Dog breed · Brazil
The Original Fila Brasileiro (OFB) or Old Brazilian Fila is a rare working farm dog breed from Brazil. The remaining Old Fila dogs preserved on farms in the interiors of Brazil are being gathered to become a formalised breed. The Original Fila Brasileiro is recognized by the SOBRACI in Brazil, and despite the similar name, it is a breed apart from the modern Fila Brasileiro.
The term "Fila dog" has historically been used as a description of the duty or purpose of a dog. In Portuguese the verb filar means "to grasp strongly with the teeth".
The Fila Brasileiro is considered dangerous and is banned in England and Wales.
Temperament: The temperament of the modern Fila Brasileiro dog has become a controversial topic. The breeders of the modern dogs are proud of their "ojeriza" (extreme aversion to strangers) and are totally averse to the use of guard dog training. However some canine behavior experts have recently been demonstrating their opinion of what they consider to be the true temperament of modern dogs by classifying them as fearful dogs. According to Jairo Teixeira, a very influential dog trainer in Brazil, and some other dog trainers, the "ojeriza" of modern dogs is a synonym of fear.
The Original Fila Brasileiro is so far bred by natural selection in the rural environment, in the isolated farms, working with the cattle and protecting the property and some breeders believe that this may possibly have helped to preserve their characteristic temperament. With the current rescue work – of which there are canine behavior experts adept at the project – the original temperament of a brave, intelligent, self-confident dog averse to strangers (with the genuine "ojeriza' of the old Fila dogs) is being prioritized, as well as the use of professional dog training, still unprecedented in the breed. With these actions, the critics of modern dogs declare that they intend to rescue and preserve the true temperament of the Original Fila Brasileiro.
History: The breeder and researcher Antônio Carlos Linhares Borges studied the Fila Brasileiro breed for 40 years based on the works of Antônio Roberto Nascimento, Paulo Santos Cruz, Procópio do Vale, and others. Borges realised that the original Fila dog was close to extinction as a result of crossbreeding practices that have attached characteristics of foreign breeds unrelated to the ancient Brazilian dog, starting in the 1980s. He concluded that there is a need to preserve the ancient dog that gave origin to the modern Fila Brasileiro.
The morphology of the old dogs contradicts a long-standing widespread theory about the genetic pool of the authentic Fila Brasileiro, which suggests it descended from English dog breeds (the English Mastiff, the Bloodhound, and the now-extinct Old English Bulldog). Borges says that this belief encouraged the crossbreeding with these foreign breeds, which lessened the essential physical and psychological characteristics of the original Fila dog. Borges declared that the authentic Fila Brasileiro is of purely Iberian origin and, in particular, related to the extinct Portuguese Alaunt, or the Iberian Alaunt.
In 2018 Borges published the book Fila Brasileiro – Preservação do Original, giving evidence from comparative, migratory and historical studies that the origin of the breed is the Portuguese Alaunt. It dissects each of the breed's formation theories in the light of the historical context, including old engravings or photos of dogs and other historical documents.
