Discover the Fila Brasileiro
Brazil’s Living History Walking on Four Legs
"People think of themselves as the master of the Fila, but the Fila thinks of its master as God."
The history of the breed began with the discovery of Brazil (1500 Pedro Alves Cabral). The origin of the fila is forever obscured. We don’t know exactly what breeds it may have evolved from, we can only infer from historical events and breed characteristics. The explorers and settlers who travelled there from Europe took their dogs with them and encountered conditions that were much harsher than those in Europe: impenetrable jungles, poisonous arrows from the Indians, big cats, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes, swamps… This new environment strongly selected them, but also perfected their skills, which they were better able to test and use in a wild, uncontrolled environment. In Europe, there were hunting licenses everywhere at that time, only the very rich could practice. And the New World was still to be discovered…
The dogs of immigrants interbred freely, or sometimes purposefully, and this is how the breed was born over the centuries. We do not know whether local dogs have been involved in the development of the breed, but if they have mated with each other, it may have been on such a small scale that it may not have had any effect on the breed for a very long time. The Brazilians believe that the Fila has always been with them, it simply belongs to them, it was given to them as a gift from the mother breed by natural selection.
The ancestors of the fila may have been mastiffs, bulldogs and bloodhounds, this is the generally held view. These 3 breeds should not be thought of as modern dog breeds, which have become addicted to extremism. They were dogs fully capable of hunting and fighting, and were often used against humans. There is a saying that „the New World was conquered by men, horses and dogs.”
At the time of Brazil’s discovery, a lighter-bodied hunting mastiff, often called the alaunt, had been used in the Caribbean for years to fight the natives. Alaunts are now extinct, but they may have been involved in the development of many dog breeds. They were the best of their time, renowned for their bravery and strong jaws, and came in a variety of types. Chroniclers often confuse the Mastiff and the Aalunts, this may mostly be because they were not at all knowledgeable about canine science and there were no dog breeds at that time, only the types used for their work, which were given some sort of label.
Origin of Fila brasileiro
The fila has proved to be a multifunctional dog, adapting to current needs and doing its job over the centuries. In the beginning, it helped in clashes with the Indians on the side of the settlers, protected the property of its masters, was good at hunting, guarded the black slaves working in the sugar cane plantations, and went with the „bandeirante” on numerous expeditions into the Brazilian jungle.
Joaquim José de Miranda (17- – 18-) is one of the oldest painters, draughtsmen and watercolour artists and a pioneer of the region of Paraná. In 1771 and 1772, he joined the expedition of Lieutenant Colonel Affonso Botelho de Sampaio e Souza to the Guarapuava fields, located west of the interior of the present state of Paraná. He was the author of a series of 37 watercolour drawings depicting events during the expedition. They may have been taken from his observations or from the texts of reports sent to the Marquês de Pombal. In the 18th century, he represented the characters of the time, the Indians and whites of the region, and the challenging encounters between races and cultures. The dogs depicted in these paintings are very similar to a fila type dog, at least the build, the high tail and loose skin suggest this. We are talking about the 1700s (!).
The role of the fila was later extended to working around the cattle that were brought to the continent. He had to accompany and protect the cattle herd against jaguar attacks. His future seemed more secure when the search for precious metals and diamonds and mining spread to the interior of Brazil in Minas Gerais. Here, many people settled down, allowing the fila to reproduce in a ‘calmer’ way, as the exploratory routes and the warlike, migratory life are not conducive to reproduction. These journeys often lasted for years. As time passed, his areas of supply diminished, his labour was no longer needed, except on the farms and fazendas, where he could survive until today. The fila helped with the herds and performed guarding duties, which ensured its survival in the future..
The word „Fila” is derived from the Portuguese word „filar”, which literally means to grab, hold and keep. We do not know whether it has anything to do with two other Portuguese breeds, the now extinct Fila da Terceira (also known as Cão de Fila da Terceira, Rabo Torto, Terceira Mastiff ) and the Cão de fila de São Miguel, other than their names, but historical events suggest that they may have been introduced to Brazil.
Benedito Faria de Camargo was the first breeder to enter a Fila in an official dog show, the Kennel Clube Paulista (KCP). But he soon realised that only dogs with a pedigree issued by the club could take part in the shows. Since his dogs were not registered, he approached Adolpho Lourenço Rheingantz, the president of the KCP, who allowed Camargo to show his Filas in the only class suitable for exhibitions, the „Hors Concours”. Thus, on 13 May 1939, a Jumbo Fila was shown to São Paulo dog lovers at the Parque das Águas Brancas in Brazil.
Rheingantz immediately realised that the Fila might have a chance to become a dog breed, a true Brazilian breed, recognised by the former Brasil Kennel Club (from 1979 CBKC) and internationally by the FCI. As a first step, he opened a studbook for the new breed, which became known as Fila Nacional.
The systematic breeding and promotion of filas in an urban environment started in the 1940s. The species was also known as Onceiro and Boiadeiro, referring to its function.
In February 1942, Mr Camargo, together with João Laraya, wrote an article entitled „O Fila” („The Fila”) in the magazine „Caça e Pesca” in São Paulo. It was the first document focusing on the dog that was known in São Paulo as „Fila”.
At the 1943 KCP show, there were several Fila Nacional dogs, but there was no breed standard or judges to judge them.
As a solution, Mr Rheingantz asked Dr Paulo Santos Cruz to formulate the first Fila Nacional standard in 1951. Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz, in collaboration with Dr. Erwin Waldemar Rathsam and Joao Ebner (Rancho Alto), published the final standard, based on the filas from the fazendas. With this variety standard, Fila Nacional became known as Fila Brasileiro. Once he had the standard in hand, Mr. Rheingantz sent it to the Brasil Kennel Club. The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture approved it in 1954.
