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About the Boston Terrier

Origin: United States Of America
Typical life span
11-13 years
Size
Small — from its typical weight
Weight
5-11 kg
Height
38-43 cm
FCI status
Recognised by FCI
FCI group
Companion and Toy Dogs
Origin
United States Of America
Known hereditary risks
5 documented conditions, with the test for each

About

What is a Boston Terrier?

Compact, short-tailed dog with distinctive flat face, erect ears, and smooth 'tuxedo' coat markings. Known as 'The American Gentleman' for its friendly and intelligent demeanor.

Boston Terrier history and origins

Developed in Boston in the 1870s from crossing English Bulldog with the now-extinct White English Terrier. Refined in the late 19th century and became one of the first American-developed breeds recognized by the AKC.

Boston Terrier appearance and size

Typically 5-11 kg and 38-43 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.

What the breed standard says

Bred for
Companion
Behaviour and temperament
“The Boston Terrier is a friendly and lively dog. The breed has an excellent disposition and a high degree of intelligence, which makes the Boston Terrier an incomparable companion”

Quoted from FCI standard n°140. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

Breed reference from The Dog API.

Characteristics

Size
Small
Exercise needs
2 of 5
Easy to train
—
Amount of shedding
—
Grooming needs
2 of 5
Good with children
—
Cost to keep
—
Tolerates being alone
—
Intelligence
—
Health of breed
5 conditions documented

Pros & cons

Pros & cons for the Boston Terrier

What you get with the Boston Terrier

  • Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion”
  • The standard describes the breed as: “The Boston Terrier is a friendly and lively dog”
  • Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short, smooth, bright and fine in texture”

What you are taking on

  • 3 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in bones & joints and eyes. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.

Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; UFAW - Boston Terrier: Brachycephalic Airway Obstruction Syndrome. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.

Characteristics

FCI standard · Boston Terrier

Coat and colour

As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred.

Coat

Short, smooth, bright and fine in texture

Colour

  • Preferred
  • Permissible
  • Undesirable
  • Disqualifying

Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.

Base colour

Brindle, seal or black with white markings

  • Preferred: Brindle only if all other qualities are equal
  • (Note : Seal defined : Seal appears black except it has a red cast when viewed in the sun or bright light).
  • Required markings: White muzzle band, white blaze between the eyes, white forechest.
  • Preferred: Desired markings: White muzzle band, even white blaze between the eyes and over the head, white collar, white forechest, white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs below the hocks.
  • Preferred: (Note: a representative specimen should not be penalized for not possessing « Markings ».) A dog with a preponderance of white on the head or body must possess sufficient merit otherwise to counteract its deficiencies

Shortened from FCI standard n°140 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.

What the standard penalises

What a judge marks the Boston Terrier down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.

Severe faults

Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.

  • Wry mouth.
  • Any showing of the tongue or teeth when the mouth is closed.
  • Roach back or sway back.
  • Ribcage slab-sided.
  • Gait : Any crossing movement, either front or rear

Disqualifying faults

Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.

  • Dudley nose.
  • Eyes blue in colour or any trace of blue.
  • Docked tail.
  • Solid black, solid brindle, or solid seal without required white markings.
  • Grey or liver colours

FCI standard n°140

Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Boston Terrier in general; any individual animal can differ.

Health guide

Health & screening guide for the Boston Terrier

Known hereditary risks for the Boston Terrier breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.

5 conditions documented

Health checklist (PDF)

Bones & joints

Vertebral malformation (hemivertebrae)

SeriousInherent to the breed

As in other screw-tailed breeds, the gene(s) behind the Boston Terrier's short, kinked tail also produce malformed vertebrae elsewhere in the spine, which can destabilise it and compress the spinal cord, causing pain or hind-limb weakness.

What to ask for

There is no blood or DNA test. Ask whether the parents have had spinal radiographs and what the finding was.

1 source

Patellar luxation

Monitor

The kneecap slips out of its groove; the parent club requires a vet exam every two years for a CHIC number.

What to ask for

OFA patellar luxation exam (graded 0-4) on both parents, repeated every two years.

1 source

Eyes

Early-onset (juvenile) hereditary cataracts

Serious

An autosomal recessive cataract caused by the HSF4 mutation, affecting both eyes symmetrically, starting before one year old and able to progress to blindness by two to three years.

What to ask for

DNA test for the HSF4 mutation, registered with OFA, on both parents.

1 source

Breathing

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS)

SeriousInherent to the breed

Boston Terriers are brachycephalic and probably all have some degree of airway crowding from the shortened muzzle; more extreme facial foreshortening, nostril narrowing and scleral show are associated with a higher risk of clinical signs such as snoring, exercise intolerance and overheating.

What to ask for

The Kennel Club/University of Cambridge Respiratory Function Grading Scheme (RFGS) result on both parents.

2 sources

Hearing

Congenital deafness

Monitor

Some Boston Terriers are born deaf in one or both ears. The parent club requires a one-off hearing test for a CHIC number.

What to ask for

BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) test on both parents, performed after 35 days of age and registered with OFA.

1 source

How long the Boston Terrier lives, in the records

Median survival 11,8 years

95% confidence interval 11,0–12,2 years, from 443 recorded deaths among 1929 dogs

Mortality hazard 1.3 (1.18, 1.42) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12,0 years.

Measured in the United Kingdom from 584.734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.

McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.

Gallery

No photographs yet

This is where Boston Terrier owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.

A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.

Puppies

No puppies listed right now

No Boston Terrier breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.

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