Fun Boston Terrier Facts For Kids

As one of the few breeds that have come from America, the Boston Terrier is quite an exciting canine. Named after the city of Boston in Massachusetts, this breed has a long history.

As is the well-known story, the Boston Terrier is a mix between the breeds of the White English Terrier and the Bulldog.

The Old English Terrier is now extinct, while Bulldogs are still around. The first Boston Terrier mix was made in Liverpool around the late 1860s.

This new cross was called Judge, and it was made to be a fighting canine. Judge soon found his way to Boston after his ownership had changed hands a few times.

By the year 1889, the breed had become so popular that a new club was formed by 30 procurers of this new breed. The club was called The American Bull Terrier Club, as the Bostons were known back then as Bull Terriers.

The name of the club soon met with protests from the fanciers of Bulldogs and Bull Terriers.

This prompted the American Bull Terrier Club to be renamed as the Boston Terrier Club Of America. By 1893, the Boston Terrier Club Of America was recognized by the American Kennel Club as its first non-sporting breed, first American breed, and the 48th breed to be allowed into the AKC.

If you want to know more such interesting facts about Boston Terriers, then do read on. For more information on other animals, take a look at Pocket Pitbull and Chow Lab mix facts.

‍

Boston Terrier Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Boston Terrier?

The American breed of the Boston Terrier is a dog whose lineage can be traced back to England and rose to prominence in the United States of America.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) defines the Boston Terrier dog breed as part of its non-sporting breed because these dogs are not recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as true terriers.

They were the first breed of dogs that originated in America to be recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

What class of animal does a Boston Terrier belong to?

Like every other dog in the world, the Boston Terrier is a relatively new breed of dog that belongs to the class Mammalia or mammals.

How many Boston Terriers are there in the world?

As is the case with most pet dogs, there is no accurate data on the total number of Boston Terriers in the world.

However, the population of this dog is on the rise due to its rise in popularity.

The American Kennel Club or the AKC has a popularity chart for every year that is based on the number of registrations that each breed of dog has. Currently, the Boston Terrier has been ranked the 21st most popular dog out of 195 dog breeds in the United States of America by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

These dogs that come from the Bulldog have been maintaining that position for the past few years, even though the AKC does not recognize the numerous instances of unregistered Boston Terriers across the United States itself and in other parts of the world.

Due to their energy level and friendly personality, the breed Boston Terrier is preferred by many pet owners all over the world.

Where does a Boston Terrier live?

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), the Boston Terrier is classed as a non-sporting breed.

Thus, like most dogs, the Boston Terrier doesn't live in or is not found in the wild.

They are bred as puppies by breeders who then sell these puppies to owners, who, in turn, have been taking these dogs to their own homes.

Initially thought of as a fighting dog, the Boston Terrier, with its cute short tail, is now more suited to the role of a friendly companion and is well adapted to living alone with their humans in apartments, buildings, or farms.

Also, with early training of socialization, a Boston Terrier puppy will get along well with the other dogs and even cats in the household.

What is a Boston Terrier's habitat?

Since the dog is named after a city, it is fairly obvious that Boston's main habitats are urban areas and homes. They are an excellent fit for the urban atmosphere as they are people-oriented and always up for runs or walks in the neighborhood.

The behavior indoors of these little dogs is filled with activity and indoor sports.

They are great in canine sports but are also equally efficient in being a sweet couch potato. However, the breed Boston Terriers are specifically suited to moderate weather conditions.

The breathing of the breed Boston Terrier gets difficult whenever they are placed in extreme weather conditions; be it extreme warm conditions or extremely cold weather conditions.

The owners of the Bostons should see to it that their favorite canines are tended to properly when the weather conditions are adverse. Most experts recommend that even in temperate weather, these Bostons should spend the major part of their days indoors.

Who do Boston Terriers live with?

Bostons, as mentioned before, do not live in or are not found in the wild in a similar fashion to the other domesticated pet dogs. They are usually bred by breeders as puppies.

The friendly and playful temperament of this canine shows us that they get along fine with the other pets in the house, be it bigger breeds of dogs or cats and other pet animals.

Sometimes, though, the Bostons may be intimidating to other dog breeds and display their terrier ancestry through scary postures and barking if they feel that their territory is being invaded.

However, they are great with new visitors to the house and love to get kisses and cuddles from humans. Bostons may spend their time alone with their chew toys and other playthings, but one of their characteristics is that they love to spend time with their families.

The smart, intelligent Boston Terriers can adapt themselves to their human's time and activities and are not dogs who need attention at all times. But, don't let this fact result in you tending very little to this dog.

Boston Terriers thrive on love and are sensitive in a way that they always need a family that is happy to have them around.

How long does a Boston Terrier live?

Bostons are noted to have a life span between the range of 11-15 years.

