Dogs are man’s best friend. It is not the first time that we hear this saying about our loving dogs.
For many owners, a dog’s purpose is to assist them, whether for a practical or emotional reason.
Dogs are trained to do some tasks so that they could help their owner and make their lives easier.
Dogs are considered to be friendly and adorable.
That is why people love them. Give a dog some tender and loving and you can expect the same in return.
However, like a human, you cannot expect that dogs will have a good mood every time. Sometimes, especially when provoked, dogs can be mean and can hurt people.
According to US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States. And about half of those bitten are children. In the UK, approximately 740 people per 100 000 population are bitten by dogs each year.
What do I mean by dog bite force and how is it measured?
When we talk about dog bites, we rarely talked about the force of each dog bite. But what is a dog bite force? A dog bite force is a measure of how strong the bite of your dog is. The bite force is one of the factors to consider for a dog’s strength. Depending on the substance being bitten, the mood of your dog, or the breed of your dog, the pressure or force of the dog bite can vary.
Measuring the bite force of dogs can be difficult because of all of the things that you need to consider when measuring.
Normally, dogs don’t bite hard unless they are provoked and is it ethical to provoke them just for a scientific test?
Using a scientific method, bite force is measured in pounds in a square inch (PSI.)
This is the force exerted on one square inch of space.
PSI is a well used measure.
As a car driver, this is the unit that I use to make sure that my tyres are pumped up enough.
Measuring a dog’s bite force is a little bit more tricky than measuring tyre pressure- as you can imagine.
Dog’s are more inconsistent than tyres.
Across most dog breeds, their bite force ranges about 230-250 psi.
But what about the bite from a Boston Terrier.
How much force do they exert?
What is the bite force of a Boston Terrier?
Boston terrier is a breed of dog that originated in America. This breed of dog is generally friendly but can be very stubborn at times. Their bite can be very forceful as well.
A Boston terrier has a bite force that is averaging 269 psi.
Which kind of means nothing until we give it a bit of context.
And to help with that, I’m going to show you a list of the largest bite force in the dog world.
Top 10 Dog Breeds with Strongest Bite Forces
The range of bite forces between different breeds of dogs
- Kangal
Kangal has an average of 734 psi dog bite force. They make a good candidate for guard dogs as they are great at neutralizing danger.
- Bandog
Bandog is a mixture of mastiff and bulldog. A bandog has 730 psi for its bite force.
- English Mastiff
English Mastiff might be family and children friendly but do not be fooled. They have a bite force of 556 psi. But they are most likely to use this bite force in chewing their favorite toy.
- Wolf/Dog Hybrid
This type of dog is the domesticated version of wolves. However, wolves with hybrid cannot lose their wild nature entirely. Their bite force is averaging 406 psi.
- Rottweiler
Rottweilers probably are the most family-oriented, good-natured, and friendly among the breeds. However, once they see any threat around, they transform into an instant protection machine. They have 328 psi as their bite force, so you would want them to protect you.
- American Bulldog
American Bulldogs have 305 psi as their bite force. If you own one, you don’t have to worry about threats as your bulldog can protect you from that.
- German Shepherd
For many years, the German Shepherd has been a guard dog for many owners. They are intelligent, playful, graceful, and affectionate. Their bite force is 238 psi.
- American Pit Bull
American Pitbull has 235 psi for its bite force. They will surely win in a Tug o’ War not only because of their bite force but also they tend to not let go of the things they bite.
- Chow chow
They might be cute and cuddly, but they can bite. This breed has 220 psi for their bite force so do not be fooled by their appearance.
- Belgian Malinois
Belgian Malinois is an alert, brave, resourceful breed of dogs. These muscular dogs have 195 psi and it has amazing jaw strength.
Boston Terrier can be lined up to these breeds as well. With 269 psi bite force, we can say that boston terrier is one of the breeds that has a strong bite force.
What are the most powerful animal bites?
Having ranked different breeds of dogs, I now want to look at this in an even wider context.
The list below shows how powerful other animals can bite.
- Crocodile – 3700 psi
- Great White Shark – 4000 psi
- Hippopotamus – 1800 psi
- Jaguar – 1500 psi
- Gorilla – 1300 psi
- Polar Bear – 1200 psi
- Spotted Hyena – 1100 psi
- Bengal Tiger – 1050 psi
- Grizzly Bear – 975 psi
- Lion – 650 psi
All of which make a Boston Terrier’s bite seems like child’s play.
Well, almost.
Do Boston Terriers Bite Lots of People?
Boston Terriers are generally playful dogs. If you own one, or you are planning to own one, then you must know the common traits of this breed. Boston Terriers are happy and eager to please their owners. They are playful and generally good but can be stubborn at times.
Boston terriers can be very playful and mouthy which is why they tend to bite anything. For some, this can be a sign of aggression, but that could also mean that they are interacting with you. Boston terriers need to be trained before they will have a habit of biting everything, even you as his owner. Train them while they are young.
Boston Terriers do not usually bite people unless they are provoked. A pitbull terrier is the breed that is still responsible for most fatal dog attacks in US.
How many people do Boston Terriers kill every year?
Boston Terriers are not considered to be one of those breeds that are fatal when they bite.
How to train your Boston Terrier not to bite?
Training your Boston terrier about biting and nipping can be helpful for you in the future. Guiding a puppy is much easier than guiding an older dog, which is why you need to train them young.
Here are the ways that you can train your Boston terrier.
- Define Task
Define to your Boston terrier what are acceptable behaviors. For biting, give them all the toys that they are allowed to chew, and other than that is not allowed. It is important for you as an owner to be patient and consistent when you are training your Boston Terrier.
- Get started as early as possible.
As mentioned, it is always better to train your dog as soon as possible. These Boston terriers will always be playful which is why it is better to inform them what are the boundaries.
- Choose a different method to train them
There are many methods available to train your dog. The method you will choose will depend on what will work on your dog. Like humans, they have different characteristics so what works for one, might not work for the other. Always try and test different methods and see what works for you.
Which dog breed has the gentlest/softest mouths?
Now that we know that dogs bite especially when they are stressed or aggressed. But here are some of the breeds that are less likely to bite, unless you provoke them.
- Labrador Retriever
- Golden Retriever
- Boxer
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- Newfoundland
- Collie
- Bernese Mountain Dog
- French Bulldog
- Beagle
- Irish Setter
Again, these dogs will still bite when provoked. However, they are the calmer breeds that will be less likely to bite you. These dog breeds are very easy to train on what to bite or not compared to others.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, bite forces are measured with how much your dog can bite per square inch. Again, the force of each bite might vary because of many conditions. The force of the bite of a playing dog is very much different from a force of an angry dog. So you have to consider these things when measuring the bite force. This is why most of the numbers posted here are on average. Because you cannot be very defined and specific with these numbers.
Boston Terriers are generally good house dogs as they are intelligent and playful. The most important thing to know about them is that you should know their behavior well so that you could take care of them. You need to train them early because they are a very playful dog that if you will not train them it can give you problems in the future.
Whatever breed that you choose, the most important thing that you should know is that you must know how to take care of these fur babies.
