My wife and I have owned our Boston Terriers for over two years. We have four children ages 19 down to 4 at the time of writing this post. Due to the age range in our home and our existing pets when we added a new puppy we had to make sure the Boston Terrier breed has a reputation as a good house dog.
The majority of the time Boston Terriers are good house dogs for all types of owners. These breeds are typically child-friendly, affectionate, energetic when appropriate, and easy to groom. They are comfortable living in a large home or small apartment.
Qualities that make a Boston Terrier a good house dog:
- Child-friendly, will love and not hurt your child
- Sturdy, not fragile when your little ones are rough
- Little to no grooming is required
- Smart, sometimes too smart
- Loyal to their family
- A perfect combination of energy and laziness
- Very affectionate and cuddly
If you would like to hear some of our experiences with our two Boston Terriers keep reading. We will cover the experience we have had from puppy to adolescence.
Why is a Boston Terrier a good house dog
When my wife and I started discussing adding a new dog to our household we had to weigh a lot of factors. In order for us to consider a new dog, it had to fit into a diverse household. For example, the ages in our house at the time were 2, 11, 13, 17, 35, and 42. These different ages also had different personalities and energy levels.
Our top priority was how would a Boston Terrier respond to our 2 year old. When a child that young is stumbling around the house it creates a few issues for a new dog. One is that the child may hurt the puppy not realizing it. This can happen from falling on it or just grabbing it in the wrong way.
When we brought our first Boston Terrier home it was very entertaining watching her play with our two year old daughter. One game that Boston Terriers really seem to like is being chased. A game that 2 year olds like is called chase a puppy and try to hold it.
Lucky for both of them Boston terriers are faster than 2 year olds. So unless they want to be caught you don’t have to worry about your little ones catching them when you are not looking.
Another part about a Boston Terrier being a good dog for young children is that Boston Terriers are not nippy. What I mean by that is some dogs when they get scared or grabbed in a set way have a fight reaction. So by instinct, they will turn and snap at the person who hurt them.
Our Boston Terriers are interesting because they will react in a way that is appropriate to who grabs them. for example, if my little girl grabs them they will just try to get away.
On the other hand, if my oldest son grabs one of the Boston’s they go into hyper, let’s play fight mode. It’s almost like a different dog when my son comes into the picture. As soon as he stops though the Boston’s go right back into relaxed mode.
Boston Terriers are Cuddle bugs and love attention. So when the game would end and our daughter would sit on the couch or lay down for a nap, Ruby would crawl up next to her. I found them in this cuddled-up position…… well I still find them cuddled up all of the time.
Our next priority was would a new Boston Terrier puppy get along with our old Miniature Schnauzer? This was fun to watch because her being a puppy at times put some spring in the older dog’s step. At other times when he didn’t feel like dealing with her, one bark and she would leave him alone.
This is when we started thinking about getting a second Boston Terrier puppy. She was so playful and wanted attention so much that we kind of felt bad for pairing her up to be buddies with an old guy. This is when we started our adventure of having two Boston Terriers.
A lot of people ask me if they were hard to house break. As far as housebreaking I don’t remember it taking any longer than any other dog breed I have owned, one thing I noticed was the male learned a little faster even though he was younger. I have no idea why or if this is typical.
Another question I have been asked is if Boston Terriers shed. At first, I noticed that there was a little bit of hair that would need to be vacuumed up but it was never a big mess.
It was not like some of the other dog breeds I have been around. The longer hair breeds leave big balls of hair. Some of the other short haired breeds just leave piles of hair. Boston Terriers shedding is slight and easy to keep up with.
One funny story I can remember about my Boston Terriers and their shedding was when one day it felt like I got stabbed in the heel by a toothpick. I asked my wife to take a look and when she did there was a laugh.
What she found was one of my Boston Terriers hairs stuck in my heel like a splinter. Their hair is not abnormally hard but it was able to stab halfway into my heel.
My wife was able to pull it out without breaking it. So although Boston Terriers are not unbearable shedders they can still be a little pain in the ….heel.
