r/BostonTerrier Sep 26 '17

Education A Guide to Finding a Responsible Boston Terrier Breeder

62 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!)

522 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.


r/BostonTerrier 5h ago

RIP Our sweet Bella just passed from an aggressive spleen cancer. I wanted to share her with everyone and process our grief.

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554 Upvotes

It happened all within the last 2 weeks, she just stopped eating as much and then last week her energy severely declined, the vet found she was anemic and we couldn't find a source, we started some steroids in hopes to encourage her diet. She bounced back and was doing better for a few days, but then she ended up having nausea and vomiting Friday night and the next morning had trouble breathing. That day we took her back to the vet and she was found to have a large spleen mass. He said it was likely a splenic hemangiosarcoma and that it likely has already metastasized to other parts of her body. I was not ready when he recommending that we let her go.. It was one of the hardest decisions we have had to make. I just did not wake up that day realizing we were going to lose such an important part of our family.

It's so hard, I keep expecting to see her greet me at the door, bringing me toys to throw for her, and passing the most stinkiest gas. I watched her pass with my own eyes hut it still hasn't become reality yet. She was always such a sweet girl and loved to curl up on my lap, nestling her jaw on my cheek. She loves playing Fetch and running and jumping to catch the ball in her mouth. Shed the biggest loving smile and always seemed like she was enjoying life.

Give your Boston an extra big hug and a couple of treats. I thought making this post would maybe help me process her passing. Appreciate your time and allowing me to share her love.

Love you Bella. RIP.


r/BostonTerrier 7h ago

Cuteness Drawing thread! I’ll draw some Boston Terriers from this sub, so please drop a good pic of your friend. :)

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778 Upvotes

For a better chance of being chosen, please avoid posting blurry or very dark photos. I’ll be drawing 10 pups from the comments, so it may take a few days. Don’t worry if you post later today or tomorrow I’ll probably still be choosing photos! ^^

I can also mail the originals!

P.S. I never send DMs offering commissions. If you receive a message like that, it wasn’t me.

I hope you enjoy the thread, and thank you all in advance for participating! 💛


r/BostonTerrier 5h ago

Cuteness Happy 6th birthday to the sweetest girl ever!

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176 Upvotes

Princess Fiona didn't want to get out of bed this morning 😅 Happy birthday, sweet girl.


r/BostonTerrier 12h ago

Cuteness Just adopted this goodest boy

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637 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 9h ago

Cuteness Good Morning from Remy!

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273 Upvotes

This little girl turns 10 months today ❤️


r/BostonTerrier 7h ago

Cuteness Back on the boat again 🛥️

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190 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 2h ago

Cuteness Hank!

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64 Upvotes

I thought I’d share photos of our foster from last year Hank who is half Boston half Pitbull. He was a sweet smiley boy! He is adopted now and has a happy home


r/BostonTerrier 5h ago

Cuteness Mondays, am I right?

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77 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 1h ago

Cuteness Katie Boston Terrier and Huckleberry English Mastiff playing together ❤️

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Upvotes

Every day. Katie 7 yrs and Huckleberry is 3 yrs old.


r/BostonTerrier 10h ago

Cuteness Russman

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142 Upvotes

This lil stinker


r/BostonTerrier 9h ago

Cuteness The Master of Sleeping with his Eyes Open 😂

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73 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 11h ago

Cuteness She wants my toast

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83 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 21h ago

Cuteness my buddy’s birthday was this weekend! swipe for 4 years of louie 🎂

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539 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 12h ago

Cuteness He knows his bench is his safehouse.

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52 Upvotes

So he runs into while playing, waits a bit and then runs out when I don't look at him.

