Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Denise Leo. Post first published on July 7, 2021.
Small in size and affectionate in nature, Boston Terrier is a lively family companion. This article is all about Boston Terrier male vs female and their traits and characteristics.
Small, sturdy and muscular build with naturally large ears that stand erect; a broad flat nose and a face without wrinkles – you can easily recognize a Boston Terrier from a distance. A comparison between Boston Terrier male vs female would mark no physical difference as they apparently look alike.
Known for their sleek, shiny and straight coat that displays crisp white markings and makes it appear as if the dog is wearing a tuxedo. Because of this outstanding feature, the Boston Terrier is known as the American Gentleman.
History of the Boston Terrier
American Kennel Club (AKC) finds the origin of the Boston Terrier in 19th century England. In those days, blood sports were famous in England and people used to cross breed dogs to create fierce breeds that would help them earn a victory in the ring.
The Boston Terrier was developed as a fighting dog after the American Civil War. The ancestor of most Boston terriers was a “Hooper’s Judge” dog that was sold to a man in Boston in 1870. He’s a mixture of a white English Terrier and an English Bulldog.
Judge is explained by one dog historian in his writings as “strongly built, high stationed dog of about thirty two pounds weight. In color he was a dark brindle, with a white stripe in the face. His head was square and blocky, and he resembled the present Boston Terrier in that he had a nearly even mouth.”
Judge was brought to the United States and was owned by Robert C. Hooper who lived in Boston. This dog Judge is the common ancestor of all the Boston Terriers.
In 1891, the Boston Terrier Club of America was formed. AKC registered the first dog in the year 1893. In 1891, the name was changed to the Boston Terrier, named for the city of origin. The Boston Terrier is considered as the pride of Boston. Honoring the breed, Boston University changed its official mascot to Boston Terrier and in 1979 State legislature of Massachusetts declared Boston Terrier the official dog of Massachusetts.
During the successive breeding, Boston Terrier underwent a transformation from the bulky fighter dog to a small, sweet and attractive dog of today. The Boston is an intelligent, lively canine with a dapper appearance and is most suited to being a family pet.
A Boston Terrier is easy to train and prefers to stay by his owner’s side. He’s a short, dog who is coloured either seal, black or brindle and has white markings.
He can vary in weight from 10 – 25 pounds and is 15 – 17 inches high.
AKC Breed Specification of Boston Terrier
American Kennel Club offers a detailed breed specification of Boston Terriers. Following are the important pointers that are specific to these dogs.
General Appearance:
Boston Terrier has a smooth coat, short head and a compact body. With a short tail, it looks like a perfectly balanced dog. The size of the head is in the right proportion when compared to the size of the body. Boston Terrier is a highly intelligent dog as appeared from its expressions.
Head:
The skull is a square that is flat on top. Face is free from any wrinkles and cheeks are flat.
The eyes are dark, round and set wide apart from each other. There must not be any trace of blue on the body and in the eyes for a dog to be a purebred Boston Terrier. The ears are small and naturally erect. They are situated at the corners of the skull.
Neck, Topline and Body:
Neck is slightly arched. It displays an image of balance. The size of the neck is in the right proportion when seen along with the size of the head and the body. The neck sits perfectly in the middle of the two shoulders. The topline is level and the back is slightly curved to the tip of the tail. The tail is short and tapered.
Forequarters:
The shoulders are well supported and perfectly laid back. It allows the Boston Terrier to have a graceful walk. The forelegs are set moderately apart and match in a straight line to the upper tip of the shoulder blade. The feet are small, round and compact. They are designed beautifully and can take the weight of the body perfectly well.
Hindquarters:
Thighs in the hindquarters are muscular and strong that allow it to leap forward while running. Thighs are bent at stifles. The feet are small and compact with short nails.
Gait:
Boston Terrier has a graceful gait. The forelegs and hindlegs move in a straight line and in a perfect rhythm. Boston Terrier’s gait is that of a sure footed, straight gaited dog.
Coat:
The coat is short, smooth, bright and fine to touch.
Color and Markings:
Boston Terriers come in brindle, seal or black colors with white markings. The desired markings include white muzzle band, white blaze between the eyes, white blaze over the head, white collar, white fore chest, white on a part or whole of forelegs and hindlegs.
Temperament:
Boston Terrier is a lively and intelligent dog. It is a perfect human companion.
Boston Terrier Male vs Female
Boston Terrier is a small, muscular and a pretty looking dog. Affectionate and loving, Boston Terrier is really a family dog. Whenever it looks at you with its cute, round and black eyes, you immediately fall in love with this breed.
There are many traits and characteristics salient to this outstanding breed. However, there are marked differences when it comes to Boston Terrier Male vs Female. In this section, we are going to focus on the gender specific traits of Boston Terrier Male vs Female.
Boston Terrier Male vs Female Size
The Boston Terrier male dog has an average height of 15-17 inches. It weighs between 10lbs and 25lbs whereas a Boston Terrier girl weighs between 9lbs and 20lbs and reaches a height of about 9-15 inches.
