Boston Terrier Most people are sleeping on just how smart their Boston Terrier actually is.
Seriously. These little tuxedo-clad dogs get written off as lap dogs or "just" companion breeds, and it’s a disservice to everything they’re capable of. Bostons have a sharp, curious mind packed into that compact body, and if you’ve never actually tested what yours can do, you’re missing out on one of the most entertaining afternoons of your life.
This isn’t about formal obedience competitions or expensive training programs. It’s about grabbing some treats, clearing a little floor space, and finding out what your dog is genuinely made of.
Ready to be impressed?
Why Testing Your Boston Terrier’s Talents Actually Matters
Before we get to the fun part, here’s a quick thought worth sitting with.
Dogs who are mentally stimulated are happier dogs. Full stop. When your Boston has an outlet for that buzzing brain, you’ll notice less zoomies at midnight, fewer episodes of counter-surfing, and a dog who seems more settled in general.
"A bored Boston Terrier isn’t a bad dog. It’s a brilliant dog with nowhere to put all that brilliance."
Testing your dog’s abilities also helps you understand how they learn best. Some Bostons are food-obsessed and will do anything for a treat. Others are praise-driven, or toy-motivated. These little tests reveal a lot.
1. The Towel Test: Problem-Solving Instinct
Drape a small hand towel gently over your Boston’s head. Then step back and watch.
A dog with strong problem-solving instincts will shake, paw, or back out of it within a few seconds. Dogs who need a bit more mental stimulation might just sit there, looking vaguely betrayed.
What you’re measuring: Spatial awareness and independent thinking.
How to Score It
Under 15 seconds: High marks. Your dog figured that out fast.
15 to 30 seconds: Solid. They got there.
Over 30 seconds (or they gave up): This is actually a great place to start some enrichment training.
No judgment either way. Some Bostons just prefer to wait for human help, which is honestly its own kind of emotional intelligence.
2. The Cup Shuffle: Short-Term Memory
Grab three identical cups and a small, smelly treat. Let your Boston watch you place the treat under one cup. Then slowly slide the cups around (nothing too tricky at first) and ask them to find it.
This tests working memory and ability to track movement visually.
Bump Up the Difficulty
Once they nail the basic version, add a fourth cup. Or do two shuffles instead of one. You’ll quickly find where their tracking ability peaks, and it’s usually much higher than people expect.
"Boston Terriers were built to pay attention to people. That attentiveness? It’s a trainable superpower."
3. The Mirror Test: Self-Awareness Check
Hold a mirror in front of your Boston or prop one up at their eye level.
This one is more observational than scoreable. Watch how they react. Do they bark at the "other dog"? Ignore it entirely? Try to look behind the mirror?
The interesting part: Most dogs, including Bostons, don’t pass the formal self-recognition mirror test that’s used in animal cognition research. But what you’re watching for here is curiosity versus indifference. A dog that engages, investigates, and tries to figure out what they’re looking at is showing exploratory intelligence.
It’s also just wildly entertaining to watch.
4. The Treat Under the Couch Test: Persistence
Slide a treat just far enough under the couch that your dog can smell it but can’t easily reach it. Then step back.
Do they problem-solve? Try different angles? Use a paw to sweep it out? Or do they look at you and immediately ask for help?
What This Reveals
Neither response is "wrong," but they tell you very different things.
Independent problem-solvers tend to do well with puzzle feeders and nose work games. Dogs who immediately defer to you are often exceptionally responsive to human-guided training because they’re wired to look to you for cues.
Work with what you’ve got, not what you wish you had.
5. The Name Recognition Test: Vocabulary Skills
Line up three or four objects your dog knows well: a ball, a rope toy, a specific stuffed animal. Ask them to bring you one by name, without pointing or looking at it yourself.
This is harder than it sounds, for both of you.
"Dogs can learn hundreds of words. Most of us just never bother to teach them more than a dozen."
Some dogs genuinely build a working vocabulary of 30, 40, even 100+ object names with consistent practice. Bostons, with their intense focus on their humans, are often very capable of this with the right repetition.
Start with two objects. Master that. Then add a third.
H3: Track the Progress
Keep a running list of words your Boston legitimately knows. You might surprise yourself. Most owners discover their dog knows far more than they’ve been given credit for.
6. The Yawn Test: Emotional Intelligence
This one is subtle and completely fascinating.
Yawn at your dog. A slow, genuine-looking yawn. Then wait.
Research in canine cognition has shown that dogs are more likely to "catch" a yawn from someone they’re emotionally bonded to. It’s considered a loose indicator of empathy and attunement.
Does your Boston yawn back? It might take a few tries. It might not happen at all. But dogs who do tend to be highly tuned in to their owner’s emotional state, which, if you’ve ever cried on your couch with a Boston glued to your side, you probably already suspected.
7. The Barrier Test: Flexible Thinking
Set up a simple barrier, like a cardboard box on its side or a low baby gate with a gap at one end. Place a treat on the other side where your dog can see it clearly but can’t go straight through.
The question: Will they go around the barrier, or will they keep pawing at the spot directly in front of the treat?
Dogs with good cognitive flexibility figure out the detour fairly quickly. Dogs who struggle with this aren’t less intelligent; they often just need more practice with spatial reasoning, which is something you can actually build with games.
Make It Harder
Once they’ve got the basic detour down, make the barrier longer so the "around" path is less obvious. Watch how they adjust.
8. The Pointing Test: Reading Human Cues
Hide a treat under one of two cups, but don’t let your Boston see which one. Then point clearly at the correct cup.
Can they follow your gesture?
This is actually a test that dogs outperform chimpanzees on, which is a wild fact that doesn’t get enough attention. Dogs evolved alongside humans for tens of thousands of years and developed a remarkable sensitivity to human social cues, including pointing, gaze direction, and even subtle body language.
Bostons, as a breed that was literally developed to be a human companion, often excel here.
If your dog follows the point: They’re reading you well. Lean into that in training.
If they don’t: Try making the point more exaggerated. Get lower. Make it obvious. Then gradually reduce the cue over time as they catch on.
How to Use What You Learned
Run through all eight tests over a weekend. Take notes, even if just mentally.
You’re building a picture of your specific dog, not the average Boston, not the one on Instagram with 200,000 followers. Yours. What they’re good at, where they hesitate, what makes their eyes light up with focus.
That information is genuinely useful. It tells you what games to play, what training methods will click, and honestly, it just makes you appreciate them more.
Because here’s the thing: your Boston has been quietly impressing you all along. You just needed a few tests to finally see it.