Are Boston Terriers Good With Kids? (How To Train Them)

Boston terriers are adorable little creatures. They have a lively disposition and are very loving. Plus, they are small, making them ideal for a family with kids. Your kids will be able to enjoy the playfulness of this special dog breed. In short, yes, Boston terriers are good with kids.

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Are Boston Terriers Good With Babies?

Boston terriers are very energetic, which can pose issues if you have an infant or toddler. However, Boston terriers are very smart. You can train them not to jump on your child. They require a little persistence, as Bostons can be a little stubborn. Regardless, they are sweet animals that should not pose too many issues around babies.

Are Boston Terriers Protective Over Kids?

Boston terriers make good watchdogs in general. They are quite protective of their families. Because of this, you will have a loving dog that will want to keep your child from seeing any harm. This is a great characteristic.

How to Introduce Boston Terriers To Kids

You want to be mindful of both your child’s and your pet’s safety. Plus, you want them to be comfortable. You are on the right track if you are reading this. That means you truly care about your kids and your pets. So, thank you.

The following points will teach you best practices when introducing your Boston terrier to your kids.

Be Consistent When Training Your Dog

First things first, be consistent when training your dog. A loud, yapping dog may stress out a child.

Train your dog to keep them from barking. You will also want to be persistent in training them not to jump up on your children.

Introduce Them Slowly

It is important to take your time when introducing any animal to a small child. This is beneficial for both your pet and your child. Allow them time to get used to one another. Slow and steady wins the race.

Use A Personal Item

Take a personal item of your child and allow for your Boston terrier to get acquainted with their scent. If you do this, it will limit the excitability of your pet when they first interact with your child. Allowing them to get used to the scent of your child will help a lot.

You can do this with a stuffed animal or blanket. The best way is to leave it in their crate and allow for your Boston terrier to familiarize themselves with your child before they even meet. This will make for a smooth transition.

Supervise Their First Meeting

When they first meet, allow your dog to sniff and investigate with your supervision. Your presence will allow you to give commands to your Boston terrier, if necessary. Plus, it will add a sense of comfort for your child.

Once Comfortable, Allow Them To Interact

If you have successfully followed these instructions, you will find your Boston terrier, and your child will get along great. Perhaps you could start with a cuddle session on the couch. Or, you can take them for a ride in the car next to each other.

How To Train Your Boston Terrier To Be Around Kids?

As stated above, training your dog is the best practice for positive behavior. In training your pet, you allow for playful interactions and safe interactions. Creating comfort between pets and kids can be done with some tried and true methods for training your Boston terrier.

What and When You Feed Your Boston Terrier Matters

Boston terriers will benefit from eating two to three times per day. Adding in exercise will help with attitude problems, too.

One of the best things you can do for your animal is to feed them food high in fatty acids. Especially DHA. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an omega-3 fatty acid. This includes foods like salmon, pollock, eggs, canned tuna, and sardines. Dogs that have DHA in their diet are easier to train.

Boston terriers will also benefit from antioxidants in their diets. They especially help dogs that are aging and experience age-related behavioral problems. Some notable foods with antioxidants include kale and blueberries. There are numerous dog food brands with these characteristics.

Learn your Boston Terrier’s Body Language

Understanding your animal’s cues will help immensely when training them. It will help to know if they are happy or sad. Pay close attention, and you will learn. It is also helpful to understand their bathroom cues when house-training your Boston terrier. Body language is key to understanding your pet.

Keep It Positive

This tip is two-fold. You want to keep a positive attitude while training your dog. It takes patience and consistency. You also want to use positive reinforcement.

Boston terriers are very aware of your emotions. If they do something wrong, yelling at them will not help fix the problem. As they are very sensitive, a bad attitude from you will create a bad attitude in your pet. They can pick up on your vibe more so than other dog breeds.

Positive reinforcement is also imperative. Praise their good behavior. You can create positive reinforcement by giving treats or toys. You can also achieve this through words of affirmation. Say things like, “well done,” “good boy,” “thank you.”

Positive reinforcement has been shown to be a more effective way to train your pet. Negative reinforcement can yield some pretty negative results.

Please make Sure They Get Plenty Of Exercise and Mental Stimulation

It really helps if Boston terriers go for a walk or have playtime before you do a training session. This will help them keep their focus at a time when it is imperative and necessary.

