Boston Terrier

Other Names: Boston Bull Dog Group Kennel Club: Non Sporting (AKC) Utility (KC GB) Appearance Boston Terriers are small, compact and well-muscled dogs. Their faces have a short wide square muzzle, with large, round, prominent dark eyes and small erect ears. Coat They coat is short and fine in texture. Colours include: brindle & white or black & white.

Weight: Boston Terriers should not exceed 11.5 kg. They are divided into 3 weight  categories. Lightweight: under 6.8kgs. Middleweight: over 6.8kgs and under 9.1kgs. Heavyweight: between 9.1-11.5kgs

Average Life Span: 9 - 15 years

Temperament
Boston terriers are gentle, alert, intelligent, enthusiastic, playful with a sense of humour. They are well suited with children and if socialised early will get along well with other dogs and non-canine pets. Boston Terriers a great family pets who loved to be involved with family life. They can be quite boisterous at times and love to play. They are not known to be a good watchdogs.

Training
Boston terriers are intelligent and eager to please so easy to train. They can, however, be quite wilful at times, and are also sensitive to your tone of voice. Training should therefore be, gentle and consistent and start from an early age. They should also be socialised from an early age as the males can sometimes be quite territorial. These little dogs may be difficult to housebreak.

Grooming
Weekly brushing to keep the coat free from dead hairs should keep the coat healthy.

Exercise
Exercise requirements are low for this breed. A short daily walk should be adequate to keep a Boston Terrier fit and healthy.

Boston Terrier Health Issues

Severely hot weather can be fatal to a boston terrier, they don’t even need to be moving about in it to succumb to the heat. Please make sure that any exercise is given early in the morning or late in the evening, don’t be tempted to go for a nice Sunday afternoon stroll when it is very sunny or hot. Also please don’t allow your bulldog to lay out in the sun for long periods, they do not know when they have had enough and it doesn’t take long for their panting to become out of control.
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Cherry Eye: Where the gland under the third eyelid protrudes and looks rather like a cherry in the corner of the eye. Your vet will need to remove the gland (some prefer to tuck but it's not recommended). Occasionally removal of the gland causes dry. regardless of if the dog had cherry eye surgery as a pup. More recently we have heard of vets that refuse to snip, try and find one that will if possible. The risk of dry eye is increased but we see so much dry eye in dogs that haven't had this surgery that it's not usually a factor - bulldog tear glands often block even if they still have this gland.

Luxating Patella Slipping knee joints (also referred to as luxating patellas, slipped stifles) are a common problem in small breeds. In this condition, the kneecap slips out of its groove and moves against the thighbone (femur) instead of along its natural groove. Although this has been found to be a heritable condition, small, active breeds are likely to aggravate it through the course of their natural activities (jumping up and down) around taller objects such as furniture.

Juvenile cataracts: a condition of opacity of the ocular lens causing total or some degree of blindness with an early onset.

Whelping Difficulties: Whelping is often difficult as the pelvis is narrow and the large headed pups are often delivered by caesarean section.

Boston Terrier History

The Boston Terrier can trace its history back to 1865, in Boston, Massachusetts.  At this time pit fighting between dogs was a popular form of entertainment.  There were a number of breeds of dogs that had their start in the fighting pit, and the Boston Terrier was one of them.

The history is thought to have started with Robert C. Hooper, of Boston, Massachusetts. Hooper purchased a dog that was part English Bulldog, and part English Terrier, he named this dog Judge. Judge was rather tall in stature, with dark brindle coloured coat with a white stripe on his face. Judge had a square, blocky head, with a nearly even mouth, and weighed approximately 32 pounds.  A cross breeding was arranged with a Bulldog-type female by the name of Gyp, who was owned by Edward Burnett, of Southboro, Massachusetts.  Gyp was rather short in stature, possessed a short, blocky head, and weighed around 20 pounds.

As time passed, these dogs were referred to as stableman's or the barber's dog.  The reason being that the employees of the very wealthy, would get together to gossip, drink, and pass the time at the local tavern.  Some of these employees had access to their employer's purebred dogs. These employees would borrow their employer's dogs and breed them to other dogs, and arrange for the puppies to "find new homes".  The offspring would end up in the fighting pits, either as young pups to demonstrate their "courage", or as older dogs, to actually fight other dogs, rats, bulls, etc. The Boston Terrier was an established breed of dog.  By this we mean that the Boston Terrier was reproducing true to its form.  Offspring were consistently looking like their sire and dam.  James Watson, suggested that since this new breed did not resemble the Bullterrier, that the dog should have its own identity.  He felt that this dog having been bred in and around Boston, it should be named the Boston Terrier. 1893 the breed was recognised by the A.K.C.

 In the early 1900's pit fighting,  was illegal in most states, and its popularity was dwindling.  So the breeders started looking at the dog as a companion.  These dogs already had a reputation for having a notable devotion to their masters and family.  By the 1950's the Boston Terrier was very much like the dog we know today.  For show purposes, there are three weight classes that pertain to the Boston - they are light (under 15 lbs.), middle (under 20 lbs.), and heavy-weight (under 25 lbs.).