For our household, energy level was important in the dog breed we picked. We needed a dog that could play with the kids and keep up. Then on the other hand we needed a dog that could just lay by us and watch Netflix. Boston Terriers have a perfect balance of energy and laziness.
One thing that we find hilarious is the sudden spurts of energy our Boston Terriers get. I mean one second they are laying next to you snoring, and the next they are running around the couch 100 miles an hour. You will learn fast why Boston Terrier owners talk about the zoomies.
Another attribute we looked for in a good house dog breed was loyalty. We were looking for a dog that would appreciate its owner and try to do everything it could for them.
I know that sounds a little strange but I will give some examples. When my wife is walking around the house my Boston’s for the most part will follow her. They will sit and watch her and then follow her back to the other room.
Sometimes I think it is because she may drop them a piece of food, but most times its because they are truly loyal to her and want to be around her.
This loyalty is even more true for my youngest daughter. Not only will the Boston Terriers say in the room with her and follow her around I think they would do anything they could to protect her.
The other day my daughter was playing in the backyard. I was watching her but from the other side of the backyard. My neighbor who the Boston Terriers know very well started walking over. They started alarming and making the most aggressive posture I had ever seen from them.
Soon as I walked over they instantly stopped. My neighbor told me she has never seen them like that. She said that it made her think they would really try to attack her if she would have tried to grab my daughter.
So although I have never heard much about the protectiveness of Boston Terriers, I know that if it comes down to my daughter they would not let her get hurt.
The final quality for us deciding is a Boston Terrier a good house dog was will my wife love it. For dogs, my wife needs two things. They need to be ready to get crazy and run around when she wants to get them wound up and they need to cuddle.
My wife has a habit of walking into the room and acting like the biggest kid with our Boston’s. She will make noise and run around with their toys. Anything it takes to get them ramped up.
Once she has them all spun up like a top, she watches and laughs. It’s very cute to watch even when I fuss at her for getting them so wild.
Then after she gets them all wound up and they all run around the house for a little while she is ready to relax. The Boston Terriers are equally ready. This is the second part of why my wife loves them.
She sits on the couch with a blanket and it’s like a magnet for the dogs. In the blink of an eye, she will have one Boston Terrier under the blanket squishing itself between the legs. the other Boston will be laying on top of her as close as it can get.
In the end, the Boston Terriers pass my wife’s test. She loves them and she will tell me all of the time that they love her. So if you ask her if a Boston Terrier is a good house dog she will respond with a smile and a yes.
Can Boston Terriers be house trained?
Boston Terriers are very easy to house train. They love to please their owners and they are a very intelligent breed. This helps them house train quickly.
We trained one of our Boston Terriers using the crate training method and she learned quickly. It was a short period of time that we moved from accidents at night to none.
My male Boston Terrier was trained by just consistently bringing him outside and telling him to go pee. He has gotten this routine down so well that he will even fake it to get back inside. He will run out there, lift his leg, then run back. Sometimes he pees sometimes he just does the motions.
Can Boston Terriers be left alone during the day?
With the right amount of toys around Boston Terriers can be left alone during the day. For the most part, they will nap and wait for your return. The only time we have had issues is if the food was left out or no toys were around to chew on.
This is not true for all Boston owners. I know two owners who have male Boston Terriers who are usually never left alone. The owner stays at home so therefore 90% of the time they have a human with them.
On the few occasions that they need to be left alone. They were not happy about it. This would translate into something getting messed up. sometimes it will be shoes and other times maybe a couch pillow.
Do Boston Terriers bark a lot?
You will find that Boston Terriers are one of the quietest dog breeds you will own. They will bark when you need to be alerted or sometimes when they are playing. for the most part, you will not know they are there.
If you would like to read our post on the barking habits of Boston Terriers check it out HERE.
Now you know the answer of is a Boston Terrier a good house dog
Boston Terriers are one of the top dogs on the list of good house dogs. They have every quality a dog owner is looking for. They are low maintenance, loyal, energetic, low maintenance, and great with kids.
If you are considering getting a new dog keep Boston Terriers on your shortlist. there are not too many other breeds that can compete with them for being a great house or apartment dog. We hope you enjoy yours as much as we have enjoyed ours.