Connemara Jack Russell Terriers
Connemara Jack Russell Puppy Guarantee:
We have a lifetime commitment to all of the Jack Russell Terrier puppies we breed. We hope to remain in contact with our puppy owners throughout the dog's life, so it’s important you feel as comfortable with us as you do with our dogs. We will always provide information on the ongoing health of each pup's parents when you inquire. We will always try to make ourselves available to offer advise on training and behavior.
We carefully screen our terriers for health and/or genetic related issues and disease when testing is available. Having said that; If at any time during your guarantee, your terrier suffers from a serious, hereditary or congenital defect that is life threatening and will seriously impair the pup/dog's quality of life, we will stand behind our breeding and offer you one of a few options to handling the situation. Including but not limited to either a replacement pup or full or partial refund, depending on the situation and age of the dog at the time of the issue.
Our Contract protects our puppies and our Puppy Guarantee protects you. Both will be provided in writing to refer back to and remind us all of our responsibilities. In the state of Maine, verbal contracts are recognized as valid and binding. You should consider your purchase of a Connemara puppy our verbal contract with you.
Connemara Terrier Breeders Guarantee and Contract:
All of our Jack Russell puppies are placed on spay/neuter contracts. In addition, we will ask that the puppy or dog be returned to us if you find you are no longer able to care for it. We are committed to making sure puppies born under our care, never see the inside of a shelter. We will be here to assist you and take your dog back at any time if this becomes necessary.
Us placing you on a litter list and you placing your deposit is part of this contract. Please do not place a deposit unless you are sure we are the right breeder and can afford the puppy and care. If you cancel the reservation later, your initial deposit placed will not be refunded. You can hold us to our word concerning all of our guarantees and promises - We will kindly ask the same from you.
If you wish to move from one Jack Russell litter to another, you may do so for any reason - before the litter is 5 weeks of age. An exception to this is if we must ask you to move later because there is not an appropriate puppy in the litter for you. We define “not appropriate” as: Not the right temperament you have asked for; Not the right sex needed, due to other dogs already in your home or not the specific coat you originally asked for. Your deposit can be moved to any litter you choose, and there is room on, for up to 24 months after placing the deposit. If you back out of a litter after litter is 5 weeks of age, for any reason not listed above, deposit will be forfeited.
- Our puppies/dogs are not sold for breeding nor are breeding rights an option to purchase. If bred, buyer will be in breech of contract. Ownership is not transferred until proof of spay/neuter is provided.
Details of our Jack Russell Guarantee:
HEALTH: Your puppy will come with a full five (5) year genetic health guarantee.
If at any time during your guarantee, your veterinarian provides in writing, evidence that your pup suffers from a serious, hereditary or congenital defect that is life threatening and will seriously impair the pup/dogs quality of life, we will offer to you one of the following options;

- Return dog for a replacement. Replacement will be certain yet based upon availability. You will be placed near the front of our waiting list.
- Keep dog, spay/neuter and receive credit towards a new pup. *Credit amount will be applied to a future puppy. If you choose to not accept the credit, full or partial cash refunds will be given up to date pup has reached 12 months of age - after this date, only a credit towards a future puppy will be applied. A full refund will be given if there was loss of life. A partial refund will be given based upon the severity of the issue.
We must be notified in writing by your veterinarian within ten (10) days of condition, diagnosis, including prognosis. Letter from veterinarian needs to include evidence that your pup suffers from a serious, hereditary or congenital defect that is life threatening and will seriously impair the pup/dogs quality of life. Depending on the situation, we may ask for second opinion or request to have pup seen by a veterinarian of our choosing. If we exercise this option, we will extend 10 days to 20 to have time for the second opinion. As well, we will cover expenses of second opinion if we requested it. If the two opinions are grossly different, we retain the right to a third opinion and will go with the majority diagnosis/prognosis.
