Kate's CPD, in her
own workshop.
Continuing professional development on canine fertility, breeding decisions, welfare — and short clips on how to read pain and gait in a working dog. Filmed by Kate Clapperton, free to watch on the GenoVaq Welfare Hub.
Kennel Club Assured Breeder · Veterinary Physiotherapist · Runs a canine fertility clinic
The CPD that used to live inside the profession, now open to any breeder who wants it.
Kate has run in-person CPD sessions on canine fertility for other breeders for years — usually a Saturday, usually eight or ten breeders in a room, usually the same set of practical questions nobody asks openly.
This is the same content, filmed once, hosted for free. Under her byline. No sign-up gate. Watch, take what you need, share the link with another breeder if it helps.
Alongside the long-form CPD, Kate has filmed a series of short teaching clips on how to read pain and gait in a working dog — the diagnostic signals every owner and breeder should recognise but almost none are taught.
"The information isn't going to hurt anyone. Better it's in the room."
Long-form sessions.
Each session below is self-contained. Watch the fertility CPD first if you're new to breeding-side decisions — it sets up everything else Kate covers.
Canine fertility — a breeder's CPD
Kate's full CPD workshop on canine fertility from the breeder's side — cytology, semen analysis, ultrasound, timing, and the practical decisions every breeder faces around every mating. Filmed as an IAAT-recognised professional development session.
Currently being uploaded — the embed above will go live once the file is hosted.
Kate is filming more.
Upcoming sessions include the whelping toolkit, in-utero conditioning, post-whelp recovery for the bitch, and a walk through the recognised health-testing panels. If there's a topic you'd like Kate to cover, write in.
Suggest a CPD topic →Reading pain and gait in a working dog.
Kate's short teaching clips on the diagnostic signals every owner and breeder should be able to spot — vocalised pain, gait asymmetry, back-pain patterns, hip stiffness. Filmed as reference material at her Sheffield clinic.
Recognising pain — vocalisation on the treadmill
A brown Border Collie on the hydrotherapy treadmill vocalising through discomfort. Kate uses this clip to teach owners what pain sounds like in a working dog that would otherwise carry on regardless.
Recognising pain — a Border Collie showing signs
Short clip. Kate walks through the postural and behavioural signals that mean a Border Collie is in pain — often much subtler than owners expect.
Short striding at walk — reading back pain
Kate's gait-analysis clip on a working dog whose shortened stride at walk is caused by back pain rather than a leg-based lameness. Useful for owners of agility and working dogs.
Short bouncy stride — reading stiff hips
The classic short, bouncy stride Kate looks for when a dog has stiff hips. Filmed as a teaching clip for owners and other breeders learning to read canine gait.
Trot vs walk — reading gait differences
Kate's side-by-side of a dog at trot vs walk, showing what a normal transition looks like and what to notice when gait is asymmetric. Foundation reading for anyone assessing soundness.
The written companions.
The CPD videos here cover the practical side. Kate's written pieces on the Welfare Hub cover the underlying material — read whichever way you learn best.
When to mate — the four stages of a bitch's season
Proestrus, estrus, diestrus, anestrus — and the split season that misleads a lot of breeders.
Read the piece →How to read a canine semen sample
Motility, morphology, concentration, colour — and the three fractions of canine semen.
Read the piece →Using ultrasound in a canine pregnancy
Six reasons to scan — including the post-whelp retained-anything check that every breeder should do.
Read the piece →How a dog jumps
Kate's piece on the biomechanics of the canine jump — trajectory, shock absorption, centre of gravity.
Read the piece →Puppy Foundation Exercises
Kate's short-form clips of the foundation-exercise drills she takes every Rippletrix pup through from four weeks old.
See the exercises →The full Rippletrix story.
These CPD sessions are part of Kate's Rippletrix Border Collies programme. See the bloodline story, meet the pack, and read Kate's own guides for new puppy owners.
Kate's own photographs
Taken by Kate, sent to us the way she sends everything — a burst of them, straight from her phone.
In their own words
Accounts from people who have taken an animal from Rippletrix Border Collies. We publish these under the writer’s own name and read every one before it appears. There is no star rating here, and there never will be — this is why.
No testimonials yet. If you have had an animal from Rippletrix Border Collies, yours would be the first.
Write a testimonialVerified purchase means our records show the writer bought from this breeder through GenoVaq. Testimonials without that mark are published too — they are simply from people we cannot confirm transacted on the platform. We do not remove a testimonial because a breeder dislikes it, and we do not publish one we believe to be fake. A breeder who wants to respond to something written about them can write to info@genovaq.co.uk.