They are prone to burnout, so keep training sessions relatively short. This is where learning their body language will really help.

Again, be consistent and patient with your Boston Terrier

Consistency is key when training any animal. This requires you to be as patient as you can be. It is unrealistic to expect your pet to be trained in a week. It can take up to six months to house-train your Boston terrier. In some cases, that goes out to a year. It can also be as short as one month.

Another important point to consider is that your entire household is on board. If your kids or other loved ones are interacting with the animal frequently but not yielding to the systems you have in place for your pet, the results could be disastrous. It will confuse your pet if they are not being met with the same rules.

Get Outside Of Their Comfort Zone

If you can manage to get your dog into a new environment, this will help immensely. If you can work on training while there is a lot of stimulation for your animal, they will truly learn. It will reinforce that you mean business. If you can get your Boston terrier to respond to commands at the park, they will do it anywhere.

Engage Your Kids In The Training Of Your Boston Terrier

When you properly train your animal, you create the opportunity for your kids to play safely with your pet. They can learn to walk your pet or have them shake, sit, or roll over. You can prevent overstimulation of your child through too much barking.

You will also be sure your animal listens to its primary caregiver and the whole family. This will be fun for the whole family, including your Boston terrier.

Want To Train Your Boston Terrier With Peace Of Mind?

If you haven’t trained your Boston Terrier properly, then this is the perfect time to start. Whatever bad behavior your shepherd has, whether it’s barking at night or other bad behaviors, using the right training program is the key to having an obedient and happy pup.

The training program I love and highly recommend is Brain Training For Dogs.

With Brain Training For Dogs, you’ll save yourself a ton of time and effort. Instead of banging your head against the wall trying to figure out why your dog won’t listen, you’ll follow a path that has been tried, tested, and most importantly, that’s given proven results. Not to mention the fact, you’ll be able to fit the course around your schedule, not fit your schedule around a trainer or obedience class.

So instead of worrying about whether they’re going to be well-behaved or not, you’ll only have to worry about how much fun you’ll have with them!

And in most cases, it’s still going to be:

Cheaper than hiring a professional.
Cheaper than replacing everything they might break.
And definitely cheaper than a lawsuit against you, if they decide to bite someone.

Just imagine how great it will feel to finally be able to trust your Boston Terrier completely and never worry whether they’ll be naughty or not. Instead, you’ll have the peace of mind that you have a well-behaved pup, and the boundaries you set for them will always be there, EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT.

And the best part is it also has a 60-day money-back guarantee! So there’s no reason not to give Brain Training For Dogs a try!

So if you’re tired of your dog’s bad behavior or how they react around other people and pooches, then give it a try! You’ll be amazed by the results!

(You can also check out a full review here to learn exactly what the course has to offer!)

How To Teach Your Kids How To Act Around Your Dog?

It is vital to teach your children to be respectful of their pets. It is also important to include them in the parameters you have set when training your Boston terrier.

You do not want your kids to be overly rough with your pet. Do not let them hit your dog.

Here are some tips from Devonvet.com:

Set an example. Your child’s number one teacher is you. If you do not deviate from your pet’s routines, your child will see this, and hopefully, follow suit. They will see how you approach your animal. It would be best if you did this with a positive attitude and a calm disposition.
Set rules. Set rules for your kids and your pet. Some good examples of rules are:
- No squeezing or climbing on your Boston terrier.
- Don’t pull their ears or tails.
- Keep your distance. Getting in the face of your pet may upset them.
- Use a calm and reassuring tone of voice. If you yell, you may overstimulate your pet.

Teach them to ask permission before interacting with any animal. You do not want them to run-up to the wrong animal without getting your permission or the pet’s owner’s permission. This will keep your kids safe and out of harm’s way from a potentially dangerous dog.
Always supervise your kids when they are interacting with an animal.
Teach them the best ways to pet. Pulling on a dog’s fur is not the best practice. Show them to be soft and loving with their touch.
Show them when it is time to leave a pet alone. This would include an animal wandering off-leash. Teach them about body language and how to spot aggressive or timid dogs.
Give them responsibilities. If they feel important in their pets’ lives, they will grow their bond with them. They can walk them, feed them, play fetch or clean up poop in the yard.
Set them up for success by sharing what to do when they feel threatened by a dog. Teach them to stand still and “act like a tree.” If the animal continues to approach, they should shout at them to “go away!”. If that does not work, they should then yell for an adult. If the animal backs off, teach them to back away slowly and never run.
Teach them personal responsibility. If you educate your kids on caring for the planet and the natural world, they will be naturals. Perhaps you would even want to bring them to spend some time at an animal shelter.

