EBCG Academy organised Frontex Conference for Heads of Canine in Sibiu, Romania, from 10 to 12 December 2025. The three‑day meeting was hosted by the Centrul Chinologic “Dr Aurel Greblea” and brought together senior canine training professionals from 21 EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries to compare methods and align standards.

The programme combined presentations, peer exchange and practical working sessions. Organisers said the format was deliberately interactive: opening sessions established shared priorities for interoperable training and assessment, mid‑conference workshops allowed in‑depth comparison of national curricula, and discussions supported harmonisation of training standards.

Discussions emphasised modern and ethical training techniques, canine welfare and strategies to reduce injury risk for service dogs, reflecting a shift towards welfare‑centred operational preparedness. Participants described a move away from punitive methods and towards evidence‑based, science‑backed approaches to develop resilient, deployable dogs.

Ivana Petrickova, Senior Training Officer at Frontex, described the turnout as immediate and sustained. “The Frontex Conference for Heads of the Canine Training Units proved to be a remarkable event. Interest from Member States was enormous from the moment the conference was announced,” she said. Petrickova added that the meeting fostered stronger professional ties and avenues for joint work. “I am positive that this event reinforced professional and personal connections between canine experts from different countries and opened the door to meaningful dialogue and stronger collective approach to addressing current and future challenges in canine training and operational effectiveness,” she said.

The host Cynology Centre, Centrul Chinologic “Dr Aurel Greblea”, provided local facilities and logistical support for practical sessions and meetings. Practicals showcased handling, conditioning and simulated deployment scenarios in controlled conditions so trainers could observe welfare‑centred adaptations to common operational drills.

Organisers said the conference aimed to harmonise methodologies by giving senior trainers a platform to present evidence‑based practices and to discuss shared problems in training and deployment. The event is part of ongoing EBCG Academy efforts to develop interoperable training and assessment standards across the EU, and Frontex published a news release summarising the conference objectives and outcomes on its website.

Speakers and delegates noted that operational use of canine units varies across Member States. EU countries differ in how they deploy dogs for border security, underscoring the need for common standards and oversight. Between race and animality: European borders, ‘colonial dogs’, and the policing of humanity.

Sessions identified core best practices for working dog training that many centres already use or plan to adopt. These include building a strong foundation in basic obedience (for example, sit, stay and heel), progressing to specialised skills such as scent detection and tactical exercises through structured, progressive programmes, and adopting science‑based positive reinforcement techniques to promote learning and welfare.

Delegates agreed several concrete priorities to pursue after the meeting: strengthening canine welfare protocols, standardising first aid and medical response for service dogs, and embedding positive reinforcement across curricula. The conference also highlighted assessment interoperability so that dogs trained in different national centres can be evaluated against common benchmarks.

Participants left Sibiu with agreed next steps for continued collaboration, plans to share training materials and data, and a commitment to pursue harmonised standards through the EBCG Academy. Frontex said the outcomes will inform upcoming training cycles and that documentation from the event is available in the agency’s public announcement.

Source

Original reporting: view the original article.