Dr. Paulo started breeding Fila in 1948, giving the puppies to friends to promote the breed. He often travelled to the interior of Minas Gerais, also known as the cradle of the Fila, to look for dogs. Breeding became his great passion, and his kennel Parnapuan became the most famous, as he was the first to export Fila to Germany in 1954. Everything that Dr. Paulo did – breeding, creating the first breed standard, and promoting, organizing and protecting the Fila breed – brought him worldwide fame as „Pai da Raça Fila” or „the father of the Fila breed”.
The name of the kennel was inspired by a small beach known as Paranapuã in São Vicente Bay, near Ponte Pênsil and the place where Martim Afonso de Souza founded the first village in Brazil on 22 January 1532. It was called São Vicente (present-day town of São Vicente, next to Santos, on the coast of São Paulo). Paranapuã, in Tupi-Guarani, means „round sea”.
In the early 1970s, some breeders in the state of São Paulo started crossing the Fila with English Mastiffs without the knowledge of the Brasil Kennel Clube. Unfortunately, the BKC registered the resulting puppies as purebred Fila. Others heard about these uncontrolled „experiments” and started to crossbreed Fila with black Neapolitan Mastiffs, and later with black Great Danes. Hence the sudden emergence at that time of a large number of „black Fila”. It was very successful commercially, but caused a lot of damage to the Fila breed. These dogs were registered as if they were purebred Fila. Some of the pedigrees issued at that time had no genealogical value.
Until 1975, the Fila was registered in an open register, which allowed new blood to be imported from within the country, but this was closed that year.
In 1976, a „Simpósio de Brasília” was held, the purpose of which was to modify the existing fila breed standard to allow crossbred fila („fila mestizos”), thus adopting characteristics that are not typical of the true Fila Brasileiro.
Dr Paulo, who over the years had become disillusioned with dog politics, had for many years been away from clubs, breeders’ associations and, as a judge, show rings, and was involved in breeding fila. He maintained his scientific interest in dog-related issues. For many years he wrote a column in the newspaper ‘A Tribuna’ in Santos, entitled ‘Cães e Canis’ (Dogs and Kennels). In 1976, he was visited by a young Fila Brasileiro fancier from Rio de Janeiro, Francisco Peltier de Queiroz (Chico Peltier), who informed him about the problem of crossbreeding Fila with other breeds. He told him that English Mastiffs, Neapolitan Mastiffs and Great Danes were breeding puppies with false pedigrees and persuaded him to write articles for the journal Animals and Veterinary, one of the most respected journals in the industry at the time.
During this time, numerous denunciations have been sent officially to the BKC and even to the FCI about crossbreeding and the honoring of Fila mixed breed dogs at shows. As no action was taken, in 1978 Airton Campbell, Américo Cardoso, Luiz Antônio Maciel, Roberto and Marilia Maruyama and Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz (who became president) formed the Clube de Aprimoramento do Fila Brasileiro, or CAFIB (Club for the Improvement and Development of the Fila brasileiro). The CAFIB started to analyse the Fila population (phenotype, temperament and nervous system) without distinguishing between pedigree and unknown pedigree. The aim of their work is to save and preserve for posterity the typical, authentic filas, which were dogs with an original temperament that worked on the farms. The breeders of the club have sought out the often unregistered individuals on farms all over the country and have succeeded in building up a large herd through painstaking work. They published their own publication, ‘O Fila’, the first issue of which drew attention to the differences between purebreds and mixed breeds.
CAFIB has been active for more than 40 years, running its own registry and holding events.
When dealing with a breed, it is essential to stay informed about the developments taking place in the breeder’s country. Understanding the situation with the Fila Brasileiro breed can be challenging due to the presence of various breed-specific clubs that have emerged over the years. These clubs have either originated from the CAFIB philosophy, which focuses on preserving the original Fila type, or were established by its founders, as is the case with AMFIBRA and UNIFILA.
AMFIBRA (Associação Mundial de Criadores de Cães da Raça Fila Brasileiro) : The World Association of Fila Brasileiro Breeders aims to unite breeders and fans of Fila Brasileiro dogs to preserve the breed’s innate qualities, whether through guidance, shows, events or the tracing/genealogical recording of animals analysed. Thus collaborating in the promotion, creation and selection of animals that preserve the form, behaviour and functionality of the original specimens.
UNIFILA: was founded in 1995 by 4 breeders, Jefferson Bessa (Canil Serras de Minas), Maurício Soares (Canil Parque dos Príncipes), Wagner Alves (Canil Acangussu), Antonio Eduardo Ayres (Canil Lapinha) in Belo Horizonte. They became official in 2001. Their aim is to bring people together to promote the conservation, breeding and genetic development of the breed. They are also represented in Europe by Daniel Vanhove (Sol de Minas Kennel) in Belgium and Claudio Balducci (Fila del Toro) in Italy. In the latter country, 8 exhibitions have been held until 2023.
ORGINAL FILA BRASILEIRO: since the end of the 2010s, a dog rescue project has been running under this name. Its proponents say that the ancestors of the fila come only from the Iberian peninsula and that there is no bloodhound influence. Although the CAFIB organisation represents the original type, they also believe that they have deviated from the original standard and that morphological changes have occurred in the breed, and are beginning to be influenced by the ideology of ‘bigger is better’ and a preference for over-breeding. They believe that the Fila should remain the original working dog, and that this means going back to the interior of the country, to the farms of Minas Gerais, where there are many valuable and healthy specimens without pedigree, but still purebred.