About Us

Colleen is a Certified member with the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC), and is one of only 600 Dog Behavior Professionals that holds the distinct CDBC certification, recognized worldwide.

Family Dog Mediation (FDM) is an Evolved, Progressive certification.
Using the L. E. G. S  template, (Learning, Environment, Genitics and Self), all known information is considered when developing the most comprehensive training and behaviour modification plan for your individual dog.

Colleen founded Diamond in the Ruff Inc. in 1991 to give dog owners a kinder, more cutting edge approach to dog training. She lives her motto – training with our hearts and minds, not our hands – with her own animals. Colleen has helped thousands of dogs and dog handlers become better teams using gentle yet effective techniques based on sound research.

Colleen’s dog training education includes:

Council for Professional Dog Trainers Certificate CPDT-KA
Animal Behaviour College Honours Graduate ABC-DT-MT
Canine Good Citizen Evalator CCGC-E
Therapy Dog Evaluator
Regular attendance at relevant training and behaviour courses to ensure the most up to date service.

When she is not running group training classes, doing private training sessions or Animal Assisted Therapy, she enjoys spending time on her acreage with her cats, horses, dogs, pigs, emu, goat, and parrots.

Sharon adopted a rescue dog and initially relied on aversive training methods. After seeing her dog’s behaviour take a turn for the worse, she sought out a different approach that used science-based training methods for fearful dogs. After seeing first hand how force-free methods helped her dog to flourish, she was hooked. She has become a passionate advocate for force-free methods and works to find long-term solutions for her clients.

Sharon mentored under Colleen for several years to complete her apprenticeship hours and her CPDT-KA exam. She is a certified professional dog trainer and is fear-free certified.

Sharon enjoys teaching classes and completing private training for clients.

When Sharon is not training she works as a full-time Chartered Accountant and enjoys spending time with her husband and their two dogs. She is also active in the rescue community and takes pride in helping families create a strong bond with their rescue dog.

After taking group classes and private sessions with Colleen with his own dogs, Jas started to realize he had a strong passion for dog training and rehabilitation. He became more intrigued on learning the science behind these methods and jumped at the opportunity to learn from one of the most respected trainers in the Edmonton area.

Jas also spent several years mentoring under Colleen and is a certified professional dog trainer and is fear-free certified. He also is a Certified Management Accountant.

Jas has a strong passion in working on behavioural cases and works to provide safe and long-term solutions for his clients.

When Jas is not training he is busy with local dog rescue groups and spending time with his wife and two dogs.