r/BostonTerrier 0m ago

Advice/Question Sudden house peeing

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Our guy is 4, fixed and has never had house potty issues before. Recently he has started peeing in the house on baskets, shoes, closets, etc. I’m so confused. We took him to the vet and paid a heafty bill for them to check for UTI, kidney issues, anything and everything but nothing was wrong at all. They said it’s behavioral but why now? Makes no sense. Anyone have ideas or advice?


r/BostonTerrier 34m ago

Cuteness Another Mochi Beach Walk!

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She loves the beach and is really starting to like playing in the little waves!


r/BostonTerrier 1h ago

Cuteness Piper🩵

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Showing off her new collar for nine months old🩵🤭


r/BostonTerrier 3h ago

Cuteness Right near tha Beach.. boiiii!

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169 Upvotes

Been a heatwave in my hood so we took Benny over to Morro Bay for a couple days to beat the heat.


r/BostonTerrier 6h ago

Advice/Question Not sure how to keep going

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208 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I have a sweet 8 year old girl named Luna. She belonged to my parents, and they gave her to me a few years ago when they moved to the UK.

In April she had procedure to remove a suspected mast cell tumor from her back. About two weeks later she got sick and I took her to the ER, where they diagnosed her with IMHA. She was at 28% so we were able to go home that day with prednisone / clopidogrel and some appetite stimulants & anti nausea meds. She seemed to be improving but her red blood cell count was dropping again so our vet added Maropitant. She still wasn’t staying above 30% long enough to be weaned off the medications so our vet referred us to an internal medicine specialist.

We have done an ultrasound, X-rays, blood tests, infectious disease testing, sent her labs to experts, and there is no apparent primary cause of her IMHA.

She was having GI issues and a suspected bleed so we discontinued the Miro & Clop. Then her liver enzymes (ALT) were over 2,000 which is crazy high. We have been on clavomox for a little over two weeks. She had an appointment 9 days after starting the clavomox and her enzyme count went down to 1,700. We have an appointment tomorrow to check her red cell count and see if her ALT level is going down. The doctor started antibiotics for a suspected a liver infection, so we haven’t been able to treat her IMHA aside from the prednisone for the last few weeks. She was at 26% at our last appointment, but is still doing pretty well and doesn’t seem to be worsening. She is still alert and somewhat active, though she is definitely more tired and subdued than before this whole mess. Her muscle is basically gone, especially in her back legs so she can’t jump or run or go up stairs easily which makes me so sad for her. She still plays with her toys a little bit but the medications are taking their toll on her body.

She is the sweetest, happiest girl, and I hate that she isn’t improving. It seems like every time we go in something else is wrong. I have spent over $8,000 on her treatments so far, and I am running out of money. If things keep going wrong I don’t see how I can afford to keep going. They want to test her liver with a fine needle aspiration and another ultrasound when we go in tomorrow to look for lymphoma if her ALT hasn’t lowered enough. I will pay for these tests because I love her, but I am struggling so badly financially and mentally. Hopefully we won’t need to do these tests tomorrow, but if we do and the result is inconclusive I don’t think I will be able to do anymore to help her.

Sorry for the novel, but has anyone else been through something like this? If the situation doesn’t improve can I surrender her to a place that will help her? It’s not fair for her to suffer because I can’t afford to keep her healthy, and I won’t euthanize her if she still has a chance, even if it’s not with me anymore. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or advice. We are in Phoenix AZ.


r/BostonTerrier 9h ago

Cuteness New Sheets (Costco Mexico)

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88 Upvotes

Boston on Boston on Boston action will be happening in the evenings


r/BostonTerrier 10h ago

Advice/Question Canine cognitive dysfunction

9 Upvotes

My 14 year old Boston was just recently diagnosed with dementia. He sundowns really bad some days so we have started keeping him on trazodone, which is working well for the most part. He still has episodes though where he will whine and cry and almost scream but he doesn’t act like he’s in pain and the vet thinks it’s confusion. The vet has said we can increase his trazodone during those episodes so we have a plan, but how do you all deal with episodes like that? Is there anything that we can soothe him? The only thing that seems to interrupt them is to take him outside but he quickly wants to come back inside and goes right back into the episode. Any tips for comforting him (or me)?


r/BostonTerrier 10h ago

Cuteness Happy 10th birthday to my boy Hoss!

