Scapegrace Kennels

We like to get to know our potential puppy people. This means a process to ensure as best we can, we have found the very best of homes for our puppies.
Before someone goes onto our waiting list we ask that you first come to our home, firstly to meet us and our dogs in the environment that your future dog will be born into and secondly so that both we and you feel comfortable that we are a match as a breeder and future owner.
On this first visit we will show all the background information held on our dogs, including access to all the records for both our own dogs and any puppies we have previously bred. We do however redact any owner details as these are of course confidential.
We also explain the steps involved in the process of purchasing a puppy, general and specific advice on what you need to look for and be aware of, and of course the likely timescales involved and any documentation associated with the purchase.
Normally your first visit will last anything from 3 hours plus. While this might at first seem quite a long time there is, as we have said, a LOT of information to cover and you are potentially buying into owning a pet for 15 years, so in the scheme of things we think it’s time well spent.
At the end of that visit you will be asked to go away and think about it and if you make further contact and want a puppy from us we’ll confirm if we are happy to help you by putting you onto our ‘waiting list’.

We do not charge any fee to go onto our waiting list.
You will only be asked for money when you pick your puppy and pay your deposit to secure the puppy you have chosen. In turn you will be given a ‘deposit contract for your puppy’.
In our opinion any person who asks for money to go on a waiting list is a person to avoid buying a puppy from.

The Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme (ABS for short) is the only scheme in the UK to monitor and inspect dog breeders.
The scheme is intended to assist puppy buyers to find a breeder that meets a standard deemed best practice by The Kennel Club.
This also shows that the breeder keeps health test records to an acceptable standard, as required by the scheme.
Every Assured Breeder is inspected by The Kennel Club, as UKAS accredited certification body, to ensure that a breeders facilities and practices meet the welfare requirements set out in the scheme standard.

We are not what would be considered a commercial breeder. We are a family, and so are our dogs.
We breed infrequently and normally for our own showing .
We commit a lot of time, love, energy and one to one to our puppies, we feel to frequently would loose that special something we give to our puppies.
The emotional welfare of our dogs is vital to us as they are not breeding machines they are part of our family.

We dont believe its about how long you have been breeding but how much effort you put into understanding how to ensure any dog we breed is the best it can be.

The health and welfare of any puppy we at Scapegrace decide to produce is very important. Here at Scapegrace we would advise you no matter which breeder you are considering purchasing your puppy from, show you they keep the appropriate health test records for the puppies parents i.e. Dam and Sire. And are made available for you to see upon request.

For more information on health testing see the download page on the website.

No. We will never dock a puppy’s tail. The only exception is if a veterinary advised because of an injury or medical need would we do so.
Tail docking in UK law is considered as ‘mutilation’ It is illegal in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
However, there are some exemptions such as removal of the tail by a vet for medical reasons or for certain breeds of working dogs.
By law, owners are not allowed to show their dogs docked in dog shows where the public pay to enter, unless they are demonstrating working ability.

When we think about getting a dog we think of a puppy. But is a puppy the best thing for you and your circumstances. After all, an adult dog could be the right choice for you. From time to time Scapegrace look to re-home a dog that once was a stud dog or a puppy that did not go on to develop as we were hoping.
We can talk you through the pro’s and cons depending on your circumstances and explain the benefits in taking on a puppy or indeed an older dog.
The decision is ultimately yours but we at Scapegrace are happy to advise.

The Parson Russell Terrier has three coat types; smooth, broken and rough. Sadly, a breeder can not guarantee that a particular puppy will have a particular coat. There are a number of factors involved like inherited coats from both parents and grand-parents. So you will hear us use a phrase such as ‘they have the potential’ to go on to have a particular coat because of the coats the Dam and Sire have.
Some puppies as young as 4 weeks start showing the changes in their coat which could indicate a broken or rough coat. Others may be well and truly in their new homes before the signs of a broken or rough coat change shows through.
So when we advise you that we can not guarantee a particular coat type a puppy will go on to develop, we are being honest.