They are healthy dogs, but they are known to have their life span shortened due to a variety of health issues that include brain tumors, deafness, cataracts, and heart murmurs, amongst other diseases.

Although there is no official record as per the AKC of the oldest Boston Terriers in the world, however, some of these Bulldog-descendant Bostons may have lived well beyond the upper limit life span of 15 years.

In 2019, a Boston Terrier dog named Maya Honk'n Snort from the state of Southern Illinois celebrated its 20th birthday!

How do they reproduce?

The Boston Terriers have the same reproduction process as most dogs have. The male is mated with the female when the female is in heat.

The gestation period of the Boston Terriers may last for the breed's average of 64 days, but the litter's birth can take place earlier or later than the 64 days. The mammary glands of the mother Bostons become active five to six days before the birth of the little pups.

These Bostons might behave strangely before the process of birth, like trying to find a hiding spot or trying to be alone. All this behavior explicitly suggests that the Boston Terrier is getting ready to give birth.

However, the birthing process of the Boston Terrier dog breed may be a bit difficult. Due to the large heads and the small shoulders of the pups, the birthing process may result in the vet having to perform a C-section surgery on the dog.

This occurs only when the female is bred with a male that is bigger in size.

A C-section surgery is generally not needed when the female Boston Terrier has been bred with a male Boston Terrier that is smaller in size. The litter size of the Boston Terriers is usually one puppy to six puppies, though sometimes some Boston Terriers produce litters of around seven little pups.

What is their conservation status?

Since the Boston Terrier dog breed is bred by breeders around the world, they are not in any immediate danger of being extinct.

Furthermore, as the International Union For Conservation Of Nature (IUCN) has not listed these dogs in their IUCN Red List, so it can be safe for us to assume that Boston Terriers are in no immediate danger and have no need for conservation right away.

Boston Terrier Fun Facts

What do Boston Terriers look like?

The appearance of a Boston Terrier is directly related to its heritage. The dog is small and compact, and well-built.

The size of the head is proportional to its body size. However, the head is generally larger than its shoulders. The head of the Bostons is square in shape and flat on the top.

The head is free from all types of wrinkles and cheek flats, and it has a well-defined stop. The muzzle of the dog is short and has no wrinkles in it as well.

The most interesting feature is the erect ears on the flat-head. These small ears do well to distinguish the Boston Terrier from other breeds. The dog has an arched neck that settles quite well into the back.

The top line of the back is level, and the ribs are well-formed too, with strong bones. Genetically, the Boston Terrier dog has a short tail that can be either curled up or straight.

The tail can also be in the shape of a corkscrew. Yet, whatever the shape of the tail, it hardly ever exceeds more than two inches. The other most distinguishable feature of this breed of dog, apart from their heads and ears, are their cute and adorable large eyes.

They have round eyes that are located squarely in their heads. These eyes are widely set from each other.

Now coming to the fur coat of this dog breed, they have a short, smooth fine coat of fur on them that doesn't need a lot of grooming and brushing. This short, smooth coat may come in three different colors along with the characteristic white markings.

These three coat colors are brindle, seal, and black. The seal color coat is the fur coat that derives its names from a seal.

In this fur coat, the dark color of the dog gives off a reddish hue when seen in bright sunlight.

All these colors are accompanied by the white marks on the face, the muzzle, and the chest. You should always know that no true dog belonging to the Boston Terrier dog breed has only a singular color coat.

How cute are they?

You may find Bostons very cute and adorable. Their large eyes, along with their round square falt-tops heads and erect ears make for a very cute combination.

Throw that in with the happy energy and personality of this dog breed, and you may find this dog to be very adorable and cuddle-worthy.

On top of that, this breed of dogs is known to be very humorous and a bit a joker, so expect them to try cute, funny things that can lead to you cuddling and giving kisses full of love.

The Boston Terrier is also known to snore, and you might even find that sight adorable. There are many videos displaying the snore of the breed.

How do they communicate?

Obviously, like any dog breed, the Boston Terrier will communicate with its humans or other pets through barks, growls, whines, and yelps.

In addition to that, the Boston Terrier can communicate via various gestures. For example, they can stare at you with their large eyes and erect ears to show affection and love for their humans.

You will also find them lying flat on their belly to signal to you that they are ready for your affection and cuddles.

Sometimes, on the other hand, it might show you its teeth if it is asking you to back off from doing something that the dog doesn't like. They may often bark while doing this.

Like many other breeds, these dogs also lick their face to shows signs of uneasiness.

Their short tail can also be an effective medium of communication for the dog. They can wag their tail while it is down to show that it is simply happy or that it is waiting for the owner to do something.

However, as it is a bit territorial, an upright tail may suggest that the dog wants to stamp its authority, whether it is while going out to play or even in the house in the presence of another breed of dog.

How big is a Boston Terrier?

This breed of dog is usually measured to be between the height of 9-15 in. This range is true for both males and females of the breed.