SPECIFICS CONCERNING AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES: *(PLEASE READ THIS SECTION)
The Jack Russell Terrier is a Piebald Breed. This is true of ALL Jack Russell Terrier lines as well as several other breeds of dog: Bull Terrier, Chihuahua, Dachshund, St. Bernard. Border Collie, Greyhound, Sealyham Terrier, Beagle, Bulldog, Dalmatian and English Setter and a few others. Piebaldism directly effects melanocyte development. Melanin is the pigment primarily responsible for skin and coat color. There is the suspicion that all Piebald breeds are more susceptible to Auto-Immune disease. Many autoimmune diseases remain dormant until there is a “trigger” event starting the disease process. The trigger will be a stress factor as in; overuse of vaccines, antibiotics or steroid drugs, emotional distress, environmental pollutants, food preservatives such as ethoxyquin, chemicals found in pesticides, chemical flea and tick treatments, etc. There is currently no way to test for an underlying/dormant autoimmune disease.
Why does this matter to you? First be aware that your breed of choice is a Piebald. There is no amount of testing or careful breeding that will completely eliminate this risk with Piebald breeds. The best way you can protect against autoimmune disease is to not purposely pull triggers. Be thoughtful about overuse of vaccines, antibiotics or steroid drugs, emotional distress, environmental pollutants, food preservatives such as ethoxyquin, chemicals found in pesticides, chemical flea and tick treatments, etc. When you take your puppy home, we will give you valuable reminders in writing on things to stay away from to help your puppy have a long and healthy life. For example: CORE vaccines only, no poisonous topicals like flea/tick treatments, only use steroids if absolutely necessary and so on.
Our Guarantee does not include coverage for serious autoimmune diseases unless you have followed our recommendations. If your dog is diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, we will only cover the dog under our guarantee after your vet(s) provide evidence in writing that you have only elected CORE vaccines and they have not prescribed any chemical flea and tick treatments. Or prescribed any type of steroid unless it is absolutely necessary. *Absolutely necessary means there was a life threatening condition that required the use of these dangerous drugs.
HEALTHY PUPPY GUARANTEE:
If your new puppy must be seen by your vet within 14 days of his/her arrival to you due to a pre-existing, verifiable illness, we will replace pup or you may return pup for refund of original purchase price. We will need your veterinarian's report stating the puppy had the illness upon arrival. You are responsible for getting this information to us within three (3) days of diagnosis and prognosis. As well as returning the puppy to us within this same time frame. If you have already fallen for this little bundle, want to keep him/her, and the illness is treatable, we will work together to remedy. This may include us covering 1/2 of veterinarian bills (up to half of original puppy price) associated with illness. Please understand that unless we okay any treatment expenses when your vet contacts us, we may not be responsible for veterinary bills. Under most circumstances concerning our guarantees, we do not cover shipping costs.
TEMPERAMENT:
If after receiving your pup, you are concerned with his/her temperament, we will work very hard with you to overcome what you feel is an issue. If you are still dissatisfied, you may return the pup to us for a replacement puppy, as long as pup is returned within 10 days from the date he/she arrived to you.
Temperament can also be affected by environment as well. A nice puppy can develop an issue as a result of abuse, lack of training or inconsistency. We have no control over this aspect as you can imagine. With that said: If at anytime later in the pups life you have documented serious temperament issues (sought help from a licensed, veterinary behaviorist) and you have kept in close touch with us during this time, we will be happy to replace the pup from a future litter at a discounted rate and take the pup back. If you have not followed our training recommendations (force-free, positive reinforcement), we cannot be held responsible. We believe this is fair and reasonable.
COMPATIBILITY ("Safety Net") Guarantee:
If your new puppy is simply not what you expected and you feel you were misinformed, you may return the pup to us for replacement as long as pup is returned within 10 days from date he/she arrived to you. We will of course take the puppy back anytime after this - but may not offer a puppy replacement. If you are returning the pup after the first 10 days and choose not to accept a replacement puppy, we will consider covering all shipping expenses.
Please review details of our guarantee and understand all of your options. If anything is unclear, please ask us to explain.