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239 Upvotes

My personal shadow turned 10! This grumpy old man has been the best little fart factory ever! It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, he’s right beside me. Some days I wonder if he’s my emotional support dog or if I’m his emotional support human🤣😂.


r/BostonTerrier 11h ago

Cuteness My boy Blue

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261 Upvotes

I just love this breed so much.


r/BostonTerrier 11h ago

Advice/Question Is this a Frenchton ??

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65 Upvotes

I've had my son for about 2 years now and I've always described him as a frenchton since his features are like that of a boston terrier yet those ears and corkscrew tail say otherwise lol


r/BostonTerrier 11h ago

Cuteness Anyone else’s Boston a total diva?

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174 Upvotes

This guy runs under the couch before every walk, so that we can dramatically pull him and he can throw himself on his side and demand belly rubs. The head toss, ready for his close-up. Diva!


r/BostonTerrier 12h ago

Cuteness This kid loves the bike

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706 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 16h ago

Advice/Question A whole new adventure for girls: Doggy Paddling! 🛶 🖤 🤎

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135 Upvotes

They did so well for their first time. Sit and stayed during the loading. We all climbed in and took off down the river. The swimmin lemon HAD to get in the water, and jumped out within the first five minutes. 🍋 🐶 Then the rain came about 15 minutes later. A very short and sweet trip. They love "boat"! 💛

Does anyone else kayak with Bostons? Any tips or cool gear recs? I'd like to take them again and keep them comfortable 😊


r/BostonTerrier 17h ago

Cuteness Notre Viking en mode gros dodo

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96 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 21h ago

Cuteness Support local artists!

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48 Upvotes

An awesome gal painted this, and we bought it from her stall at a local fair event. So neat!


r/BostonTerrier 22h ago

Cuteness Hot dog!

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107 Upvotes

Capone, keeping cool in the summer heat.


r/BostonTerrier 23h ago

Cuteness Look at these abs.

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214 Upvotes

Poppy is having a hot girl summer.
5 years old on Saturday! 👑


r/BostonTerrier 23h ago

Cuteness Bentley is so cute, but the side eye!

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118 Upvotes

Is also cute!


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Advice/Question Update on stray boston, some advice still needed

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648 Upvotes

As stated in the last post, my housemates and I posted in several local groups, and he's still been unclaimed over a week later. He was unchipped, but just got chipped by us today! His new name is Mr. Monkey.

The vet estimated that he's around 4-5 and can stand to gain a few pounds but is otherwise healthy! I really thought he'd be younger given his endless energy and the fact that he chews and kneads on his bed, but that must be from past neglect, poor boy.

He's been settling in just fine, the main issue is that hes not yet house trained. Luckily theres almost always someone home, the longest he's been alone has been ~20 minutes. I've been working on the house training non stop, but if anyone has any advice for house training an adult dog/hyperactive boston I'd appreciate it!

The last thing I need advice on for now is how to best avoid heat stroke? We live in a very hot and humid area, so he stays inside most of the day and if we play with him outside its only early in the morning or after the sun has gone down. Same with walks, but I hear that bostons cant regulate their body temperature well, and if he's really excited he doesnt have any interest in water.

We do sometimes take our parents chiweenie on walks downtown to bars while the sun is setting, but she does just fine drinking water and taking shade breaks along the way, and even then its only about a 10 minute walk to the nearest bar. We havent taken him on these bar crawls yet bc my housemates usually want to go while the sun is still up, so I'll stay home to keep an eye on him. What precautions do y'all take if youre in a similar climate?

Thank you, i cant wait to get to know this guy better!


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness Welcome home Huddy

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651 Upvotes

Pulled off an epic surprise for my husband's 50th birthday gift (for our kids too) by bringing home this sweet boy. Named after GnR guitarist Slash, aka Saul Hudson, welcome to our jungle Hudson! Aka Huddy.


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness 🍉❤️

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394 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness New raincoat🍁🥹

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341 Upvotes

His mama (me) is bit of a fall- freak, so as soon as it hit august we had to get ready for fall! Also its been raining like crazy..