Why Might Boston Terriers Be A Bad Choice?

Boston terriers are great pets, but they can pose some problems like any pet. You want to consider their health and behavior.

Boston Terrier Health

Like pugs and French bulldogs, Boston terriers suffer from what is called a brachycephalic syndrome. The 4 components and cause of this syndrome include:

stenotic nares (small nostrils)
tracheal stenosis (small windpipe)
inverted laryngeal saccules (voice box protrudes into the throat)
elongated soft palate (palate so long it sits on the throat and can block breathing)

While it is often suggested to perform surgery to relieve this condition in pugs and French bulldogs, surgery for Boston terriers is not necessary. Though you, of course, can opt for the surgery if you so desire.

Boston terriers are also susceptible to:

Cataracts
Cherry eye (protrusion of the eyelid)
Heart murmurs
Deafness
Megaesophagus (regurgitation of food)

Behavioral Issues

Boston terriers may have behavioral issues if they are not trained properly. They can be very stubborn and energetic. If you follow the tips outlined here, you should not have these problems. Ensure they get plenty of exercise and reinforce good behavior with treats, toys, and words of affirmation. We highly suggest you take the time to train your pet.

Bad Breeding Practices

You may experience more issues than the common Boston terrier if you choose to go with a breeder lacking integrity. Bad breeding practices can cause congenital disabilities that affect your pets’ physical appearance and vital organ function, especially in the brain.

If You Must Go To A Breeder, Consider These Important Tips

Always vet a breeder before purchasing an animal from them. This is one of the biggest problems in the dog world. If they do ANY of these things, they are not trustworthy, and you do not want to purchase a dog from them.

Non-refundable deposits.
No one-year health guarantee is included.
No photos and pedigrees.
Ships worldwide.
Many dogs breeds for sale.
If they don’t vet you, too.
If they don’t offer health testing.

These unfortunate practices are detrimental to animal safety. If we can put these breeders out of business, all the better. So, do your research.

Take Care Of Your Boston Terrier With Frequent Visits to the Veterinarian

Because they might have some health issues, it is important to visit your vet frequently. Please make sure they are current with all their shots and heartworm medication. You can also ask your vet for advice for when you may experience behavioral issues.

A well-cared-for dog in the medical sense makes for a well-loved dog.

Overall, Boston Terriers Are Excellent Family Dogs

While they may experience some health and behavioral issues, this breed is loveable and makes a great addition to any family. Remember, health and behavioral issues are common with many dog breeds.

Boston terriers are a loving and endearing breed. Even if they can be a bit stubborn, they make loyal pets. Plus, they are great watchdogs.

If you want a calm dog, they are not the best breed for you. This makes them a great match for families with kids that can keep up with their high energy. Regardless of this high energy, they also make excellent cuddlers and will join you to cozy up on the couch.

It also helps that they are a small breed if you want to add a Boston terrier to a family with small children. Your children will not be knocked over so easily by a Boston terrier compared to, say, a labrador retriever. They are also quite sturdy, so they do take a little roughhousing.

Because they are such a high-energy breed, you must be persistent when training your Boston terrier. This will lead to success for both you and your dog.

You will want to teach your kids proper behavior around dogs. Teach them how to pet and care for their animal. This will teach your child compassion and empathy from an early age. These qualities are so important to teach your kids. It will make the world a better place.

Remember, have fun with your pet! Boston terriers will be enjoyable companions for the entire clan.

Boston Terrier Fun Facts

Please enjoy this list of fun facts:

They were the first dog bred in America. They are America’s breed.
They are the state dog of Massachusetts.
They were originally bred for dogfighting. Fortunately, dogfighting is now illegal in the United States.
They are “the American Gentleman” breed. This is because of the color of their fur, which makes them look like they are wearing a cute little tuxedo.
They snore and fart a lot.
Weigh between 10 to 25 pounds.
The average lifespan of a Boston terrier is 13 to 15 years of age.
Their average height is 16 inches.
Watch out for cases of “the zoomies.” They get bursts of energy. Make sure you play with your Boston terrier.
Great with other dogs and cats.