Boston Terrier Okay, so your Boston Terrier just stared you dead in the eyes and sat down harder in defiance. You said "come," and he walked the other direction. You’ve tried treats, stern voices, sweet voices, bribing with cheese. Nothing works. Or worse, something works once and then never again.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone, and you’re not doing it wrong.
Boston Terriers are brilliant little dogs. That’s actually the problem. They’re smart enough to figure out what you want, and just stubborn enough to decide whether or not they feel like cooperating. Training them isn’t impossible; it’s just a game you have to learn to play on their terms.
Here are the five most common training headaches Boston Terrier owners deal with, and exactly how to fix them.
1. Your Boston Terrier Won’t Come When Called
Why It Happens
Recall is one of the hardest skills to teach any dog, but Boston Terriers turn it into an art form. They get distracted. They get curious. They decide the smell of that one specific patch of grass is far more important than whatever you’re saying.
The real issue is usually that "come" has become a signal for something unpleasant. Bath time. Leaving the dog park. End of playtime. Your Boston has connected the word with the fun stopping, so why on earth would he come?
The Fix
Start over with the word. Seriously. Pick a new recall cue ("here," "this way," whatever you like) and build it from scratch with zero negative associations.
The most important rule in recall training is simple: coming to you should always be the best thing that happened to your dog all day.
Practice in low-distraction environments first. Reward wildly when he gets it right. We’re talking the good treats, the real excitement, the full celebration. Once that behavior is locked in at home, gradually level up the distractions.
And never, ever call your dog to you for something he doesn’t like. Go get him instead.
2. Leash Pulling So Bad Your Arm Hurts
Why It Happens
Boston Terriers are compact, muscular little rockets. They want to go now, they want to sniff that, and they want to greet everyone. The leash feels like an obstacle between them and the world.
Here’s the thing most people don’t realize: pulling works. Every time your dog pulls and you keep walking forward, he learns that pulling is how you move. You’ve accidentally trained the exact behavior you’re trying to stop.
The Fix
Stop moving the moment the leash goes tight. Just stop. Don’t jerk, don’t scold; just become a statue.
The second your dog releases the tension and looks back at you, that’s your moment. Mark it, reward it, and start walking again. It feels tedious at first. Your walks will be slow. Some days you’ll only make it halfway down the block.
Loose leash walking isn’t trained on the walk. It’s trained in the repetition of a thousand small moments that teach your dog: tension means nothing happens, slack means we go.
Stick with it consistently for two to three weeks and you’ll start to feel the difference.
A Quick Gear Note
A front-clip harness can help redirect pulling without putting pressure on your Boston’s throat. Given that Boston Terriers are a brachycephalic breed (short-nosed, with compressed airways), a standard collar putting pressure on the neck during pulling is something worth avoiding altogether.
3. Selective Hearing Around Other Dogs
Why It Happens
Your Boston is a social butterfly. Other dogs are the most exciting thing in the universe. Everything you’ve taught him? Gone. His entire brain goes offline.
This isn’t stubbornness exactly. It’s arousal. When a dog hits a certain threshold of excitement, they genuinely cannot process commands. It’s not that he’s ignoring you; it’s that he can’t hear you in any meaningful way right now.
The Fix
You have to work below the threshold. This means practicing commands at a distance from other dogs, far enough that your Boston can still think straight.
Notice where he starts locking in on the other dog, getting stiff, straining forward. That distance is your starting point. Work there, not closer.
You can’t train a dog who isn’t with you mentally. Your job is to stay interesting enough that his attention keeps coming back to you, even when the world is trying to steal it.
Over time, very gradually, decrease the distance. Reward heavily for any attention he offers you voluntarily. Make yourself the most valuable thing at that distance. This takes weeks, not days. That’s okay.
4. Barking at Everything (And Then More Things)
Why It Happens
Boston Terriers have opinions. Loud opinions. The mailman, the neighbor, a leaf, your own reflection if the angle is right. Some of this is alerting behavior, some is frustration, and some is just a dog who has learned that barking gets results.
If he barks at the window and you go look, he wins. If he barks at you for dinner and you feed him, he wins. He’s not being bad; he’s being a very good dog who has mastered cause and effect.
The Fix
Interrupt, redirect, reward quiet. That’s the core loop.
When he starts barking, don’t yell (to him, you’re just barking along). Instead, use a calm interrupter: a clap, a sharp "hey," whatever snaps his attention. The second he stops, even for a breath, reward that pause.
Managing the Environment Helps Too
If window barking is the main issue, temporarily block his view. Frosted window film is inexpensive and works well. Remove the trigger while you build the skill, then gradually reintroduce the stimulus as he gets better at settling.
Consistency from everyone in the household matters enormously here. One person reinforcing the barking accidentally will undo the work of everyone else.
5. Housetraining That Seems to Never Fully Click
Why It Happens
You think it’s done. Three weeks of no accidents. You let your guard down. And then, without warning, there’s a puddle behind the couch.
Boston Terrier puppies (and even some adults) can be slow to fully generalize housetraining. They understand "outside is for potty" in this context, on this schedule, with this person. Change one variable and the whole thing can temporarily wobble.
The Fix
Go back to basics without guilt or frustration. Tighten up the schedule, reduce unsupervised freedom inside, and reinforce outdoor elimination like it’s the most impressive thing you’ve ever witnessed.
Housetraining isn’t a behavior you teach once. It’s a routine you maintain until it becomes second nature for your dog, and that takes longer than most people expect.
Crate training is genuinely your best friend here if you’re not already using it. Dogs naturally avoid soiling their sleeping space, and a properly sized crate gives you a reliable way to prevent accidents when you can’t supervise.
Also: rule out medical causes if regressions happen in an adult dog. A UTI or digestive issue can cause accidents that look like a training problem but aren’t.
The Bigger Picture on Boston Terrier Training
Patience Is the Actual Skill
Every single problem above has one thing in common: the fix requires you to be more consistent than your dog is stubborn. And Boston Terriers can be very stubborn.
Short training sessions work better than long ones. Five minutes of focused practice twice a day will outperform a single exhausting thirty-minute session every time. Keep it fun. Keep it rewarding. End on a win whenever you can.
They Want to Get It Right
Here’s what sometimes gets lost in the frustration of training a headstrong little dog: Boston Terriers are genuinely people-oriented. They want your approval. They like making you happy. They’re just also curious, distractible, and confident enough to push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.
Work with that personality instead of against it, and training gets a whole lot more enjoyable for both of you.