The Boston Terrier: An All American
Although not colored red, white and blue, Boston Terriers are the all-American dog. They were developed in the city of Boston, as their name suggests, and then spread out across the nation and the world. They are very much like the American owners who developed them. The Boston Terrier was not in America when the colonists arrived. They were developed from dogs brought over and imported from Europe.
The Boston Terrier was bred first and foremost to be a companion to man, woman and child. This has resulted in a breed more renowned for its good temperament than its cute looks. The Boston Terrier has gone through a lot of changes over the hundred and fifty years or so of it’s existence. Both his size and color have gone through a lot of changes. But through it all, it has kept a sunny disposition. He truly earns his nickname of The American Gentleman.
The first dog considered to have the most influence on today’s Boston Terriers was a dog imported from England called Hooper’s Judge. He was thought to have been born in about 1865. He was purchased by Richard C. Hooper of Boston in 1870 and known for excellent looks, as well as a friendly and lively disposition. Most of his puppies looked like him, but dog breeders purposefully tried to breed smaller dogs. He often was put to the now extinct breed English White Terrier.
No matter what kind of bitch Hooper’s Judge was put to, the puppies took on mostly his characteristics and not hers. Nobody spayed or neutered their dogs back then, as there was usually a need for more dogs, and no sign of the pet overpopulation problem of today. Also, veterinary medicine for dogs was pretty primitive back then. Soon, the Boston Bull Terrier was known outside of Boston.
Eventually, the determined Boston breeders got the dog they wanted. This Boston Bull Terrier or Boston Bull was about fifteen to twenty five pounds, had a naturally short tail and had an evenly proportioned amount of white with the colors black, seal or brindle.
Various name permutations have included the Bull Terrier (which ticked off the emerging breed of the same name), the Boston Bull and the Boston Bull Terrier.
The breed as we recognize it today wasn’t seen until about 1900. That was when top breeders formally set down their breed standard. Although there were strict physical standards for a Boston Terrier to make it in the show ring, there were also strict standards on temperament.
Despite all of the generations of fighting dogs in him, a Boston Terrier is more inclined to run away than pick a fight.
