An Annotated Breed Standard
The current breed standard was approved January 9,1990, at this time the parent club is undertaking revisions with the primary emphasis on acceptable colors. I will cover my thoughts on acceptable colors in the discussion on that section.
The Official Breed Standard will be printed in italics while my comments will be printed in regular type. As I have stated elsewhere the comments are strictly my opinion, based on 30 years experience with the breed. There may be, although I don’t know where, a set of opinions that may differ from mine and may or may not be equally valid.
General Appearance - The Boston Terrier is a lively, highly intelligent, smooth coated, short-headed, compactly built, short tailed, well balanced dog, brindle, seal or black in color and evenly marked with white. The head is in proportion to the size of the dog and the expression indicates a high degree of intelligence.
The body is short and well knit, the limbs strong and neatly turned, the tail is short and no feature is so prominent that the dog appears badly proportioned. The dog conveys an impression of determination, strength and activity with style of a high order; carriage easy and graceful. A proportionate combination of “color and white markings“ should be given particular consideration in determining the relative value of GENERAL APPEARANCE to other points..
The general appearance section is generally well written in that it is short, concise and very descriptive. Two somewhat archaic terms have been carried over from the original standard, those are a “well knit body” and “neatly turned limbs” both of which are sufficiently nebulous to be open to a wide interpretation. Also the phrase “with style of high order” is of little real use in evaluating the breed. I once heard a presenter at a pug seminar state that breed could be described in three words round, square and curly, referring to the head, body and tail. The Boston Terrier may be described in two words; square and square.
Size, Proportion, Substance - Weight is divided by classes as follows: Under 15 pounds; 15 pounds and under 20 pounds; 20 pounds and not to exceed 25 pounds.. The length of leg must balance with length of body to give the Boston Terrier its striking square appearance. The Boston Terrier is a sturdy dog and must not appear either spindly or coarse. The bone and muscle must be in proportion as an enhancement to the dog’s weight and structure. Fault: Blocky or chunky in appearance.
Please note the weight divisions generally only occur in the Open Classes at all breed shows and most often are dived as under 15 pounds and over 15 pounds but under 25 pounds. At specialty shows one may find the three classes used in open and other classes. Note there is no stated lower weight limit. Please note: a dog over 25 lbs. is not to be disqualified.
If I were asked to use one word to describe the body and structure it would have to be the word moderate. The bone should be moderate and covered with moderate muscle. There should be very little fat and the dog should show a moderate tuck-up.
In determining the squareness of the dog an imaginary line from the withers to the ground should be approximately equal to a line from the point of the shoulder to the set on of the tail.
Influence of Sex - In a comparison of specimens of each sex, the only evident difference is a slight refinement in the bitch’s conformation.
This is an area that is subtle at best. The usual difference of size as called for in many breed standards does not apply to the Boston Terrier where you may find an eight pound bitch and a 20 pound bitch in the same class, therefore sex could never be a determinate. Conversely, I would not penalize a dog that is refined if all other points were equal.
Head - The skull is square, flat on top, free from wrinkles, cheeks flat, brow abrupt and the stop well defined. The ideal Boston Terrier expression is alert and kind, indicating a high degree of intelligence. This is a most important characteristic of the breed. The eyes are wide apart, large and round and dark in color, the eyes are set square in the skull and the outside corners are in line with the cheeks as viewed from the front. Disqualify: eyes blue in color or any trace of blue. The ears are small, carried erect, either natural or cropped to conform to the shape of the head and situated as near to the corners of the skull as possible.
The muzzle is short, square, wide and deep and in proportion to the skull. It is free from wrinkles, shorter in length than in width or depth; not exceeding in length approximately one third of the length of the skull. The muzzle from stop to end of nose is parallel to the top of the skull.
The nose is black and wide with a well defined line between the nostrils. Disqualify Dudley nose.
The jaw is broad and square with short regular teeth. The bite is even or sufficiently undershot to square the muzzle. The chops are of good depth but not pendulous, completely covering the teeth when the mouth is closed. Serious Faults: Wry mouth..
Head Faults: Eyes showing too much white or haw. Pinched or wide nostrils. Size of ears out of proportion to the size of the head. Serious Head Faults: any showing or the tongue or teeth when the mouth is closed.
While the Boston Terrier is considered a “head breed “, and there is no doubt that it is. It must be remembered that when one looks at the scale of points at the end of this standard.