TO BE CLEAR - THERE ARE SPECIAL HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE JACK RUSSELL TERRIER (as a breed):
Vaccinosis is a legitimate concern and vaccines should be spaced out and kept to an absolute minimum. *We will provide you with a recommended vaccine schedule.
Facts concerning “VACCINOSIS” (vaccine reactions):
- The Jack Russell Terrier breed is at high risk for vaccine reactions - due to their coat color genes. Any animal with a white coat and pink nose, a piebald, an extreme piebald breed or a dilute coat color, is more at risk. Genetically, the Jack Russell is a piebald breed.
- Common problems directly related to vaccines are ear or skin conditions, such as itching or paw chewing and Auto-Immune Disorders. Also there can be behavior problems surface such as fearfulness or aggression. Any of these issues can begin shortly after vaccination, and are exacerbated with every vaccine going forward.
- Homeopathic veterinarians and other holistic practitioners have maintained for some time that vaccinations do more harm than they provide benefits. Vaccinations represent a major assault on the body's immune system. Vaccine induced chronic diseases range from life-threatening conditions such as auto-immune crises to conditions destroying the quality of life of an animal as in chronic skin allergies.
Please be aware and think twice when using vaccines. You can read more on our Vaccine page. Please understand we are unable to guarantee any condition that is vaccine related and/or auto-immune issues unless it is specifically, recognized as a heritable condition. *Meaning the breeding caused the issue as a direct result of genetics passed from parent to offspring.
An extra word about Leptospirosis vaccines - They are only found to be partially effective, short lived and can cause severe reactions and lasting complications in puppies. We have seen this vaccine cause mild to serious health issues as well as temperament issues in our puppies in the past. The Lepto vaccine is immuno-supressive to puppies less than 16 weeks. We are here to help educate families and to help them become strong advocates for their new puppy and keep their puppies safe. We have taken this hardline stand because we have seen too many times the damage caused by over-vaccination.
SPAY/NEUTER POLICY
NEW OWNER(s) agrees to provide CONNEMARA with a signed statement from a licensed veterinarian by USPS mail as proof that the animal has been spayed or neutered. This signed statement must include the terrier’s microchip number – verified by veterinarian to include Vet License #, and signed by same.
Should NEW OWNER(s) fail to neuter/spay this animal, and provide proof of it to CONNEMARA within thirty (30) days of the date that it attains twelve (18) months of age, as specified above, said temporary rights, privileges and responsibilities associated with the ownership of the following described animal will automatically terminate and revert back to CONNEMARA and CONNEMARA may immediately take possession of the animal. On timely receipt of said proof, the transfer of all rights, privileges and responsibilities associated with the ownership of the following described animal will vest solely in NEW OWNER(s). Pedigree will be provided at this point in time if requested. Registration will be with CTS.
PLEASE DO NOT SPAY/NEUTER BEFORE 12 months of age.
* WE DO NOT SELL OUR DOGS/PUPPIES FOR BREEDING NOR CAN BREEDING RIGHTS BE PURCHASED. IF BRED, BUYER WILL BE IN BREACH OF AGREEING TO OUR POLICIES.
NEW OWNER(s) agrees to pay any and all reasonable attorney's fees associated with the recovery of the animal by CONNEMARA or court costs if breach of contract is pursued. CONNEMARA will pay shipping fees if necessary to have animal returned to CONNEMARA.
We have two Connemara Terriers, and they are wonderful dogs. Sweet, affectionate, strong-willed, and with a great sense of humor! Really! Connemara takes great care in breeding these dogs, and it shows. And they are always available to help with questions or issues that arise.
Barbara, Virginia
Beatrix is the sweetest sole. She's strong, loving and so beautiful. She lives in Kentucky with her Connemara terrier brother, Bandit.
Bandit lives with his Connemara terrier sister in Kentucky. He loves car rides!
"Eimear" was a jack russell breeder of ours and has now retired to Kentucky. She was such a loving and sweet mother. She is the Mother of our "Bitsy".