Bettencourt Boston Terrier

1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59378-878-0
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 158 Seiten

Reihe: Comprehensive Owner's Guide

The experts at Kennel Club Books presents the world's largest series of breed-specific canine care books. Each critically acclaimed Comprehensive Owner's Guide covers everything from breed standards to behavior, from training to health and nutrition. With nearly 200 titles in print, this series is sure to please the fancier of even the rarest breed.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bettencourt, Alma

Leseproben

In the latter half of the nineteenth century in England, a breeder crossbred an English Bulldog with a white English Terrier. The result of the aforementioned breeding was a dog of high stature weighing 32 pounds, dark brindle in color with white markings and a rather “bully” appearance. In 1865, the dog was exported to a Mr. William O’Brien of Boston, Massachusetts, who later sold him to Mr. Robert C. Hooper, also of Boston. The dog was named “Hooper’s Judge,” and all research from many authors indicates that Hooper’s Judge was part of the stock that laid the foundation for today’s Boston Terrier.

An early French Bulldog in England shows the breed’s obvious similarities to the Boston Terrier. This spinoff of England’s Bulldog contributed to original Boston Terrier lines.

The Bulldog of England was crossed to the now-extinct white English Terrier to develop the forebears of the Boston Terrier breed.

Hooper’s Judge was then bred to a bitch owned by a Mr. Burnett of Deerfoot Farms, Southboro, Massachusetts. Her name was “Gyp.” She was white in color with short legs, a short muzzle and a square head. Although their backgrounds were dissimilar, Mr. Hooper was pleased with the arranged breeding. The litter whelped from this breeding was surely the beginning of the new breed. Of course, comparing those puppies with the modern Boston Terrier is like comparing apples with oranges. It took several decades and many generations of inbreeding, outbreeding and crossbreeding to produce the breed we now know as the Boston Terrier. The French Bulldog is strongly believed to be prominent among the ancestors. Like many Americans, the Boston Terrier is a product of the melting pot and had a humble beginning.

The French Bulldog, a man-made breed like the Boston Terrier, was intentionally engineered not to appear like the original English Bulldog. This is Napoleon Buonaparte, born about 1895.

A group of about 40 owners banded together in 1891 and organized a breed club. To improve the breed, they started to keep breeding records, and outcrossing to other breeds was no longer acceptable. That same year, they applied to the American Kennel Club (AKC) to be recognized and allowed to register their dogs. They were met with much resistance. Members of the Bull Terrier fancy did not want the dogs recognized, as they claimed they were not Bull Terriers. The Bulldog fancy felt that the dog was a poor copy of their own dogs and that they were detracting from the Bulldog’s popularity. Some of the qualified judges felt that they were too new and unproven for acceptance.

Bulldog Eng. Ch. Mahomet, owned by Mr. James Duncan, was born in 1901. Note the lighter construction of this English dog compared to today’s thicker-set breed representatives.

Old-time Bull Terriers show how different the breed is from the Boston Terrier. Neither the Bull Terrier nor Bulldog fanciers were in favor of the Boston Terrier’s acceptance by the AKC.

The chosen name for the new breed being one of the main problems, the group of owners experimented with different names, including Roundheads, Bullet Heads and American Bull Terriers, but none was satisfactory. Then, Mr. H. Lacey, a judge and journalist, suggested in a local newspaper article that since the little dog was a native of historic Boston, why couldn’t he be the Boston Terrier? And so it was decreed!

Published under the heading “A Terror to Rodents,” this bitch was utilized to show what a good female ratter should look like circa 1900.

The club was named the Boston Terrier Club of America. Although it was not an easy task, the members applied themselves to the writing of a standard, a word picture of the ideal breed representative. This took time and real effort. It seemed every member wanted the standard to reflect those dogs he owned. Finally, one standard was chosen and, although it is still updated from time to time, it is basically the same today.

A very old drawing of two typical British Boston Terriers, both owned by the Countess of Essex at the turn of the 20th century These were considered the best of the breed at the time.

They continued to keep records until they had approximately 75 dogs whose records were at least three generations long. They again applied to the AKC and were accepted in 1893. Breed popularity swelled, and soon Boston Terrier registrations were high on the AKC list.

