IRO

19/10/2026

With the 30th IRO World Championship behind us, we’re already looking ahead to what’s next. Belgium, here we come! 🇧🇪🐾

🌍 IRO World Championship 2027
🗓️ 15–19 September 2027
📍 Heusden-Zolder, Belgium

Hosted by BEL-SAR-K9 , the championship will once again bring together search and rescue dog teams from around the world to test their skills and teamwork. 💙🐕💪

For many teams, the next World Championship is already a new goal to work towards. In search and rescue dog work, training never stops – and neither does our commitment.

17/10/2026

Team IRO would like to say a huge THANK YOU 💙🙏

Thank you to everyone who made the 30th IRO World Championship possible: All participants who gave their best in the competitions, the organisations acck9t Associazione Culturale Cinofila K9T (ACCK9T) and NCS FIDENZA ODV Nucleo Cinofilo da Soccorso di Fidenza (NCS Fidenza) for their incredible organisational work, all helpers on site for their tireless support, and the IRO judges for their expertise and fairness. 🙌

We truly value the dedication each of you brought to this event. 🐕✨
 
👉 The IRO World Championship is so much more than just a sporting event: it’s a chance for search and rescue dog teams from across the globe to come together and share experiences. In the end, we all share the same passion: TO HELP SAVE LIVES!

16/10/2026

Final results of the 30th IRO WCH are in 🎉🌍🐾 What a final day and what a week!
 
The World Championship 2026 once again brought together IRO Search and Rescue Dog Teams from all over the world. Every team that made it here is a true champion, so congratulations to all of you for your outstanding dedication! 🙌🐕

Now, let’s give a special round of applause to our new IRO World Champions 2026!

Tracking
🥇 Jana Nečasová with Síria von Košice, Czech Republic 243 points

Area Search
🥇 Patrizia Gamberoni with Ramblers Blues, Malta 280 points
🥈 Thomas Kölbl with Diabolos Cordum Anuk, Austria 268 points
🥉 Patricia Lemke with Idefix de l’ami des chevaux, Germany 266 points

Rubble Search
🥇 Elisabetta Lama with Bahia San, Argentina 290 points
🥈 Alarico Sberlati with Rocket aus der Krummholz, Italy 287 points
🥉 Rafael Dubrović with Vespa od Piteše, Croatia 286 points 

Water Rescue
🥇 Lucie Zabadalová with Admirable Amina Lucky Gayle, Czech Republic 286 points
🥈 Francesco Carrara with Arrow Green, Slovenia 284 points
🥉 Claudio Cazzaniga with Mattaponi’s Hakidonmuya, Canada 273 points

Nation
🥇 Czech Republic
🥈 Slovenia
🥉 Austria

Team
🥇 Svaz záchranných brigád kynologů ČR (SZBK ČR), Czech Republic
🥈 Društvo za reševalne pse Maribor (REPS), Slovenia

A huge thank you to all the competitors, judges, organisers, fans and supporters who made this event such a celebration of what unites us: our passion for working alongside our dogs. 🐾❤️
 
The IRO World Championship 2026 may be over, but we’re already looking forward to seeing you in Belgium for the 2027 event!

16/10/2026

15/10/2026

Behind the scenes of Water Rescue at the IRO WCH 2026 🐶🌍👀

Yesterday, we spoke with Pavel Šabacký, Main Judge for Water Rescue at the IRO World Championship 2026 in Codogno, Italy. Together with Co-Judge Margot Luukas, he is responsible for assessing the teams competing in Water Rescue and ensuring fair and consistent judging.

In our interview, Pavel explains an important distinction between competition exercises and real-life water rescue operations. Attempting to rescue a drowning person can put a dog at serious risk. In real-life situations, specially trained water rescue dogs can instead provide valuable support to human rescuers. 🐾💪

A big thank you to Pavel and the entire judging team for their expertise, dedication and commitment to this year’s World Championship! 🙏

15/10/2026

The spirit of the IRO World Championship 2026! 🌎🐶🥇

The World Championship is in full swing, and we’re sharing our impressions of the competition so far. From tracking, area and rubble search to water rescue, obedience and dexterity, the past few days have seen search and rescue dog teams from around the world come together, each putting their training and teamwork to the test. 🐕💪

Every team brings dedication, preparation, and a unique bond between dog and handler to the competition, regardless of the outcome. 💙🐾

Congratulations to all the competitors so far, and good luck to everyone taking part in the final two days of the 30th IRO World Championship! 🍀

14/10/2026

It may be the 30th IRO World Championship, but it’s the first for K-9 Urban Search and Rescue Malta! A warm welcome to the Maltese team! 🇲🇹🤝🐶

We spoke to John Gera about his organisation’s search and rescue dog training experience, what sparked their interest in IRO, and their hopes for the future, including the possibility of hosting an IRO Event in Malta one day.

It’s great to see organisations from different countries coming together, learning from each other, and sharing a commitment to developing the work of search and rescue dogs. 💙

Thank you, John, for sharing your thoughts with us. We wish all the teams competing in this year’s championship the very best of luck! 🍀

K-9 Urban Search and Rescue Malta

13/10/2026

The people behind the IRO WCH 🐶🌍👏 Meet Matteo Baistrocchi, Alberto Bosoni and Giovanni Martinelli (from left to right), the presidents of NCS Fidenza, Gruppo Protezione Civile Citta' di Codogno and ACCK9T. Together with their dedicated teams, they have put in a great deal of work to organise this year's IRO World Championship in Italy.

For them, the World Championship is about far more than just bringing together search and rescue dog teams from around the world:

“The Search and Rescue Dog World Championship is much more than a sporting competition. It brings together people who share a love for their dogs, a strong sense of teamwork and a common goal. It gives us the opportunity to show what we do and how we work with our dogs. And while this is a competition, the skills demonstrated here are the same ones needed in real-life search and rescue operations, where teams work to find missing people and those trapped beneath rubble.”

A heartfelt thank you to Matteo, Alberto, Giovanni and everyone at NCS Fidenza, Gruppo Protezione Civile Citta' di Codogno and ACCK9T for their dedication, hard work and commitment in making this championship possible. 🙏

12/10/2026

Moments from the 1st competition day at the IRO WCH 2026 🌎🐶🥇

Today, the first search and rescue dog teams showcased their abilities and collaborative spirit across various disciplines. From area and rubble search to obedience and dexterity, the day offered a glimpse into the hard work, dedication and preparation that goes into competing at this level. 🐕💪

Congratulations to all the teams who competed today, and good luck to everyone taking part in tomorrow’s 30th IRO WORD CHAMPIONSHIP - CODOGNO 2026 competitions! 🍀

Here are some photos from today’s events! 📸

11/10/2026

30th IRO World Championship is on 🐶🌎🥇 What a PAWsome first day in Codogno, Italy!
 
We are pleased to welcome
🐕 114 IRO Search and Rescue Dog Teams
🤝 of 56 member organisations
🌍 from 26 countries
👉 from 4 continents
🥇 to compete in 4 disciplines 👉 Tracking, Area Search, Rubble Search, Water Rescue plus Obedience/Dexterity
📍 in Codogno, Italy hosted by acck9t Associazione Culturale Cinofila K9T (ACCK9T) and NCS FIDENZA ODV Nucleo Cinofilo da Soccorso di Fidenza (NCS Fidenza)

Competitions start tomorrow at 7.30h. On behalf of the entire IRO Team we wish all teams the best of luck! 🍀