There is no one answer to this question that we get asked. So many factors are involved and each person and family is different and in the end it can quite often boil down to personal tastes and personal experiences that influences your choice.

We will always discuss this with you, as your breeder, to enable you to make an informed decision. Even so many people change their choice when they get to see the character of the individual puppies they are selecting from.

We only keep Parson Russell Terriers.

All the puppies we breed are raised by the Dam and in a busy, active family home.
We at Scapegrace believe that the more social experiences we give them the more likely each and every puppy will go on to be good, balanced both physically and emotionally stable dogs.
All the puppies we raise come into contact with other dogs, children and family members.
We take very seriously the developmental stages of a puppy and introduce as many experiences we can.

We are happy for you to ask for references, we would of course seek permissions off our puppy purchasers first if they are happy to give a reference and then of course offer those references in turn once permissions are given.

All puppies by the time they leave us will have received a full worming treatment appropriate to that puppy. We use Panacur 10% as recommended by our vet.
We automatically vaccinate our puppies - using their owners selected LEPTO strain UNLESS they specifically instruct us not to as some owners wish to go through the process themselves with their own vet.

All our puppies go for regular check ups before they go to their forever homes. They typically first visit between the 4th and 10th day after birth, at 6 weeks of age and the third visit as near to before they leave us as possible. You will be given documents to show these visits when collecting puppy.

We at Scapegrace want to encourage our puppy waiting list people to feel comfortable with us as their breeder and to have the confidence that they have made the right choice in breeder for them. Once the litter has passed the 4th week of age we encourage our puppy waiting list people to contact us and make an appointment to visit our home and spend time with the litter.
This we feel helps form a lasting bond to the puppy they will go on to choose. It also offers the opportunity to observe the little characters that the puppies develop over time.

Yes, we have two contracts. The first one is a deposit for your puppy contract and the other is the sales contract for your dog.
Each one is simple and easy to understand and clearly shows how you the potential purchaser and us the breeder are protected. At every stage each party knows where they stand so there can be no misunderstanding.

We will normally go through these contracts on your first visit to us and copies are provided at this stage for you to read and understand at your leisure.

Yes, we place restrictions on our puppies. This is to protect the health and welfare of our puppies and to reduce the possibility of irresponsible breeding.
At Scapegrace it is clear and obvious how much time and effort we put into health testing that is above and beyond what is required of our breed and The Kennel Club - Assured Breeder Scheme and we would expect no less of anyone asking for the restrictions to be lifted on one of our puppies.
This of course does not mean that we are not prepared to lift our restrictions, but this needs to be discussed with us your breeder at the time of your enquiry. This is so we can explain the conditions and under what circumstances we are prepared to lift those restrictions. This will be reflected in the sales contract for your dog.

If you have purchased a dog from us and later decide you would like to breed we would discuss the necessary conditions to have the restrictions lifted.

Yes, all our puppies are microchipped prior to leaving for their forever home.
Upon collection of your puppy the change of ownership will happen and proof given that this has been completed.
It is a requirement in law that all dogs be microchipped before going to their new homes.
The microchip number is also included in all your contracts.

Yes, your puppy will be registered with The Kennel Club and upon collection you will receive proof of the litter being registered and your KC document. At Scapegrace we also re-register your puppy in to your name, as stated on the contract, for your dog. The final document you will receive in the post a few weeks later once you have puppy in your home.

Yes, once you have paid your deposit and signed the deposit contract for your puppy the contract clearly states that ‘if there is a material change of circumstance’ we are bound to inform you. As that contract states you have the right to have a full refund of that deposit paid only returned to the named person and address stated on that contract should you so wish.

There is no requirement in the contract to have a puppy at the appropriate age sterilized. This is a personal choice for the individual purchaser to make.
We could however make recommendations that a dog be sterilized because it is unsuitable as breeding stock. If this was the case the contract would state that under no circumstance would the restrictions be lifted.

