The above picture, from the web site of the Boston Terrier Club of America's "breed standard" page, shows that even a short nose is not wanted on this dog. A profound brachycephalic condition is demanded.
The Boston Terrier is breed that can best be described as a genetic wreck, both by design and due to serious inbreeding caused by a small initial gene pool.
The Boston terrier's history is brief and ugly. This was a "dog dealer's creation" from the beginning; a mixture of French bulldog (cast-off bulldogs sent to France by the British), and the short-lived "English White" terrier which was nothing more than a mixture of an apple-headed toy dog with a smooth white foxing terrier. That cross-breed had such a high rate of deafness that it was allowed to slip into extinction.
The Boston Terrier lived on, however, for a simple reason; in the terrier-besotted world of the early Kennel Club, the Americans wanted a breed to call their own. In 1893, they got it, making the Boston Terrier America's first canine native son.
Today's Boston Terrier is a dog with so many serious and painful health problems it should probably be allowed to go extinct.
One such problem is a defining part of the breed standard: Brachycephalic Syndrome.
A brachycephalic dog is one with a very pushed in or flat face. The skull structure is shortened to the extent that the dog tends to have an elongated soft palate and a crowded nasal passage and pharynx.
To put a point on it, brachycephalic dogs have a very tough time breathing, and may collapse dead if excercised in hot weather, a function of simple airway obstruction. >> To read more
Boston terriers also have a tendency to be "hemivertebrae," which means that the spinal column, which should look more-or-less square in cross-section, actually has a wedge-shaped appearance.
The hemivertebrae condition is commonly found in short-muzzled (brachycephalic) breeds that have screw tails, such as the British Bulldog. As a result of the spine's structure, dogs with a hemivertebrae condition can have a form of spina bifida or a dorsal curvature (kyphosis) or a lateral curvature (scoliosis). Compressed amd deformed discs are common, often leading to dogs living in pain or being put down. >> To read more
Boston terriers are prone to serious eye problems, as are many brachycephalic breeds due to the absence of any real snout to serve as a "bumper" when running into brush, tall grass or objects. Physical damage to the cornea can manifest itself in the form of corneal ulcers which, in the cast of the Boston Terrier, can be expected to effect one in ten dogs over the course of their lives.
Along with corneal ulcers Boston Terriers also have a very high incidence (20 percent) of Juvenile Cataracts which can cause total blindness in very young dogs.
Boston terriers also suffer from late-onset cataracts (9% of Boston Terriers), Cherry Eye (6% of Boston Terriers), as well as several other very serious eye problems. >> To read more.
Other common problems with Boston Terriers include cleft lip and palate (15 percent of all puppies), allergic dermatitis (10 percent of dogs), patellar luxation (5 to 6 percent), deafness (4-5 percent), and hyperthyroidism (2 to 3% of dogs).
Cardiac problems are the cause of death for 19 percent of Boston Terriers, with cancer listed at 16 percent, and "respiratory failure" at 12 percent. Neurological causes were associated with 9.5 % of Boston Terrier deaths.
In the U.K., the median age at death for a Boston Terrier was 10 years and 11 months.
Wolf Skull
Airedale Terrier Skull
Boston Terrier Skull
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The top skull is that of a wolf -- a kind of "natural" dog.
The second skull is that of a large man-made terrier with a skull that is almost identical to a wolfs, despite its different coat and temperament. Those who know terriers know that an Airedale looks almost exactly like a Welsh terrier, albeit, three or four times larger.
The third skull is a Boston Terrier, whose skull is so deformed that it is not clear, on first inspection, that it is even a dog. To be honest, if I had found this skull in a pile of bones at the back of a museum cabinet, my first instinct would be to say it was the skull of a monkey.
The second skull is that of a large man-made terrier with a skull that is almost identical to a wolfs, despite its different coat and temperament. Those who know terriers know that an Airedale looks almost exactly like a Welsh terrier, albeit, three or four times larger.
The third skull is a Boston Terrier, whose skull is so deformed that it is not clear, on first inspection, that it is even a dog. To be honest, if I had found this skull in a pile of bones at the back of a museum cabinet, my first instinct would be to say it was the skull of a monkey.
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