Do you ever mistake a Boston Terrier for a French Bulldog? Or has your Boston Terrier ever been mistaken for a Frenchie?
I can not tell you the number of times I have been on a walk, and someone has complimented me on having a beautiful French Bulldog, and Bella is clearly a Boston.
Take The Boston Terrier vs. Frenchie Quiz
Test your skills on how well you can tell a French Bulldog from a Boston Terrier…
What Is The Difference Between A Boston Terrier And French Bulldog?
There are many differences between the Boston Terrier and the French Bulldog. However, the main prominent features that can help you determine if you are looking at a Frenchie or Boston is height, head, and ears.
For a more in-depth article about the difference between the two breeds, including their history, check out this article I wrote; What Is The Difference Between The French Bulldog And Boston Terrier.
IMPORTANT!
I will outline the three significant visual differences between the two dogs below. However, I wanted to point out where I obtained this information because I found a lot of conflicting articles online.
The information regarding the breed characteristics and standards was obtained directly from the Clubs (organizations) websites that represent the two breeds. Pulling the breed standards from the Club that serves the breed is essential because these Clubs try to preserve the characteristics and qualities related to the specific dog breed they represent.
Club for Boston Terriers: Boston Terrier Club Of America
Club for French Bulldogs: French Bulldog Club Of America
Height
Neither breed standard states a specific height. For the Boston, it must look square with the length of the leg, balancing the length of its body. While the French Bulldog must look compact.
Generally speaking, a Boston should be around 17 inches tall from the ground to its shoulders. While the Frenchie should be approximately 12 inches tall from the ground to its shoulders.
Head
The head for a Boston should be square, flat on top, free from wrinkles, cheeks flat, brow abrupt, and the stop well defined.
While the head of a Frenchie should be large and square. Also, the breed standard states, “top of the skull is flat between the ears; the forehead is not flat but slightly rounded. The muzzle broad, deep, and well laid back; the muscles of the cheeks well developed. The stop well defined, causing a hollow groove between the eyes with heavy wrinkles forming a soft roll over the extremely short nose.”
FYI…the STOP is where the muzzle of the dog meets the skull. The photo below shows where the stop is.
Ears
The Boston Terrier breed standard states, “The ears are small, carried erect, either natural or cropped to conform to the shape of the head and situated as near to the corners of the skull as possible.”
The French Bulldog breed standard states, “Known as the bat ear, broad at the base, elongated, with round top, set high on the head but not too close together, and carried erect with the orifice to the front. The leather of the ear fine and soft. Other than bat ears is a disqualification.”
Videos
To better understand the difference between these two breeds, I thought it would be valuable to see both breeds in action. Below are three videos of each dog. The first video is about the dog. The second video is the breed as puppies. And finally, the third video is the breed at play.
French Bulldogs
French Bulldog’s 101 by Animal Planet.
Cute French Bulldogs as puppies.
French Bulldogs playing.
Boston Terriers
Boston Terrier’s 101 by Animal Planet.
Boston Terrier puppies at play.
Boston Terriers playing.
Final thoughts…
I hope you enjoyed the videos and quiz. And I trust you now have a better understanding of the difference between the two breeds. While the two have many similarities, there are clear differences between the two dogs.
If you want to learn more about Boston Terriers, be sure to check out the articles I have written here on this website. The pieces I think you might be interested in are listed below.