06/19/2026
This was posted on the Boston Terrier Rescue site and I had to share what they wrote. It is absolutely the truth!!!!
"🐾 Did You Know?
Every Boston Terrier carries a little piece of history in their DNA.
Early Boston Terriers – then known as Boston Bull Terriers – were often larger, leggier, and more varied in appearance than the dogs we know today.
In fact, the original Boston Terrier Club of America breed standard accepted a wider range of colours, including liver (red), fawn, and blue. Early Bostons also came in a variety of marking patterns, including dogs known as “splashes” – those with a predominance of white. Historical dogs such as Red Jacket displayed these striking markings. While colours and markings were standardized over time, the genes behind them did not simply disappear.
Early Boston Terriers also displayed a much wider variety of tail types. Historical photographs show some influential Boston Terriers, including Tabor’s Brandy, with longer, straighter tails than we commonly see today. One early stud advertisement even proudly described a Boston Terrier named Dalesman as having a “screw tail” – suggesting the trait was still distinctive enough to be worth mentioning. As breeders worked to establish a more consistent breed type, naturally shorter tails became increasingly desirable and were selectively bred for. While most Boston Terriers today are born with short tails, the genes for longer tails can still occasionally reappear generations later.
That’s why purebred Boston Terriers occasionally surprise us with “throwback” traits that resemble their early ancestors. Longer tails, a leggier build, historical coat colours, unusual markings, and other old-fashioned features can sometimes reappear generations later.
So, the next time you see a Boston Terrier with a longer tail or a look that’s a little outside the modern standard, remember: it might be a mix. Or it might just be a living piece of Boston Terrier history. 😉
Around BTRC, we prefer the term “vintage model.” 😄 ❤️🐾
ꜱᴏᴜʀᴄᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏɢ ꜰᴀɴᴄɪᴇʀ, ᴠᴏʟ. 𝟣𝟥-𝟣𝟦 (𝟣𝟫𝟢𝟦-𝟣𝟫𝟢𝟧); ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏɢ ꜰᴀɴᴄɪᴇʀ, ᴠᴏʟ. 𝟣𝟦 (𝟣𝟫𝟢𝟧); ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏɢ ꜰᴀɴᴄɪᴇʀ, ᴠᴏʟ. 𝟣𝟧-𝟣𝟨 (𝟣𝟫𝟢𝟨-𝟣𝟫𝟢𝟩)."
So if EVER in doubt that the colours or the tails of certain Boston's are purebred you'll actually see that it is just a gene that reached back into the past and came forward! Same as the Haggerty Dot, which everyone wants so badly......what they don't get is you can't have some of the past without the rest of it as well! I loved reading this!
