Boston Terrier Twin Finder: 144 in the Pool

To find your Boston Terrier's twin, upload one clear photo to PetMatch and the model compares your dog's face against the 144 Boston Terriers already in the pool, returning the real dog whose face sits closest to yours. The crop it scores is a square head: a flat skull free of wrinkles, an abrupt brow, a short square muzzle, and small ears carried erect.

Square skull, large round eyes

The AKC standard, approved February 11, 2011 and effective March 30, 2011, calls the Boston Terrier a smooth coated, short-headed, compactly built, short-tailed dog, brindle, seal or black, and evenly marked with white. The match is the head.

The skull is square, flat on top, and free from wrinkles, with flat cheeks, an abrupt brow, and a well defined stop. The eyes are wide apart, large and round, and dark, set square in the skull so the outside corners sit on a line with the cheeks. Eyes that are blue, or that show any trace of blue, are a disqualification. The ears are small and carried erect, natural or cropped to the shape of the head, and set as near the corners of the skull as possible.

A muzzle about a third of the skull

The muzzle is short, square, wide, and deep, and free from wrinkles. It is shorter than it is wide or deep, and it does not exceed approximately one third of the length of the skull. From the stop to the end of the nose it runs parallel to the top of the skull. The nose is black and wide, with a well defined line between the nostrils. A Dudley nose is a disqualification. The jaw is broad and square. The bite is even or sufficiently undershot to square the muzzle. The chops cover the teeth when the mouth is closed. A wry mouth is a serious fault, and so is any showing of the tongue or teeth with the mouth closed. Weight classes run under 15 pounds, 15 and under 20, and 20 and not to exceed 25.

Brindle, seal, and the required white

The coat is short, smooth, bright, and fine. Brindle, seal, and black are allowed only with white markings. Brindle is preferred only if all other qualities are equal. Seal appears black except it has a red cast in the sun or bright light. Required markings are a white muzzle band, a white blaze between the eyes, and a white forechest. Desired markings add an even blaze over the head, a white collar, and white on the forelegs and the hind legs below the hocks. A dog is not penalized for lacking the desired markings. Solid black, solid brindle, or solid seal without the required white is a disqualification, as is any color the standard does not describe.

Frenchies and Pugs in the same crop

The French Bulldog is the bat-eared dog in this crop. The French Bulldog twin covers that head, and the French Bulldog pool holds 229 dogs, separate from these 144. The AKC standard, approved April 10, 2018 and effective June 5, 2018, includes a square head with bat ears among the hallmarks. The bat ear is broad at the base, elongated, round at the top, and carried erect. Any ear other than a bat ear is a disqualification. A Boston ear is small and set near the corner of the skull. A Frenchie forehead is slightly rounded, with heavy wrinkles over an extremely short nose. A Boston skull is flat and free from wrinkles, and the muzzle reaches about a third of the skull. A Frenchie underjaw is undershot. A Boston bite is even or only undershot enough to square the muzzle. Weight over 28 pounds disqualifies a Frenchie. Solid black disqualifies a Frenchie. On a Boston, black is correct when the white muzzle band, blaze, and forechest are present.

The Pug is the folded-ear dog already in the pool. The Pug twin finder covers that head. PetMatch lists 381 Pugs. The AKC standard, approved April 8, 2008 and effective June 3, 2008, calls the head large, massive, and round, with very large, prominent, globular eyes. The ears are thin and soft, like black velvet, rose or button, and the button is preferred. A Boston ear stands erect, the eye is set square, and the skull is free from wrinkles. Pug colors are fawn or black. The fawn wears a black mask and a black trace from the occiput to the tail. A Boston is brindle, seal, or black, and the white blaze and muzzle band are required. Desirable Pug weight is 14 to 18 pounds, inside the Boston classes, so a face crop separates them by ear carriage and wrinkles.

When the twin is a mix

Mixed-breed dogs are the largest group on PetMatch, at 10,183. A mix that kept the square skull, the erect ears, and a white blaze over a dark or brindle face can place ahead of the registered Boston Terriers. The model is matching the face in the photo.

A photo that shows the blaze

Shoot head-on at eye level in open shade, mouth closed, with both ears erect and the full blaze and muzzle band in the frame. Direct sun turns a seal coat black and blows the white markings out, so a seal face and a black face start to look like the same mask.