Who are we?
Founded in 2016, BetterBred LLC was born of a love for purebred dogs and their devoted breeders. BetterBred was created in response to the glaring need for multiple measurements to help identify, maintain and redistribute genetic diversity in several breeds. It was formed as an outgrowth of a project that helped develop the Canine Genetic Diversity Test created by world renowned Dr. Niels C. Pedersen, DVM PhD at UC Davis for Standard Poodles. After the release of the Standard poodle results, breeder and founder Natalie Green Tessier realized that inbreeding was not the only aspect of diversity to consider.
Biodiversity and allelic richness are also major concerns to dog breeds and other species, many of which are under human management. Breeders hold the responsibility to conserve their breeds for future generations by maintaining and addressing loss of diversity due to genetic drift and bottlenecks. BetterBred’s mission is to support all breeders so they can conserve the genetic diversity in their breeds.
What do we offer?
We offer the only online breeder suite that predicts the range of inbreeding AND bottleneck genetics to expect in potential puppies. Our software gives proven, scientifically accurate, and easy to use results. Our goal is to help breeders make breeding choices that can keep their breeds as healthy as possible. We work closely with the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory to bring our members meaningful analyses of their breeds and dogs.
We offer extensive free analyses and features. Our members can list health testing, titles, temperament and more on their public dog profiles. They receive a free individual dog analysis with each tested dog, and can view all other publicly available dogs. We also offer a free easy mini-course to help breeders understand their results and the concepts behind using genetic data to make breeding choices.
We support breed communities. Our site allows for easy online networking with like minded breeders, breed information and opportunities for research. Since we grew out of a very large, important research study on breed specific diseases, we can help any breed with similar efforts.
Meet the team!
Natalie Green Tessier a mother of six successful adult (or nearly adult) children, has held many roles in her life and has a natural drive to learn. Once a journalist and editor of a successful newsweekly back when they were printed on paper, Natalie has been a dog breed advocate and leader in the Standard Poodle community for over a decade. After managing sample submissions for and co-authoring the Standard Poodle diversity study at UC Davis, Natalie set out to create an easy to use and innovative online breeding software suite for all breeds. She completed this task by teaching herself to code, reading countless articles and contacting some of the world’s premier conservation experts. She now speaks occasionally nationally and internationally and enjoys her own Standard Poodles, with an occasional litter.
Natalie is the original Founder of BetterBred LLC.
Namat Katawazi has had a passion and a track record of success in software development. He taught himself how to repair computers and create websites as a hobby when he was young. Namat holds a degree in Information Technology with a specialization in advanced software development from Rochester Institute of Technology. Since then he’s worked for companies of all age, size, and industry and has significantly contributed to both process and technology. Namat hopes to take his skill sets to the dog breeding world in conjunction with Rebekah and Natalie’s knowledge of genetics to help the dog breeding community breed healthier dogs. In his spare time he enjoys movies, fine arts, and playing classical violin. Namat has a mixed breed puppy named Louie.
Meet our Scientific Advisory Board!
Dr. Hoopes has a PhD from Harvard University and is passionate about purebred dogs. In her spare time she shows toy poodles in agility and conformation. Her research at Colgate University investigates genes that regulate growth in canines and she teaches biology and genetics.
Dr. Bellone has a long history of genetic research in horses; her current research focus is on ocular disorders in horses. She is the director of the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory and is an Associate Adjunct Professor in Population Health and Reproduction at UC Davis.
More than just a company:
We love dogs and have owned them for collective decades. Not a gimmick, BetterBred was produced by breeders FOR breeders. We respect their expertise in each of their unique breeds, and listen carefully so we can better serve them.