The head accounts for approximately one third the total points, thus when judging the head it is important to realize there must be a correct sound body behind it. Getting back to the concept of squares, when one looks down on a correct Boston head the top of the skull should be a square with the front corners being defined by the eyes and the rear corners being defined by the ears. The muzzle should appear as a rectangle attached to the square of the skull. One rarely sees a muzzle as long as one third of the skull and I use a rule that defines the width of muzzle as being a minimum of two and one half times the length. A long, tapered or snippy muzzle is incorrect, as is very short, flat muzzle such as you would find on a Peke. The latter would be more acceptable than the former, all other points being equal.
The eyes should be very round and very dark and should be prominent but neither deep set or protruding. It is important there be no white showing as this dark round eye contributes substantially to the overall expression. There should be no white showing in the ideal specimen and any white showing on the inside corners (such as you would see in a Japanese Chin) is a serious fault in my opinion.
The ears should be small and erect and should be set at the outer edges at the back of the skull, they may be natural or cropped but most important is the position of the ear as viewed from the front. The correct ear should be at an 11:05 position if the frontal view were a clock. An ear at a 10:10 position is, in my opinion, pushing the limit. Ear cropping serves two purposes, it reduces the amount of leather but when a notch is removed from the bell it can also substantially effect the position of the ear. There are many more Bostons being shown with natural ears today than in the past, I believe this is because breeders are finding they can breed a correct ear. For that reason given the proverbial two dogs of equal quality, one with natural ears and one cropped I would place the natural ear over the cropped. With a natural ear I can see what Mother Nature and sound breeding has produced. With a cropped ear I can only judge the skill of the veterinarian.
The nose should be solid jet black, a dudley nose is a disqualification, a snow nose in my opinion is just a dudley nose and should be disqualified. One may occasionally see a butterfly nose, in my opinion any color on the nose other than solid black is a fault and should be given consideration in the placement of the dog. One other thing to watch for are pinched nostrils, because the Boston is a brachysyphalic breed, pinched or very narrow nostrils can seriously hamper the ability to breath properly.
The jaw contributes substantially to the overall configuration of the muzzle and should be evaluated carefully, the area of the TMJ should align with the eye to give proper width. A level bite is rarely seen with most jaws being slightly undershot. The standard states, “sufficiently undershot to square the muzzle”. How much is too much? View the muzzle from the side, when the head is erect the front of the muzzle is a vertical line.. It is important when the mouth is closed one should not be able to see neither teeth or tongue
Neck, Topline and Body-The length of neck must display an image of balance to the total dog. It is slightly, arched carrying the head gracefully and setting neatly into the shoulders. The back is just short enough to square the body. The topline is level and the rump curves slightly to the set-on of the tail. The chest is deep with good width, ribs well sprung and carried well back into the loins. The body should appear short. The tail is set on low, short, fine and tapering, straight or screw, and must not be carried above the horizontal. [Note: The preferred tail does not exceed in length more than one quarter the distance from set-on to hock.] Disqualify: Docked tail.
Body Faults: Gaily carried tail. Serious Body Faults: Roach back, sway back, slab sided.
Our standard is very straightforward in this section, there are things that they did not address which I feel it is important to expand upon. One thing not addressed is a dip in the withers which in my opinion is a fault. The dip is not sufficiently elongated to be considered as a sway back yet is sufficient to effect the correct topline. The standard states the ribs should be well sprung, this does not mean barrel ribs, when considering rib spring form a mental picture of a cross section of the body as being a fat oval. The standard states the body should be short but there is such a thing as being too short, the key word in the standard is balance. When you consider the length of back you must simultaneously consider the length of the legs. A back that is too short will interfere with proper movement. In addressing the tail the maximum length is stated as one quarter the distance from the set on to the hock, you will rarely see a tail of that length in the ring. They did not address the minimum length on the tail, you will occasionally see what I refer to as an "inny", that is, there is a very short tail set in a depression in the rump at the set-on. In my opinion this should not be penalized. The standard states the ribs should be carried well back into the loins. The loin itself should be relatively short, a longer loin can contribute to a bad topline.
Forequarters- The shoulders are sloping and well laid back, which allows for the Boston Terrier’s stylish movement. The elbows stand neither in nor out. The forelegs are set moderately apart and on a line with the upper tip of the shoulder blades. The forelegs are straight in bone with short strong pasterns. The dewclaws may be removed. The feet are small round and compact, turned neither in nor out with well arched toes and short nails. Faults: Legs lacking in substance; splay feet.