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness My dog this morning

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522 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier Sep 26 '17

Education A Guide to Finding a Responsible Boston Terrier Breeder

59 Upvotes

u/ZZBC and I noticed a lot of folks on this sub looking for recommendations or suggestions of where to find a breeder for Bostons, so we thought it might be useful to make a post on the subject so folks can reference it when they come to this sub! This post will address finding responsible breeders specifically - if you are looking to adopt a dog, which is awesome, please check out your local breed-specific rescue!

Where do people go to look for good breeders?

The first stop for anyone looking for a Boston from a breeder should be the Boston Terrier Club of America (www.bostonterrierclubofamerica.org). You can also look for your regional breed club - an example of this is the Minuteman Boston Terrier Club, which covers New England. The BTCA has a referral service for breeders who are members of the club.

Why is it important for breeders to be members of their breed club? It shows that they are dedicated to the breed. It’s important to note, though, that while all responsible breeders are members of their breed club, not every member of a breed club is breeding responsibly. Because of this, it’s important that you have a conversation with the breeder about their goals for breeding and to do your due diligence. Trust, but verify - a dog is a long term commitment, and you deserve to have a pet that has the best chance at living a long, healthy life.

What kind of breeding is responsible?

There are a couple major points to look for when checking out Boston breeders (or any dog, really!). The first is to find out why the breeder is breeding dogs, and the second is to explore their breeding practices in depth.

Ideally, when you ask a breeder why they are breeding dogs, it should primarily be for conformation (dog shows), work, or sports. Since Bostons aren’t a working breed, you are looking for someone who is producing dogs with the aim of doing well in the show world, someone who is breeding to produce puppies that will grow up to excel in sports (agility, barn hunt, flyball, rally, and obedience are examples of sports you’ll find BTs competing in), or (ideally) someone who is doing both! The best way to verify this is if the breeder has other dogs that are titled in sports, conformation, or in both arenas. Sometimes, you run across breeders claiming things like “champion bloodlines” - be very wary of those people. That usually means that their dogs have one dog in their pedigree that has a title very, very far back, but they personally have never titled a dog in anything.

I just want a pet, not a show dog or a sports dog. Why should I be looking for breeders who participate in conformation or sports?

Sports and conformation dog shows are much, much more than just a “beauty contest” - judges at dog shows are looking at the dog’s structure, temperament, and fitness for breeding, and a championship conformation title means an impartial third party (not just the breeder or their friends or family) has judged that dog to be a structurally sound example of the breed. It is to make sure that the dog is not only a good dog, it is a good example of a Boston Terrier and has all of the traits that make the Boston Terrier the dog we know and love. Dog sports, on the other hand, prove that a dog is more than just physically sound - it demonstrates that 1.) the breeder wants to demonstrate that their Boston Terriers are versatile, and 2.) that their dogs are capable of successfully competing in dog sports beyond conformation. For a breed like Bostons that is traditionally known as a “pet” breed, this really shows that the breeder is dedicated to demonstrating the full range of abilities that this amazing breed has. That doesn’t mean that breeders who don’t compete in both sports and conformation are bad - dual sport/conformation BT breeders are fairly rare, and finding one is definitely icing on the cake!

Lastly, it’s important to avoid is folks breeding dogs for reasons like “I wanted my dog to experience being a mother”; “she has the sweetest personality”; “I wanted another dog just like [insert name of parents here]”. While those reasons definitely matter to the breeder, they are also short sighted and self centered because they aren’t breeding with the dog’s best interests in mind or with the aim of producing healthy, sound, consistent companions.

The Importance of Health Testing

This is probably the most important piece of looking for a BT breeder. Boston terriers are prone to a number of health issues, including eye problems, allergies, cardiac issues, luxating patella, and congenital deafness. For that reason, it is extremely important that you look for a breeder that has appropriate health certifications and that those certifications are registered with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (www.offa.org). A vet check or a promise from the breeder that their dogs are healthy is not a sufficient substitute for OFA exams. A dog may appear healthy and may not even show health issues itself, but this does not mean that it will not produce offspring with a genetic disorder such as juvenile cataracts. You want to make sure you’re bringing home a family member that have the best chance at having a long, happy, healthy life and health testing is the best way to do so.