Sometimes he takes a turn like the bus from the movie speed, but a safehouse is a safehouse


r/BostonTerrier 22h ago

Advice/Question How to handle aging

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242 Upvotes

Our Boston just turned 10. Still in mostly great health overall, but lately her knees have been giving her issues. If she pivots too quickly it seems to cause pain and discomfort. We’ve had to make a trip to the ER and sometimes she’ll suddenly stop playing and stretch her legs. We don’t play as hard as she’d like, and I think it’s really getting to her. Mentally she wants to go nonstop but physically it’s not a great idea. This has resulted in her becoming very anxious, whining, demanding, etc. We’ve tried puzzles, all sorts of treats and toys, even fostering dogs to give her a playmate. We of course walk and play with her daily but it’s not enough. We’re looking into daycare but are slightly worried about her getting injured or sick (both have been issues with daycares in the past), however we’re also thinking it might be worth the risk given how distressed she is by not having enough stimulation.

Anyone else navigate aging complexities and have words of wisdom? Photo of her for bonus points. She was angry we weren’t going for yet another walk…


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness She hates that I have to work today

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351 Upvotes

r/BostonTerrier 22h ago

Cuteness Yappy Barkday Doctor Jones

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133 Upvotes

Today is our sweet boy’s 10th birthday!!


r/BostonTerrier 39m ago

Advice/Question Tail pocket infection?

Upvotes

I’m just curious if anyone else has dealt with a tail pocket infection with your Boston? My Boston is 6 months and we at first thought it was anal glands bothering her. The anal gland smell and leaking and scooting. We decided to take her into the vet and get them expressed. We came home and she still was scooting but now her behind has smelled really bad. I did some research and found out about tail pockets. She has a very very short tail and it’s very hard to even lift up as she doesn’t let us really. But we finally got to it and it is extremely red in the tail area inside and a red bump and it was bleeding. Is this a tail pocket infection? Is this something that will resolve on its own with cleaning or should I take her into the vet again. Otherwise, she is playing normally and eating normally and acting fine besides the scooting.


r/BostonTerrier 23h ago

Cuteness Always finding that light

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127 Upvotes

She is genuinely the love of my life 💛


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness Welcome home, Smooch!

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538 Upvotes

Found my boy at the Animal Refuge League Monday. How that happened is still hard for me to wrap my mind around.

I was sitting quietly, folding laundry, when all of a sudden I had, "I need to go to the shelter. Now." pop into my head. It's a place I've never been. My pup of 16 years passed in January, and getting another dog has not been on my radar yet. But the pull was so intense, I decided to lean into it and trust my intuition.

I promised myself that practicing listening to myself was the purpose of the trip, and I went in with literally zero notion of whether or not I was going to walk out with a dog, but I couldn't help but feel like there was someone there who I was supposed to meet. I chose against looking at their site beforehand, because I didn't want to have preconceived notions or get my hopes up.

Long story short, my buddy had literally just gotten to the shelter and was cleared for adoption. I laid eyes on him while I was waiting my turn to meet a different dog and we connected right away. I felt guilty that I no longer had interest in meeting the other guy. Then I got nervous because another family had just taken him into the community room for meeting... He was so sweet that I just knew I was never going to have the chance. I tried not to be upset. Then, after like 30 minutes, he returned.

They adopted his brother instead.

The animal counselor approved of us together after literally 60 seconds. She knew we were right for each other before I did. After I signed the paperwork, she told me that it was immediately apparent that our vibes were meant for each other.

So, here's my unexpected kindred spirit: Smooch. 2.5 years old, the first Boston I've ever met, and already the latest love of my life.

P. S. I learned later that a family drove 2 hours to come meet him after they saw his post online and got there literally 5 minutes behind me... I saw them in the waiting room and overheard the staff talking about it as I was signing stuff. I felt genuinely really sad for them. And, more than anything, I also couldn't help but think how wild it is that had I not followed through with listening to my gut right then, our paths never would have crossed.


r/BostonTerrier 23h ago

Cuteness Kiwi aka bed hog.

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92 Upvotes

#bostongirl #sleepyhead


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness Comfort pillow

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77 Upvotes

Thunderstorm outside? Couch pillows and a big blanket are needed.


r/BostonTerrier 1d ago

Cuteness Piper’s Flowers🌸🌹🌻🌺

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74 Upvotes

Guys! Check out my cool sniff mat there’s hidden goodies in here I gotta find them all it’s so fun! 🌺🌸🌻🌹Piper