Background

The event is organised by the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with CELBET under Common Learning Events Programme (CLEP) of the Customs Programme. The key objective of the CLEP programme is to allow Participating countries to deliver Learning and Development activities to national trainers, subject matter experts, and experts with teaching practice. CLEP enables national administrations to benefit from existing knowledge and expertise in the field of customs or from training specifically designed as a CLEP to enhance the training capacity or the professionalism of public administrations. This training aims at improving the training methodology of sniffer dogs trained for the detection of narcotics, tobacco and financial cash.

Objectives

The objective of this training is to improve the vocational skills of the service dogs and the Customs officers working as dog handlers at the EU´s external border and to exchange the practical experience and best practices in the field of training and use of service dogs to search for narcotics and psychotropic substances, tobacco and tobacco products, as well as financial cash. Mutual cooperation of dog handlers and sniffer dogs from different countries and comparison of training methods directly in the training process will contribute to the preparation and training of sniffer dogs, with the aim to protect the financial interests of the EU and the Member States and to ensure the safety and security and protection of citizens in a more effective way.

Expected outcome

The improved training techniques of dog handlers for sniffer dogs will increase the effectiveness of the control at the border and strengthen the protection of the EU's financial interest. Presentation of specialized training targeted to dog handlers and sniffer dogs to improve the vocational skills of the sniffer dogs and dog handlers. Exchange of theoretical and practical experience in the field of sniffer dogs training methodology and use of sniffer dogs to search for narcotics and psychotropic substances, tobacco and tobacco products, as well as financial cash.

Methodologies

Presentations of the service cynology methodologies 

Practical demonstrations, working with service dogs 

Discussions and sharing best practices