THE VERSATILE BOSTON TERRIER
Obedience tests our dog’s ability to perform certain specific exercises on-command without verbal commu- nication or additional cues. Rally tests a dog’s ability to navigate a course of designated exercises with verbal communication and encouragement from the handler. Bostons earned 32 AKC Obedience titles and 48 AKC Rally titles. The AKC also offers titles in their Family Dog Pro- gram. These include the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test, which examines a dog’s good manners and ability to cope in social situations, and Trick Dog, which tests a dog’s ability to perform fun activities in five different levels of ability. Ninety-six Boston Terriers earned the Canine Good Citizen title and sixty-eight Trick Dog Titles were earned. Bostons compete in the team sport of Flyball, which is another fast-moving sport. Flyball is a team sport that requires the dog to speed through a set of jumps to catch a ball in mid-air and return to the start line. Boston Terriers have also earned AKC Farm Dog, Barn Hunt, Dock Diving, and Disc Dog titles. All of these activities require that you have a physically and temperamentally sound Boston, the kind you should expect from a responsible Boston Terrier breeder. Some European countries discriminate against the brachycephalic breeds, saying they are unable to live long, useful lives because they cannot breathe properly. The Boston Terrier Club of America rejects any such notion. Dogs bred to our Breed Standard excel in all of the dog sports. We offer a consistent record of excel- lence and achievement as evidence of the soundness and good health of a well-bred Boston Terrier. The Obedience & Rally classes at this year’s National Specialty are dedicated to the memory of Ellen Dresselhuis. Ellen was a pioneering women’s attorney, author, breeder, and owner-handler of Boston Terriers titled in Conformation, Obedience, and Agility. Ellen was a long-time member of the BTCA and the Minnesota Boston Terrier Club. In 1991, Ellen and her Boston, Brother Mack Duff, achieved the breed’s first Obedience Trial Champion- ship (OTCH), a feat that has been equaled only once— twenty-three years later.
A smiling Boston competes in AKC Rally.
Eyes on the finish, an athletic Boston heads for home in a Flyball competition.
A Boston Terrier jumps in mid-air at a Dock Diving competition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ellen Dresselhuis passed away on Sunday, September 11, 2022. Alzheimer’s. Ellen shared 83 years with all of us. She was very active in her church and church choir. She was passionate about her Boston Terriers and successfully showed and bred them. Her dog “Macky” was the first-ever Boston Terrier to earn an OTCH (Obedience Trial Championship) in 1991. She later bred Bostons that went on to win many awards as well as those residing in great homes as esteemed pets. Ellen was an active member in several dog clubs, both local and national. Professionally, she was a very fine lawyer, practicing when few women practiced law. She was quite active and passionate about women's rights throughout her career and life. —Charlie Leavitt, LC, MIES
292 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2023
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