If you have seen Hotel for Dogs and know who Georgia is then you know what a Boston Terrier looks like. There is just something about these stocky little dogs with their bug eyes, big ears, smashed face, and nub tail that makes people fall in love with them. I fell in love with Boston Terriers well before they started popping up in movies, commercials, greeting cards, etc, and I now have two, Olive who is almost 4 years old and Sophie who is 9 months old. If you are shopping for a Boston Terrier to add to your family then there are some things you will want to know so you do not end up in an unfavorable situation that is bad for you and your new dog. Hopefully my experiences buying my Boston Terriers will help you avoid some of the unfavorable situations I have had to go through.
I got Olive back in 2005 and before that I didn’t know a whole lot about the Boston Terrier breed, except that they were really cute and I wanted one, so like any person who wants to be informed I headed to the Internet and began my search on Boston Terriers. This is a real important step that anyone thinking about buying a Boston Terrier should do. The Internet is full of a lot of good breed information, Boston Terrier based blogs, and personal accounts from other owners. From my searches I learned that Bostons are susceptible to eye issues, joint issues, and skin issues among other things. Despite what I learned I still wanted a Boston Terrier (I naively thought I could avoid these problems). I searched on the Internet for almost a year before I found Olive. One of the first sites I found was Puppy Find at www.puppyfind.com. I found it to be somewhat helpful in learning more about the breed and puppy prices. The best feature about this website is that you can browse listings of puppies from all over the country. I didn’t end up buying my puppy from this site, because there were no breeders relatively close to where I live (in a pretty small town) and because the prices were quite high. Some of the puppies were going for between $400 – $1000. The price included shipping of the puppy, which could most likely be eliminated if you could pick the puppy up, which is why this site is probably best for people living in large cities (that’s were a lot of the listings originated).
I ended up finding Olive in a classified on Hoobly at www.hoobly.com. People can list different things they want to sell and pets just happen to be one of the categories. I got to see photos of Olive through the classified ad and contacted the seller. I didn’t know what questions to ask, so I had to do my best and take the rest on faith. I got photos of Olive’s parents and other general information about her age, what shots she had, if she had been wormed, and if she had seen a vet. The lady who was selling assured me that everything was fine with the dog and wanted to make sure the puppy would be living indoors and be well taken care of. So, after a little deliberation I decided to get Olive. I ended up paying $375 for her and had to drive half of the distance, 3 hours to get her. Now, the best advice I can give you when buying your Boston Terrier is to BUY LOCALLY. Make sure that you get to see the dog before you buy it, see the parents, see its living conditions, and ask around to see if the breeder is reputable.
When I got Olive I fell in love with her. She was so small that she fit in the palms of both of my hands. Upon first glance of her I could not tell anything was wrong with her. The first time I had any idea that there might be a problem was when we stopped for a potty break and I watched her walk. When Olive walked she sort of stumbled and fell over on her face. I hoped that was something she would grow out of. The next day we took her to the vet and he said that everything was fine, EXCEPT that her patella’s (knee caps) would pop in and out of their position. I remember that he called her “damaged goods” and suggested that we take her back. My sister and I were so sad that we cried the whole way home and when we saw my mom she thought someone had died. Now I probably could have taken Olive back and gotten a refund, but I just knew that she would be put to sleep and I didn’t want that to happen. For the next few months Olive had no problems, but when we switched her kibble she started to develop a rash on her stomach. We didn’t think about it as anything at first, but it ended up getting real bad. I can’t tell you how many times we took her to the vet and how much money we spent and still no one could tell us what was wrong. At one point she was so bad that she had a silver dollar size infection right in the middle of her stomach and had a hard time walking. With some assistance of a local vet (who contacted the University of Missouri Vet School) we came to the conclusion that Olive had a food allergy and would need to eat special food. Now Olive’s diet mainly consists of Royal Canin Dog Food (which costs around $60 for a 16 pound bag). Olive’s skin is much better now and she is doing fine, with the exception of her legs. She still has knee problems and her legs are very bowed out. She can’t run long distances or jump very well, but she is an excellent lap dog. Despite all of Olive’s problems she is by far the best dog we have ever owned. She has the best disposition and has literally been potty trained since the day we brought her home. She never once pooped or peed in her cage and only had a couple of accidents when she was little. We can only hope that Olive will be with us for a long time to come.
Our other dog Sophie is a whole different story. We purchased her locally from people we have known for a while. We saw her quite a few times before we brought her home and saw her living conditions. She has no leg problems or skin issues. Sophie is a completely different dog and a picture perfect Boston Terrier.
If you are considering buying a Boston Terrier please do your homework. While we love Olive dearly it would have been very nice not to have to go through all the problems, vet visits, and spend all the extra money. Before you buy learn as much as you can about the breed. Read blogs, personal experiences, and any other information you can find. When you are ready to buy ask as many questions as you can think of . Ask about shots, if the dog has seen a vet, if it has been wormed, if the parents have any problems, and anything else you can think of. Also find out as much information on the breeder as you can. If you are still thinking that a Boston is what you want keep this in mind. Boston Terriers ARE NOT outdoor dogs. They need to live inside and if you choose to take them outside they cannot stay out for long, as they will over heat. Boston Terriers need a bit of room to run and need to be played with; they are not a total lap dog. If you keep these points in mind then you should have a happy, healthy relationship with your Boston.
