About Us

Natalie Wagner-Welds is the founder, CEO, and Certified Dog Behavior Consultant behind The Scallywag Dog, where she helps people understand their dogs through the lens of science, culture, and story. She launched The Scallywag Dog in NYC just before the pandemic, and today she’s helping dogs and their humans in Denver, the surrounding areas, and virtually around the world!

Natalie has always been drawn to the places where people and animals meet. With roots in anthropology and an MSc in Animal Behavior and Welfare from Penn Vet, she brings a One Health lens to her work, seeing the well-being of people, animals, and the world we share as one connected whole. At Penn Vet, she became the first researcher in her program to include human subjects, studying how cinematic storytelling can improve the welfare of animals society finds “scary,” like certain dog breeds, wolves, big cats, sharks, and snakes. That love of story carries into her writing, too, as a contributor to the APA’s Division 17 Human-Animal Interaction section and through her Substack blog, Counterculture Canine, where she shares her thoughts on dogs and culture.

Recommended by veterinarians, veterinary behaviorists, rescues, and shelters, Natalie is a CDBC through IAABC, Fear Free Shelter certified, and a graduate of Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course. With a deep desire to help the misunderstood become understood, she has focused much of her work on aggression and fear, which has led her to share how the brain can be rewired for safety and resilience through presentations and educational platforms. She’s previously served as Senior Behavior Consultant at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley and Animal Behavior Manager at Foothills Animal Shelter, and she’s a member of the Pets & Families Housing Coalition’s communications committee, helping people and pets stay together at home. One of her favorite experiences was caring for 50+ wolfdogs at Full Moon Farm sanctuary, and every day she’s inspired by her happy-go-lucky one-eyed pup, Pearl.

When she’s not with the dogs, you might catch Natalie on stage or screen as a proud SAG-AFTRA and AEA actor, rock climbing and bouldering, training for a marathon, archery, martial arts, and making sure her rescue bearded dragon Irwin is living his best life around her home.