Boston Terriers are small with an average height of 15 to 17 inches. Typical weight ranges from 12-25lbs and the life expectancy is 11 to 13 years. The Boston’s purpose in life is to love their people, they are excellent with children (children should be supervised around pets) and they enjoy meeting other people and animals. If you are looking for a low maintenance dog, look no further. These dogs have short, smooth coats that shed lightly. Don’t expect your couch to be perfectly hairless though. If you want a bull dog type face without the drooling, the Boston Terrier also shines in that category. Brushing is only needed occasionally, though we recommend doing it often as an excellent bonding opportunity. Nails should be trimmed often. A Dremel is the perfect tool for keeping nails trimmed. These dogs are highly intelligent and are easy to train, so be mindful of some stubborn behaviour. Gentle and consistent structure will ensure that your Boston is always well behaved. 

What does the Breed Standard Mean?

This is a description of the ideal dog of each recognized breed. The standard is to serve as an ideal against which dogs are judged at shows, originally laid out by the parent breed club and accepted officially by national and international bodies. (example CKC and AKC) 

CKC Breed Standard 

The following is the description as laid out in the Canadian Kennel Club’s Official Breed Standards Handbook. 

The Boston Terrier is classed within “Group 6 - Non Sporting Dogs” 

General Appearance 

The general appearance of the Boston Terrier should be that of a lively, highly intelligent,  smooth-coated, short-headed, compactly built, short- tailed, well-balanced dog of medium  station, of “acceptable colour” and evenly marked with white. The head should indicate a  high degree of intelligence and should be in proportion to the size of the dog. The body is rather short and well knit, the limbs strong and neatly turned; tail short; and no feature is so prominent that the dog appears badly proportioned. The dog should convey an impression  of determination, strength and activity, with a style of a high order; carriage easy and  graceful. 

A proportionate combination of “colour” and “ideal markings” is a particularly distinctive  feature of a representative specimen, and a dog with a preponderance of white on body, or  without the proper proportion of “acceptable colour” and white on head, should possess  sufficient merit otherwise to counteract its deficiencies in these respects. 

The ideal “Boston Terrier expression” displays “a high degree of intelligence,” and is an  important characteristic of the breed. 

“Colour and markings” and “expression” should be given particular consideration in  determining the relative value of “general appearance” to other points. 

Size 

Not exceeding 25 lb. (11 kg), divided by classes as follows: lightweight, under 15 lb. (7 kg);  middleweight, 15 lb and under 20 lb (7-9 kg); heavyweight, 20 lb. and not exceeding 25 lb.  (9-11 kg). 

Coat and Colour 

Coat short, smooth, bright and fine in texture. Colour Black, Seal, Black Brindle, Brindle, all  with white markings. 

Description of White Markings: 

White muzzle band 

White blaze between the eyes 

White fore chest 

White muzzle band 

White blaze between the eyes and over the head White fore chest 

Full or part white collar 

Part or all of front legs white 

White on the toes of rear feet 

Preferably not more than one third of the entire body should be white 

Head 

Skull square, flat on top, free from wrinkles; cheeks flat; brow abrupt, stop well defined.  Muzzle short, square, wide and deep, and in proportion to skull; free from wrinkles; shorter  in length than in width and depth, not exceeding in length approximately one-third of length  of skull; width and depth carried out well to end; the muzzle from stop to end of nose on a  line parallel to the top of the skull. Nose black and wide, with well-defined lines between  nostrils. Mouth: The jaws are broad and square, with short regular teeth. Bite even or sufficiently undershot to square muzzle. The chops of good depth but not pendulous, completely 

covering the teeth when the mouth is closed. Eyes wide apart, large and round, dark in colour,  expression alert, but kind and intelligent. The eyes should be set square in the skull, and the  outside corners should be on a line with the cheeks as viewed from the front. Ears carried  erect, either cropped to conform to the shape of the head, or natural bat, situated as near the  corners of skull as possible. 

Neck 

Of fair length, slightly arched and carrying the head gracefully; setting neatly into shoulders.

Forequarters 

Shoulders sloping. Elbows standing neither in nor out. Forelegs set moderately wide apart  and on a line with the point of the shoulders; straight in bone and well muscled; pasterns short  and strong. 

Body 

Deep with good width of chest; back short; ribs deep and well sprung, carried well back to  loins; loins short and muscular; rump curving slightly to set-on of tail; flank very slightly cut  up. The body should appear short but not chunky. 

Hindquarters 

Hind legs set true; bent at stifles; short from hocks to feet; hocks turning neither in nor out;  thighs strong and well muscled. Feet round, small, and compact and turned neither in nor  out; toes well arched. 

Tail 

Set-on low; short, fine and tapering; straight or screw; devoid of fringe or coarse hair, and  not carried above horizontal. 

Gait 

The gait of the Boston Terrier is that of a sure-footed straight-gaited dog, forelegs and hind  legs moving straight ahead in line with perfect rhythm, each step indicating grace with  power.

Disqualifications 

Any Solid Colour; black and tan; red; mouse colours. All white, absence of white markings.  Eyes blue in colour or any trace of blue. Docked tail. Dudley nose. 

Scale of Points:

General appearance

............................……...................... 10 

Skull

........................................................ 10 

Eyes

.........................................................5 

Muzzle

........................................................ 10 

Ears

........................................................ 2 

Neck

...............................................…...... 3 

Body

........................................................ 15 

Elbows

........................................................ 4 

Forelegs

...................................….................. 5 

Hind legs

........................................................ 5 

Gait

.......................................….............. 10 

Feet

........................................................ 5 

Tail

........................................…............. 5 

Colour

........................................................ 4 

Ideal markings

........................................................ 5 

Coat

........................................................ 2 

TOTAL 100