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Boston Terriers
Boston Terrier board and train in Gloucester, MA
Massachusetts named the Boston Terrier its official state dog in 1979, and the breed's story begins in Boston around 1870 with a dog called Judge. Its training story is simpler than its pedigree: a sensitive, energetic little dog that needs a real outlet, clear house rules and a plan for the bladder.
The breed
Bostons are quick, energetic learners with a sensitive streak that rewards gentle teaching
The AKC describes the Boston Terrier as friendly, bright and amusing, a compact dog of no more than 25 pounds that earned the nickname the American Gentleman. Its scores are 4 out of 5 for trainability and energy, 5 for playfulness and openness to strangers, and only 2 for barking. The breed history traces almost every true Boston to Hooper's Judge, a Bulldog and English Terrier cross bought by Robert C. Hooper of Boston in 1870. Boston University has used the breed as its mascot for nearly a century.
For training, two AKC notes matter most. Treats make a great incentive, and many Bostons are quite sensitive, so warmth and praise do more than a stern voice. A sensitive dog that is scolded tends to shut down or get frantic; one that is paid well for the right choice offers it again. That is why force-free methods suit the breed so well, and why the first days of a stay are spent finding which rewards your Boston values most.
The flat face still sets limits. The AKC notes that, like all flat-faced breeds, Bostons can struggle to breathe without shelter from heat and humidity, and recommends a sweater in cold weather. On Cape Ann that means summer training in cool hours and winter sessions short enough that a thin-coated dog does not stand shivering on a January sidewalk.
- Trainability and energy both 4 out of 5 on the AKC scale
- Sensitive: praise and food outperform a sharp tone
- Flat-faced, so heat and humidity cap outdoor work
- A thin coat, so winter sessions stay brief
Energy and barking
Constant barking in a Boston usually signals boredom or frustration, so the stay tackles both
With a barking score of 2 out of 5, the Boston is not a noisy breed by nature, so a Boston that barks all day is usually telling you something. The AKC says the breed's exercise needs vary by individual, that letting a Boston into the backyard does not count as exercise, and that a Boston left alone for long periods tends to become frustrated and develop undesirable behaviors. Window barking, demand barking at you and frustrated yapping on the leash often grow from that gap.
So the plan meets the need before it trains the quiet. Daycare integration during a stay gives a social Boston time in a playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament, once it is ready. Dogtown's enrichment add-ons, offered on daycare, Academy and overnight days, include a puzzle game or the sniff room for $7 and a frozen Kong for $6. Then come the skills: a place cue at the window, eye contact on the leash and a calm moment rewarded before attention arrives. Force-free training does not use spray or shock collars to silence barking.
- 01
Note when the barking happens: window, doorbell, leash or at you
- 02
Meet the need first with a walk, a game or a food puzzle
- 03
Block the view or the trigger while the new habit forms
- 04
Wait out demand barking with your back turned and say nothing
- 05
Reward the first calm second with a treat placed on the dog's mat
- 06
Stretch the quiet a little before each reward over the following days
Which program
Foundation handles house training and manners, while Advanced polishes an energetic Boston for public places
Foundation is a one-week stay for puppies, young dogs and foundational manners. For a Boston the core is crate and household manners with the house-training routine attached, a loose leash, a place cue for an off switch and a recall built as a game. Impulse control matters for a dog that greets everyone at full speed: sitting for attention instead of springing at knees. Daily updates run through the week, and it closes with one go-home lesson.
Advanced is two weeks for adolescents and real-world reliability, adding distraction proofing, outings, neutrality, confidence building and structured socialization, with two scheduled coaching lessons. It suits the young Boston whose friendliness has turned into leaping at strangers, or whose leash frustration around other dogs is growing. A Boston with long-held fear or reactivity usually needs a longer, session-based program, such as Calm & Connected or React Less, Relax More, and Gabriella Pope will say so at the assessment.
Common mistakes
Yard-only exercise, a loose bathroom routine and a sharp voice hold many Bostons back
The first is treating the yard as a workout. The AKC points out that a Boston put out in the backyard will probably sit at the door waiting to come back in. The same habit undermines house training: a dog sent out alone cannot be rewarded for going, and may simply wait and go indoors later. Go out with your Boston on a leash, wait quietly, and reward within a second or two of the job being done, as the AKC's house-training guide describes.
The second is an inconsistent schedule. The AKC says most dogs avoid soiling where they sleep, so a crate plus trips after waking, meals, play and naps is the backbone, and accidents are cleaned with an odor-neutralizing product rather than punished. The third is a sharp voice. With a breed the AKC calls quite sensitive, scolding tends to produce a dog that hides its mistakes, not one that stops making them.
- Walks and games every day, not the yard alone
- Go out with the dog and reward on the spot
- Crate naps and trips after meals, play and sleep
- No scolding; clean accidents and change the schedule
After the stay
Once home, a Boston needs a daily job and the same routine the go-home lesson set
The go-home lesson, or the two coaching lessons after Advanced, walks you through the cues, the house-training schedule and the barking plan your Boston followed. Keep all three steady for the first month. The AKC suggests agility, obedience, flyball and rally as ways to channel the breed's energy, so a few minutes of trick or rally-style work each day gives a Boston the job it seems to want.
Locally, the Gloucester Dog Park at Stage Fort Park is fenced and has a separate small-dog area, a sensible place to practice a recall among distractions once the cue is solid at home. On workdays, Dogtown Academy adds a trainer session to the day at $89 full or $69 half, and families in the four Pup Van towns, Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, can add pick-up for $10 each way. Our board and train page lists both stays, and private sessions start from $94.
At Dogtown
What a Boston's stay can include
The training, Academy days for steady structure, and enrichment add-ons for a dog with energy to spare.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
When did the Boston Terrier become the state dog?
Why would a Boston bark more than its breed rating suggests?
Do Bostons need a different house-training plan from other small dogs?
Does a Boston need daycare after board and train?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Give the state dog a job.
Tell us your Boston's age, energy level and where the barking or accidents happen. We reply to training inquiries within one hour on business days.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