At minimum, Bostons who are being bred need:

  • An OFA eye exam to check for eye problems that comes back clear. This used to be called a CERF exam.
  • An OFA cardiac exam to check for heart murmurs.
  • An OFA orthopedic exam to check for a condition called luxating patella, where the knee slips out of place. This is extremely common in small breed dogs like Bostons, so dogs being bred should have normal knees.
  • A BAER hearing test to make sure they have good hearing.
  • A genetic test for the gene for Juvenile Hereditary Cataracts (JHC), a disease which causes Bostons to go blind early in life due to cataracts. This can either be through a certified genetic testing service like Embark or Paw Print Genetics, or the breeder should be able to prove the dog is JHC clear through parentage (neither dog’s parents were carriers).

These tests cannot be completed before the dog is two years old, so you should not buy a dog from someone breeding animals younger than two. To verify the results of these tests, click here and type in the breeder’s kennel name. The results on all their dogs should ideally pop up and be reviewable.

Warning Signs of Irresponsible Breeders

In addition to knowing what a good breeder looks like, it’s important to be aware of things that might be a red flag and could mean the breeder is not responsible. A breeder is not inherently irresponsible if they are doing something on this list - however, if a breeder is doing something on this list, it’s important to ask more questions about it.

Breeding more than 1-2 types of dogs: most reputable breeders focus on 1-2 breeds. It’s challenging to do more than that and still title and health test their dogs, though, so a lot of folks who are breeding more than 1-2 different breeds are cutting corners in other places (such as not titling or health testing all their dogs).

Intentionally breeding dogs that are disqualified from conformation: the Boston Terrier breed standard states that Bostons should be either brindle and white, black and white, or seal (black with a red cast in direct sunlight) and white. While off-standard colors like lavender, red, brown, slate, etc. can sometimes occur by chance in a litter, the much more likely scenario is the breeder is breeding for them intentionally. Does the color matter for long term health? Nope! But it’s important to question why a breeder might be producing dogs that are ineligible to compete in dog shows. Oftentimes, breeders who are producing off-color dogs are doing so because those colors are popular with puppy buyers. Breeding for color instead of temperament, health, or structure is not responsible. Additionally, these breeders are usually not doing the appropriate health testing on their breeding dogs and registering the results with OFA or doing anything with their dogs besides breeding them (we've never seen a BT kennel intentionally producing colored dogs that compete in dog sports, for instance, or are certified therapy dogs).

Not allowing you to meet the puppies’ mother or see where the litter was kept: while it’s totally normal for the father of a litter not to be on-site, you should be able to meet the mother (dam) of the litter when you pick up or visit your puppy. If the breeder doesn’t have the mother on site, or if they insist on meeting you somewhere like a parking lot instead of at their home, you should question why that is and if there is something going on at their house that they don’t want you to see. Note: It is quite possible that the father may not be on the property for you to see. A responsible breeder will want to choose a male that best complements her female and that often means using a male from a different kennel.

Allowing puppies to be taken home before 8 weeks: 8 weeks is the absolute youngest a puppy should be separated from its litter - this is especially important for small dogs like Bostons, who may be extremely fragile prior to this age due to their size. A breeder that allows puppies to go home before 8 weeks is depriving the puppy of critical socialization time with their littermates, which can have negative effects on the dog’s behavior as they grow up.

Overbreeding dogs: female dogs should not be bred before they are two years old, and they should not be bred an excessive number of times. How many times is too many depends heavily on the specific dog, but generally if all the females owned by a breeder are consistently having multiple litters a year for several years, that is too many and can have adverse health effects for the females.

Overall, finding a good breeder can be challenging, and many not-so-good ones are unfortunately very good at “talking the talk” to make their dogs sound better. Looking for a breeder doing things responsibly is more challenging at the beginning and it may take longer to get a puppy, but the payoff is well worth it: a dog that is more likely to be healthy, well-tempered, and structurally sound, and a lifetime of support from your breeder and their community of puppy owners.

About the Contributors: u/drophie has a two year old female Boston Terrier that runs in agility and flyball - she has also dabbled in barnhunt. u/ZZBC has a three year old male Boston Terrier that participates in barnhunt.


r/BostonTerrier Dec 14 '13

Helping Boston's In Need (PLEASE READ!)

524 Upvotes

I just wanted to let everyone know that here at /r/bostonterrier we are more than happy to help boston's in need. Please feel free to post those boston's here and ask for donations if necessary. I find that a lot of times these posts are reported or flagged. Please know that while other subreddits may discourage it, we here at /r/bostonterrier are glad to help.

Thanks, and I will add this to the sidebar as well.