We will supply you with approximately 1 months supply of the puppy food that puppy has been fed. So you do not need to worry. All feeding advice and guidance will be given to you in the form of your Puppy Information Pack which also has annexe's attached with a feeding profile of your puppy.

No puppy will leave our home to go to their forever home until they have reached at least 8 weeks of age and been seen appropriately by our vet and passed as fit and healthy as a puppy should be.
This is in line with The Kennel Club guidance. If you expect us to breach this condition then we are not the breeder for you.

The Parson Russell Terrier takes it’s after Reverend John Russell, a hunting clergyman, who inherited his interest in hunting and terriers from his father.
In 1819, John Russell bought Trump, a white bodied terrier with head and tail markings who sired a legacy of sporting terriers and is regarded as the founder of the breed.
The Parson Russell Terrier was bred to go to ground and was often used as the earth dog for badger or fox.
It is said that he had to be a handy size to go to the ground, but also had to possess stamina and be sufficiently racy to keep up with hounds. Devotees of the breed formed clubs, kept their own registry with recorded pedigrees and ran their own shows outside The Kennel Club jurisdiction. However, some fanciers of the breed who wanted to join with The Kennel Club split away and in 1983 drew up a breed standard based on that of Arthur Heinemann, who had been a disciple of the Reverend John Russell. The new club stated as its aim the promotion of the “genuine Jack Russell”.
The breed was formally recognised by The Kennel Club in 1990 as the Parson Jack Russell Terrier. However, in 1999, the breed name was changed to the Parson Russell Terrier to differentiate the two breeds.
The Parson Russell Terrier is now well established in the show ring.

The following is the permissible list of colours that are recognised within the breed by The Kennel Club:
Black & White; Lemon & White; Lemon Tan & White: Tan & White; Tricolour; White; White & Tan; White Black & Tan
It is also accepted the body should be dominantly coloured white with the addition of the above possible combinations.

Under The Kennel Club regulations there are two restrictions that can be placed on a dogs record by the registered owner(s) of the dog whilst in their possession.

“R” Progeny not eligible for registration.
“X” Pedigree not for export.

One restricts registration of any of its future offspring (progeny) and the other prevents issue of an export pedigree.

No breeder can guarantee that a dog they breed will go on to be judged, and awarded champion status. This is unrealistic as an expectation.
Not all dogs are suitable to go on to perform in the show ring. It takes particular traits in character and personality let alone training to develop a puppy then dog to go into the ring and be a show dog.
The vast majority of our puppies go to pet homes and have very happy lives.

There are DNA tests for 3 illnesses that a PRT dog can be subject to. For each of the illnesses if they don’t have the gene which causes the illness then they are classed as ‘Clear’. If they have one copy of the gene then they are classed as a ‘Carrier’, this means they won’t have the illness but could potentially pass it on to offspring. If they have two copies of the gene then they are classed as ‘Affected’ and WILL develop the illness.

If a dog is ‘Clear’ it means IT has been DNA tested for the illness. If it is ‘Hereditary Clear’ then its parents were classed as either ‘Clear’, that is they had been tested, or were themselves deemed ‘Hereditary Clear’.

At the moment there is no limit as to how many generations an untested ‘Clear’ status can be inherited, but from 2023 The Kennel Club are introducing a limit of two generations. This change is to safeguard against the impact that dogs with an incorrect ‘Hereditary Clear’ status could have on health issues within the breed.

It is up to the breeder. If they want they can take the samples themselves, send them off to an approved laboratory for testing and submit the test results to The Kennel Club to add to the dogs record. At Scapegrace we have all our samples taken and submitted to the laboratory by our vet. When we get the results we submit them for registration on the dogs record with The Kennel Club.

We DNA test ALL the dogs we keep for breeding, without exception, that is the only way we can be sure of our dogs status. We also expect any dogs, outside our kennel, being used for mating to have been tested as well.