Once the breed was officially recognized and could be registered, abiding by the standard produced a more refined Boston Terrier. Over the years, changes have been made to the standard in keeping with the overall improvement of the breed.

This American-bred Boston Terrier, photographed in the 1930s, shows the preferred type.

The Boston Terrier was so popular at the turn of the century that G. Rambler, a foremost artist of dog life, published these lively drawings and sketches. The caption read, “Despite his Bulldog ancestry, this dog is a lively fellow as well as having inherited a fine sense of loyalty and a keen intelligence.”

The Boston fancy has spread from the historic Boston area to all over the country, with 30 clubs being listed with the Boston Terrier Club of America, Inc.

By 1908, the Boston Terrier was pretty well established in Canada; the Boston Terrier Club of Canada was founded in that year. Their first show was held in 1909. Western Canada formed their own club in 1912 and Toronto’s club was founded in 1920. Many other Canadian clubs have contributed to the improvement of the breed since that date. Today, Americans are traveling to Canadian shows and Canadians to American shows.

One name from Canada to be remembered would be Vincent G. Perry, who was born in Canada but well known to every Boston Terrier breeder in America. He was a director of the Canadian Kennel Club and a member and officer of Canada’s oldest dog club—The London Canine Association. In 1938, he moved to the United States and became a citizen. He established Globe Kennels, became a sought-after dog show judge and wrote books about the Boston Terrier breed. It would be my guess that all breeders in those years owned a copy of The Boston Terrier, written by Mr. Perry.

In the early 1900s, the Boston Terrier was a highly prized but uncommon breed. Sources say that outstanding champions were selling for as much as $1,000.

Today’s French Bulldog is a heavier dog with unique ears and other distinctive features that set it apart from the Boston Terrier.

Brains and Brawn

Since dogs have been inbred for centuries, their physical and mental characteristics are constantly being changed to suit man’s desires for hunting, retrieving, scenting, guarding and warming their masters’ laps. During the past 150 years, dogs have been judged according to physical characteristics as well as functional abilities. Few breeds can boast a genuine balance between physique, working ability and temperament.

A 1903 photo represents a male, complete with cropped ears. The Bulldog characteristics are easy to recognize in this dog. Breeders have since worked hard to erase these obvious traits.

In the early 1930s, a few British dog enthusiasts brought the Boston Terrier with them back to England. Boston kennels appeared in Lancashire, Surrey and Manchester. As the interest in the breed increased, a gentleman by the name of Arthur Craven, Esq., who was active in raising Bostons, was asked to write a book for the benefit of all Boston breeders. Mr.Craven had already written books about other breeds and, after giving careful consideration to the idea, he complied and wrote The Boston Terrier As I Know It.

Since then, the Boston has become quite popular in the British Isles. In August of 1995, my friend and I attended the Scottish Kennel Club’s 150th Championship Show in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although the Boston entries were small in number, we enjoyed meeting Boston fanciers and were pleased to see that their Bostons were cherished like our own.

It seems quite natural that the interest would cross the channel to France, and then on to Germany and many other European countries. Germany boasts the Clüb Fur Boston Terrier in Deutschland e.v., which has operated for over a decade. This club, under their president and the sponsorship of the Valley of the Sun Boston Terrier Club of Phoenix, Arizona, continues their work for the improvement of the breed.

Among the first British dog fanciers to own Boston Terriers was the very fashionable Countess of Essex. She acquired the best dogs and became a consistent and successful exhibitor in the 1920 and 1930s, doing much to make the breed popular.

Genus Canis

Dogs and wolves are members of the genus Canis. Wolves are known scientifically as Canis lupus while dogs are known as Canis domesticus. Dogs and wolves are known to interbreed. The term “canine” derives from the Latin-derived word Canis. The term “dog” has no scientific basis but has been used for thousands of years. The origin of the word “dog” has never been authoritatively ascertained.

New Zealand and Australia have clubs active in support of the Boston Terrier. New Zealand’s The Boston Terrier Club, Inc. was founded in 1973. I have had occasion to correspond with the club’s secretary, and I found the club to be very cooperative concerning the project for which I asked help. She sent me copies of their club’s official magazine and impressed me with their many activities and support of the breed. I should note that the Australian club was also very supportive of the breed and anxious to help. There is an active Boston Terrier club in Johannesburg, South Africa, and I’m certain...