Male dogs have more muscle mass and are much bulkier in comparison to the female dogs. A Boston Terrier girl is lean with less muscle mass.
Male Boston Terrier Temperament
A male Boston Terrier dog is friendly, bright and amusing. It takes more time to train a male dog in comparison to a female dog. However, it is a great family companion and loves to please its owner.
The Boston Terrier male loves to eat and food motivates it. It loves to be cuddled and played with and appreciates a belly rub and back scratches. A boy Boston Terrier is more playful and agile than a female Boston Terrier.
It gets aged physically fairly quickly whereas mentally it still remains a playful and agile dog.
A Boston Terrier male acts as the protector of the territory and the family. It allows no other dog to enter its territory or to harm its family in any way. Being a protector, it gets along well with all the members of the family and loves them.
It seeks its owner’s attention all the time. It is kind to strangers and gets along well with female dogs.
The disadvantage of a male Boston Terrier is that it is a messy dog and requires a lot of cleaning. It is very difficult to train a male dog to walk off a leash. In a crowd, they tend to go off track. Plus they are clumsy with children.
Female Boston Terrier Temperament
A female Boston Terrier learns fast and is easy to train. It is friendly, energetic and fun loving. Though it enjoys company, it has less desire to please its owner than a male terrier.
Like its male counterpart, a Boston Terrier girl gets motivated by food. The motivation for food dies down when it is pregnant. It is more independent, calmer and less passionate than a male terrier.
It is less playful than a male dog and reaches mental maturity pretty quickly whereas the physical maturity hits late. In this way, it is a total opposite of its male version. It is not protective of its territory at all and when it comes to protecting its family, it takes care only of its owner.
The female Boston Terrier is less attention seeking and does not always bother its owner. A female allows you to have your private time and respects it.
A girl Boston terrier often bonds well with only one person in the family – its owner. It gets along well with male dogs but it is not very welcoming when it comes to strangers and children.
Boston Terrier Traits and Characteristics
Behavior with family
Boston terrier is an affectionate family dog. It keeps you company and because of its playful nature, it would stay agile and active all day long. It is kind towards children and behaves well around them.
However, like with every other dog, the dog and children’s time should always be supervised by an adult. It is fairly good with other dogs and tolerates their presence when it is not threatening.
Physical Traits
The physical requirements of the Boston Terrier for grooming are minimum. Its shedding frequency is minimum. So, you would not have to clean around often. The coat grooming requirements are also minimum and you can take a fortnight to groom its coat that makes the job easy. The additional benefit of having a Boston Terrier is that it is less likely to drool.
General personality traits
The Boston Terrier is fairly easy to train. It is always full of energy and tries its best to please its owner. When it comes to the barking tendency of this dog, it does not bark at all. However, it barks only to alert its owner which makes this dog a great watchdog.
On a daily basis, it requires less exercise and outdoor time. A moderate activity would be enough for this dog. For the rest of the day, they would love to lounge.
Boston Terrier Male or Female?
If you love the Boston Terrier and you are in the process of owning one, you might wonder what is the best for you to own – Boston Terrier male or female?
It is really a tough call between Boston Terrier male vs female. A male possesses certain specific qualities and so does the female dog.
There are subtle differences in owning a male or a female Boston Terrier. A male Boston Terrier is playful and agile. It would love to stay around all day long. Since it is good with children, it would keep them in good company.
However, a female dog is a loyal companion of its owner only. If you want to have a dog that always stays by your side and puts you first than any of the other members of your family, you should go for a Boston Terrier female dog.
There are different advantages of owning a male over a female and vice versa. Let us look at the individual advantages of each.
Advantages of owning a male Boston Terrier
- Joyous and playful
- Agile and energetic
- It would play all day long with your children
- Protects all the members of the family
- A good watchdog
- Patient towards strangers and kind to children
- Does not bark but to alert
Advantages of owning a female Boston Terrier
- Less playful and more patient
- Respects the free time of the owner
- Loyal only to the owner and protects him to death
- Easier to train and easier to handle
- Excellent companion for adults
- Low maintenance dog
Now that you have gone through the advantages of male and female dogs, it is easier for you to make a decision which dog to own.
If there are children in your family, a male Boston Terrier might be a better choice for you. If you live alone and want company, a female Boston Terrier would serve great as a companion.
Conclusion
Boston Terrier is an agile, muscular, playful and an excellent family dog. Though it was crossed to get a dog for the love of blood sports, it has come far away from its wild ancestors. Today’s Boston Terrier is a cheerful and loving dog.
There are stark differences when it comes to Boston Terrier male vs female. The male dog is more playful, active and protective. The female dog is more calm, intelligent and a silent companion.
It depends on your personality whether you want to own a male Boston Terrier or a female one. Choose wisely.
Good luck.
Copyright CaninePals.Com. All Rights Reserved.
References and Further Reading:
[1] American Kennel Club, Boston Terrier Information.
Author
-
by
-
