Some helpful hints on controlling a Fila when the need to walk him through a crowd arises:

1. First and foremost, keep the dog’s head at your side or directly in front of you. A dog who is able to lunge to the end of a leash (even if that leash is only 1 foot long) will be more likely to pull you off balance.

The correct heeling position.

You need to have the dog in a position so that you can see his head at all times, this way you will be able to look the direction in which he is looking, therefore being able to see what is going to set him off.

2. Snug the dog’s collar up around the base of his head. A dog who has his collar down lower on his neck has more leverage to yard you around.

Incorrect position leads to lack of control.

Ideally, an adult Fila will be wearing a choke-type collar, appropriately sized and properly worn, as there is the likelihood of a flat collar slipping off at an inopportune moment.

A choke collar must be worn so the 'live' link falls loose when tension is withdrawn.

With a choke collar, you should pull it up to the smallest part of the dog’s neck (the throat) and then put enough pressure on the collar to keep it from slipping back down or becoming loose again. The dewlap should be below the collar, so that it is not giving the dog a cushion of skin to pull against the collar.

Correct collar placement for maximum control.

3. If you are in a situation where all you have to do is wait for the stranger to pass by, hold the dog in the position described above with his collar snug around his throat. With your other hand, you can try to cover the dog’s eye that is closest to the stranger so that it limits his vision on that side of his body.

Covering the dog's face.

Tell him to Stay, Leave It, or to Stand while you are doing this. The point is to have optimal control in the case that your dog does react to the stranger, but by covering the dog’s eye and telling him to stand steady, you may avoid the need for the dog to react at all.

4. If you believe that the stranger is going to attempt to approach you and your dog, but is not a threat, you should try to avoid contact with this person if it is at all possible. Get control of your dog by pulling his collar up to his throat, and then walk away from the stranger. If you feel you can cover the offside of your dog’s face with your hand without losing your balance, do so. We do this by placing our hand on the side of the dog’s face, with our fingers curled beneath the groove in his jaw line. We use our forearm to cover the dog’s eye.

Grasping the jaw helps to maintain control of head/muzzle.

It takes some practice, but it is a very effective way to keep your dog from focusing on something you don’t want him to focus on! You will need to teach him to tolerate this type of handling while he is young for best results, otherwise he will flip his head around to see past your arm. As a last ditch effort, don’t hesitate to tell the stranger to leave you alone or to stay away from you – after all, hurt feelings heal better than a bite.

Thanks to 9 year old Mallory for being my model for this article, and to my Mom for taking these great pictures!!!