OUR TEAM
It's a good day for Dogs!
ERIC WEGNER
HEAD COACH & NADD JUDGE
After working in the software industry for 30 years, Eric retired to play with dogs. His specialty is Big Dog Behavior. Quote: "It's amazing to watch their behaviors and emotions, everything a dog does has a purpose. It's fun to see how they make friendships and wrestle like kids. Coolwag is truely an amusement park for dogs."
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Eric's childhood dog was named Punk (changed and shortened from Pumpkin), a German Shepherd who followed him everywhere, chased cars and lived to a ripe old age of 15. His first dog as an adult was Deeker who loved to swim, would fetch any stick thrown and was a long distance Frisbee catcher. His current dogs are Lambo, a Cane Corso and Pixie, a Border Collie. Both are DFL veterans.
Outside of work, Eric loves to read, uses lots of open source software, plays in a old men's hockey league, takes dog walks and bikes the trails of Bentonville. His family nickname is Wag.
HEATHER WEGNER, NADD JUDGE, AKC CGC EVALUATOR, CPDT-KSA, PET TECH INSTRUCTOR
Heather grew up in Garfield, AR and went to Rogers High School. Then graduated and immediately left to go to the big cities and travel the world as an IT Professional and Project Manager.
Growing up, she was always surrounded by pets and her favorite was Corky the Pug who would fly with her in a travel bag. Heather married Eric and returned to Arkansas. They have 2 wonderful kids who work at Coolwag sometimes.
Heather has a B.S. in HR and Workforce Management from the U of A, has been training dogs for over 20 years and is a NADD Judge, AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Evaluator and holds the CPDT-KSA Certification.
Heather is also a PETTech Pet CPR & First Aid Instructor who keeps our staff up-to-date on how to care for pets in emergency and first aid situations.
LINDSAY
BUSINESS MANAGER & NADD JUDGE
A California transplant who has been in Arkansas for over 3 years and loving it. As an animal lover with a corporate background, she has found the purrrfect job as our Business Manager. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with the family.
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She keeps Heather from going crazy and always knows where everything is!
SIDNEY
MANAGER
Sidney has worked with dogs for over 20 years. She knows pretty much every dog that comes to daycare and loves helping support their training while in their play yards and enjoying their enrichments. She has a great sense of what a dog needs to help them get comfortable in their environment and connects with them almost instantly.
Sydney has a pack of 5 at home A German Shepherd, Pit Bull, Mini Dachshund, a mutt and a Golden-doodle.
LIN, DOG TRAINER
Lin discovered his passion for dogs after taking his dogs to a basic training course. He spent the next 2 years apprenticing under an animal behaviorist.
For the last 20 plus years, he has been helping people and their 4 footed family understand each other. Being raised on his grandfather's farm, he was always surrounded by animals and his earliest memories are at his veterinary clinic.
Lin has an 11 year old Irish terrier named Roux Badly, 10 year old terrier mix named Elliott and the newest addition to his family is Jimmy Carter, a chocolate Lab Pit mix.
JACOB, DOG TRAINER
Jacob is passionate about helping dogs and their owners build strong positive relationships through effective training.
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With experience working with dogs of all breeds and temperaments, Jacob focuses on creating personalized programs that address obedience, behavior challenges, and skills development. He always provides a supportive and consistent training experience that helps the dog-human team thrive and strengthen their bond.
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Jacob's companions include a Sable German Shepard, a Cattle Dog/German Shepherd and a Doberman/German Shepherd: all rescues.. You may have seen him in the Bentonville Christmas Parade walking one of our fosters from Animal Control getting ready to find a new home!
