which had $1000 in vet bills, but the father in law paid it because he felt bad that it happened because of him). The SPCA is involved and I said why is it this dogs fault, he was contained and got out while the other dog was roaming free- the owners of that dog were lucky it didn't get run over.

I'll keep everyone posted on what happens, and thanks again for the help! Best dog forum on the 'net by far!

I have no words of advice on the topic --but just wanted to say it's nice to see you here again! Stick around, why don't you?

DanL, thanks for working with them. Sometimes when something bad happens, people immediately throw themselves into worst-case-scenario-mode and they lose the ability to calm down and think the problem through.

We have padlocks on ALL gates in our yard. The gates in the dogs' backyard are all padlocked, as well as the gates in our horse pasture. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.