Shoulder faults will reveal themselves in the dog’s movement so there is no real need to massage the dog while on the table. Insufficient layback or a short upper arm will produce a hackney gate, while incorrect articulation of the shoulder assembly can result in loose elbows which may produce a variety of gait anomalies. When in doubt watch the gait carefully. The front legs, when viewed from the front should be a straight and parallel. Splay feet and weak pasterns are seen more frequently than they should, especially in dogs over a year old. I believe the primary cause of this is that most Bostons are housedogs who spend too much time on carpeted floors. This is only an opinion and I have never claimed not to be opinionated.
Hindquarters-The thighs are strong and well muscled, bent at the stifels and set true. The hocks are short to the feet, turning neither in nor out, with a well-defined hock joint. The feet are small and compact with short nails. Fault: Straight in stifle.
In addressing the rear angulation of the Boston I apply the term moderate, for comparison it is not as pronounced as a Dachshund nor as straight as a Chow Chow. The straight stifle is not only a fault but is usually accompanied with a degree of patella luxation. As with the front legs, the rear legs when viewed from the rear should be straight and parallel.
Gait-The gait of a 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 and power. Gait Faults: There will be no rolling, paddling or weaving when gaited. Hackney gait. Serious Gait Faults: Any crossing movement, either front or rear. The gait of the Boston Terrier is an honest straightforward gait, there should be very little if any convergence towards the centerline. The most prevalent movement problem in the breed today is close rear movement. The breed should have moderate reach and drive. When viewed from the side dog should appear to float, there should be no up and down movement of the topline, no choppiness to the gait. If a Boston were being gaited in sand there would be two separate and distinct tracks.
Coat- The coat is short, smooth, bright and fine in texture. The coat of a healthy Boston has a natural sheen that does not require anything other than a good brushing. The white hair on the collar and chest may be slightly longer, and more dense than the dark body hair, the texture may be slightly course. If it feels too course, check for chalk. There is absolutely no reason for the application of chalk to a Boston yet it has become a prevalent practice, that in my opinion should be discouraged.
Color and Markings- Brindle, seal or black with white markings. Brindle is preferred 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.] Disqualify: Solid black, solid brindle or solid seal without required white markings. Gray or liver colors.
Required Markings: White muzzle band, white blaze between the eyes, white fore-chest.
Desired Markings: White Muzzle band, even white blaze between the eyes and over the head, white collar, white fore-chest, white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs below the hocks. [NOTE: a representative specimen should not be penalized for not possessing “desired Markings.”]
A dog with a preponderance of white on the head or body must possess sufficient merit otherwise to counteract its deficiencies. There is a certain amount of controversy on color at this time and the BTCA has a committee studying a resolution. The problem lies in the fact that certain breeders are breeding and selling dilute and ineligible colors such as red, red brindle and blue Bostons.
I don’t see the problem to be that great in that a correct interpretation and application of the existing standard is all that is required. First brindle is a pattern rather than a color, thus a brindle must have as a base color of either black or seal, ALL OTHER COLORS ARE A DISQUALIFICATION. It is not exactly rocket science to apply our breed standard on color, a “red brindle” is a reworked liver color which is a disqualification. A blue is nothing more than dilute black and is a disqualification, simple as that. More serious in our color standard is the fact that a solid white is NOT a disqualification. On the desired versus required markings it is generally accepted that the white blaze between the eyes should be symmetrical and contained within the inner edges of the eyes and the white collar should not extend beyond the shoulder and that white spots appearing elsewhere on the body are a no-no. I am going to give another personal opinion that I am sure many may disagree with, that is in my opinion markings are the frosting on the cake and should be really the last thing that is considered. I would put up a shyly marked specimen that is outstanding in all other aspects over a flashy marked specimen of lesser quality.
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.
The Boston is a very outgoing animal, the word “stranger” is not in their vocabulary. Because an even temperament is such an integral part of our breed a dog that is aggressive or overly shy should be penalized accordingly.
SCALE OF POINTS
| General Appearance | 10 |
| Expression | 10 |
| Head (Muzzle, Jaw, bite, skull & stop) | 15 |
|
Eyes
|
5 |
| Ears | 5 |
| Neck, Topline, Body & Tail | 15 |
| Forequarters | 10 |
| Hindquarters | 10 |
| Feet | 5 |
| Color, Coat & Markings | 5 |
| Gait | 10 |
| ----- | |
| Total | 100 |
Summary- The clean-cut short backed body of the Boston Terrier coupled with the unique characteristics of his square head and jaw, and his striking markings have resulted in a most dapper and charming American original: The Boston Terrier.
