Below are some examples of off-colored Boston Terriers. These are highly undesirable and are bred by unscrupulous backyard breeders who offer them as "rare" at inflated prices. Even if it weren't for the fact that these are disallowed by our standard, if you have one of these dogs, no one will even know it is a Boston Terrier! They are so unlike what the breed was originally developed to look like, since there is no sharp contrasting "tuxedo effect" unless you have a correctly colored dog. This is the hallmark of a true Boston Terrier and it just becomes a "mutt" when that black and white tuxedo pattern is gone.
PLEASE do not buy off-color Boston Terriers from a non-show breeder or a breeder who is purposely trying to produce the off-colors. A responsible show breeder could possibly get a red in their litters BY MISTAKE (extremely rare!), but they would never purposely breed this dog to produce more of them. Please do not seek out red Bostons! NOTE: If you do run across one and you MUST have it for some reason, make sure you only deal with a breeder who provides it with a spay/neuter contract or better yet, get it from someone who has already had the dog altered. To do otherwise means you are buying from an irresponsible breeder who did NOT produce the dog by way of a mistake and who does not care about the future of the breed.
A Boston Terrier is either black and white, seal and white (NOTE! Seal is NOT red - Seal appears black but has a reddish cast in bright sunlight, see example at the bottom of this page) or brindle and white - and ALL COLORS MUST HAVE BLACK NOSES and very dark brown eyes, no other colors are acceptable.
Examples of red:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Example of brown/liver:
Examples of Fawn (note the Boxer-like mask)
 |
 |
 |
|
Example of a White Body - NOTE: White bodies and splashes occasionally happen to responsible breeders who breed correctly marked dogs together because it is a throwback to the earliest Bostons before the markings were stabilized. Again, it is undesirable and should never be bred, however it is a natural "oops" which is more common amongst breeders than getting off-colored Bostons. Here it is a matter of pattern, not color. They should NOT be sold as rare or for a higher dollar amount:
Examples of a splash:
 |
 |
OTHER: Double dilute - the body color is red that has been diluted twice (genetically speaking). Note the blue eyes and pink nose.
Example of seal:
This is an accepted and desirable color in the Boston Terrier. Seal is defined in the standard as "Seal appears black except it has a red cast when viewed in the sun or bright light". Note the two pictures below of the same dog - on the left when not in bright sun, she appears nearly black. On the right, see how the sun brings out the rich red cast when it shines on the coat. This is a true seal - NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH RED. Note her black nose.
 |
 |