However, the Bull Terrier breed, the dog with which the Boston Terrier shared its previous moniker, is bigger as it stands at a height of 21-22 in. The Boston Terrier breed of dogs is also almost half the size of the Rottweiler breed, which has a height of around 28 in.

How fast can a Boston Terrier run?

This friendly and energetic dog is considered a fast runner despite its small size. This is because of the fact that it is so well-built and compact as a breed. According to reports, the Boston Terrier breed can run at a top speed that varies between 18-25 mph.

How much does a Boston Terrier weigh?

The Boston Terrier breed has an average weight range of 10-25 lb.

Most of the dogs belonging to this breed are 13-17 lb, but according to internal standards of breeding, the weight should not exceed more than 25 lb.

The weight groups of these dogs are divided into three parts: those weighing below 15 lb, those weighing between 15 lb and under 20 lb, and those weighing 20lb or more than 20 lb but not exceeding the 20 lb limit.

Interestingly, as this breed of dogs was bred to be fighters, they would weigh around 44 lb.

What are their male and female names of the species?

Like most breeds of dogs, Boston Terriers do not have any specific name for their male and female gender. They are mostly differentiated by the names given by their humans.

What would you call a baby Boston Terrier?

There is no distinct name for a small Boston Terrier puppy other than simply being called a puppy. Again, giving the puppy a name early on in its life can really help with the Boston's training and grooming and brushing.

What do they eat?

The Boston Terrier should be fed a high protein diet that helps it to maintain its good muscular built and health. Along with dog food, this pet dog can eat different human foods as well.

They are often very happy to eat eggs, meat, small oily fishes that provide Omega 3, mashed potatoes, unpasteurized goat milk that is full of important nutrients, and even peanut butter as food. Most dog breeds love having bone broth, and the Boston Terrier is no different in loving this soup.

They also might occasionally eat veggies.

However, you should always take care of not making your dog overweight as the Boston Terriers are one of the breeds that are susceptible to gaining weight. Also, a Boston Terrier is prone to the problem of excess flatulence, and an eye should be kept on the diet and their food to reduce this problem.

Are they slobbery?

The Boston Terrier is among those breeds of dogs that are not slobbery. Obviously, they might drool a little while drinking water or soups and while exercising or running. Apart from these instances, the Boston Terriers do not drool much as a pet.

Would they make a good pet?

Once bred to be a fighter dog, the Boston Terrier has turned into a wonderful companion pet dog. They are a great companion for kids, and their characteristics include being high on energy.

You can leave them with children knowing that the children will be protected at any cost. Their temperament and personality traits include being friendly and amicable to strangers and other pet animals in the house.

Given time, they will also get along really well and play with cats. They are also used as service dogs in hospitals and rehab centers because they get along so well with children and people in general, especially the elderly.

Did you know...

The high energy level of the Boston Terrier is excellent for any type of dog sports ranging from the events of Agility and Flyball to more command-oriented events such as Obedience. These pets almost always excel in such games.

As pets, the Boston Terrier can be an excellent guard dog owing to their terrier heritage. Even though you wouldn't hear them bark very often, the personality traits of these pets ensure that they will almost always bark loudly in order to alert people of any potential danger.

Being a Boston native, the Boston Terrier is the apple of many eyes in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been more than a hundred years that the dog was adopted as the official mascot of Boston University, U.S. The Boston Terrier is so famous that it was named the State Dog of Massachusetts in the year 1979.

This State Dog also goes by another name. Due to its coat color resembling a tuxedo, the Boston Terrier is also lovingly called 'The American Gentleman' in the U.S. It must be noted that 'The American Gentleman' has shown great gentlemanly qualities over the years.

A Boston Terrier dog named Bruschi has the rights reserved for the biggest dog eyes in the world. In 2012, Bruschi was certified by the Guinness Book Of World Records as the dog having the largest eyes with a diameter of 1.1 in for each eye.

Sergeant Stubby, also dubbed as 'greatest war dog', was a Boston Terrier who served in the 102nd Infantry of the U.S. Army in the First World War. Stubby was given a medal by the Army to honor his wartime service for his unit.

How to train a Boston Terrier

Although they are easy to train, a Boston Terrier must be trained while it is still a puppy. Training should include socialization skills.

While training, the method of positive reinforcement should be followed. These dogs are sensitive to the tone of the voice of their humans and may become demotivated when scolded. You should always correct them in a polite and gentle tone and praise them often.

One should find ways to make training fun and playful as the Bostons love to play. Treats while training can be an excellent motivation for these descendants of the Bulldog.

Getting your own Boston Terrier

Boston Terriers are found easily with dog breeders. They are quite affordable too, with dogs coming at a pocket pinch of $800-$1200 USD. However, it is always recommended that you buy your dogs from an ethical breeder.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including Pitbull Chihuahua mix, or Cheagle.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Boston Terrier coloring pages.