Philo has the true Fila temperament.* He is a natural guard dog. Even as a young puppy, Philo would always investigate strange noises. He was very alert and would always have to "check out" anything new or out of the ordinary. Even at 10-weeks old, he would bark at and attack our Dustbuster.

As he grew, he also grew more protective of us. Philo started showing the Fila temperament at only a few months of age. We found it necessary to start obedience training him when he was 5-months old to help get his temperament under control.

Philo is very reserved with strangers. Even when walking him, if he sees someone approaching, his head gets all wrinkled up and his ears prick up in an alert position. I usually walk around people, so they don't have to get close to him. Even after we pass someone, he will still turn his head around and try to watch them. He doesn't like to have people behind him unless he can see what is going on. When new people are introduced into his life (friends, family, etc.), it takes him a long time to accept them. With other people in our house (repairmen, etc.), he is usually fine once we tell him it is o.k., unless they try to approach him in his area, or try to pet him.

Although Philo definitely shows the "ojeriza" towards strangers, he is a great family dog. He is very sweet and lovable with everyone in our family. Philo is a very emotional dog. You would not believe the greeting he gives us when we come in the house (whether we've been gone 3 hours or 3 minutes)! He always wants to be where his "people" are. Though he weighs over 150 lbs., he still thinks he is lap dog! He also loves to play (more now than when he was a young puppy). Philo is so active that we find he is much easier to live with if he gets his daily walk. If he doesn't get enough exercise in a day, he can get grumpy.

All in all, I have to say that Philo is everything we could have hoped for in a dog, and more. The Fila Brasileiro is such an interesting breed.

Do your experiences with Filas compare with ours? Let us know.

* We have not had a formal Temperament Test perfomed on Philo yet.

©1998-2005 Yvette Ogresovich