Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Non-Sporting Group · No. 23 in 2025

How to identify a Boston Terrier

The Boston Terrier is a compact companion nicknamed the American Gentleman, ranked No. 23 by the AKC in 2025. It’s brindle, seal or black, with required white on the muzzle, between the eyes and on the chest. The skull is square and flat-topped, and the ears are small and erect.

Photo of a Boston Terrier
Photo: Andreas Schlaugat · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Boston Terrier standard.

  1. Brindle, seal, or black, “evenly marked with white”
  2. Required white muzzle band, white blaze between the eyes, and white forechest
  3. Square, flat-topped skull; short, square muzzle; small, erect ears
  4. Tail “short, fine and tapering,” straight or screw, never docked

Tell them apart

Boston Terrier or French Bulldog?

Check the ears and the markings. A French Bulldog has large bat ears with round tops and is white, cream or fawn, often brindle or piebald, but never black. A Boston Terrier has small erect ears and is brindle, seal or black with required white on the muzzle, between the eyes and on the chest.

Boston Terrier

Boston Terrier

  1. Brindle, seal, or black, “evenly marked with white”
  2. Required white muzzle band, white blaze between the eyes, and white forechest
  3. Square, flat-topped skull; short, square muzzle; small, erect ears
  4. Tail “short, fine and tapering,” straight or screw, never docked
French Bulldog

French Bulldog

  1. “Bat ear, broad at the base, elongated, with round top,” carried erect
  2. Large, square head with a soft roll of wrinkles over an “extremely short nose”
  3. “Roach back,” with the loin higher than the shoulder
  4. White, cream, or fawn, with brindle or piebald patterns; never black, blue, or merle

Boston Terrier or Bulldog?

A Boston is lighter and square-built, with small erect ears, a flat-topped skull and required white on the face and chest. A Bulldog is low-slung and heavy, with folded rose ears, heavy wrinkles and an undershot jaw.

Boston Terrier

Boston Terrier

  1. Brindle, seal, or black, “evenly marked with white”
  2. Required white muzzle band, white blaze between the eyes, and white forechest
  3. Square, flat-topped skull; short, square muzzle; small, erect ears
  4. Tail “short, fine and tapering,” straight or screw, never docked
Bulldog

Bulldog

  1. “Heavy, thick-set, low-swung” body with wide shoulders and a rolling gait
  2. Extremely short face, undershot jaw, and heavy wrinkles
  3. Small, thin “rose” ears folding inward at the back
  4. Short, low tail, straight or “screwed,” carried down

Test your eye

One photo, four names, ten dogs a day. Free, no sign-up.

Play today’s Daily

More Companion & Toy breeds

Sources