Boston Terrier Health Care & Feeding

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Boston Terrier Health Problems

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Complete list of Boston Terrier health problems

Unfortunately, this good-natured breed is deliberately bred to have a deformed structure (domed skull, shortened muzzle, protruding eyes) that causes a lot of health issues.

The Boston Terrier Club conducted a health survey that included 1900 Boston Terriers. They report that 86% of over 675 litters were C-sections because Boston Terrier puppies have such large heads. About 9% of the puppies died soon after birth and about 14% were born with birth defects. The average age of death was 10.4 years old – a short lifespan for a small breed.

When the survey looked specifically at 109 Boston Terriers who had died, only 9 of them died of old age. 20% died of cancer (most commonly mastocytoma). Another 10% died of epilepsy.

Because of their short face, all Boston Terriers suffer from some degree of brachycephalic syndrome, which causes all kinds of health problems.

Boston Terriers are susceptible to many eye problems:

• The most common eye problem is corneal ulcers that occur when the breed's prominent eyes are scratched.
• Corneal dystrophy causes another form of corneal ulcer which is especially painful and difficult to treat.
• Cataracts can be very severe in Boston Terriers. If they appear in a Boston Terrier puppy (2-12 months old), cataracts usually lead to blindness. If they appear later in life (after 4 years old), they may or may not cause blindness – and these late-onset cataracts occur in up to 35% of middle-aged/elderly Bostons.
• Other eye diseases that affect Bostons include cherry eye, dry eye, glaucoma, entropion, and eyelash abnormalities. Occasionally progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) occurs in the breed.

Skin problems include allergies (which cause itchy skin and can lead to pyoderma), demodectic mange, and mast cell tumors.

Some Boston Terriers have pattern baldness, a gradual thinning or complete loss of hair around their temples and ears, underneath their neck and abdomen, and on the backs of their thighs. It's not itchy and the skin and coat are otherwise normal. Since it's a cosmetic condition, there's no treatment required other than adding supplements that are good for the skin and coat, such as fatty acids (The Missing Link).

Orthopedic health problems include luxating patella, hemivertebra, and surprisingly for such a small dog, hip dysplasia. The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the hip X-rays of 270 Boston Terriers and found 12% dysplastic – that's very high for a small breed.

Heart diseases (patent ductus arteriosus and mitral valve disease) are a serious concern in Boston Terriers.

Inherited deafness can occur in Boston Terrier puppies with a lot of white on their head.

Other health problems in Boston Terriers include pyloric stenosis, megaesophagus, Cushing's disease, craniomandibular osteopathy, hydrocephalus, and hernias.

Preventing health problems

Some health problems are inherited. For example, if your dog inherits from his parents the genes for an eye disease called PRA, he will go blind and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

But most health problems can be prevented by the ways you raise your dog.

FREE eBOOK! My free online health care program, 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy shows you how to raise your Boston Terrier in all the right ways that help prevent health problems. Become your dog's health care champion!