30+ Police Dog Teams Gather in Northern Luxembourg for International K9 Training Day

An international police canine unit training day took place in northern Luxembourg on Wednesday 17 September 2025.

At the invitation of the Grand Ducal Police, 32 teams - each consisting of a police officer and their dog - from Luxembourg, France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland gathered for joint exercises at two locations: along the shores of Upper Sûre Lake and in Heiderscheid.

This was the eighth edition of the training exercise in Luxembourg (the last held several years ago), bringing together units from Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg in Germany, the Gendarmerie of Metz and Belfort and the Police Nationale in Paris, France, Belgian police dog units, and colleagues from the French-speaking canton of Vaud in Switzerland.

The day featured a series of technical and tactical challenges for handlers and their dogs. Scenarios included zip lining off the bridge in Lultzhausen with dogs secured to their handlers, and later water-based exercises where the dogs leapt from police boats to apprehend a simulated suspect - an officer wearing padded protective gear.

Luxembourg’s Minister for Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, was scheduled to join the training in Heiderscheid in the afternoon to observe the exercises.

Christian van Wissen, head of the Grand Ducal Police K9 Unit, emphasised that the event was not only about the challenges but also about international cooperation: “It is an opportunity to bring together colleagues who are in regular contact, to learn new things from each other, and to thank them for their good cooperation over the years”. He noted that while laws may differ between countries, working with dogs remains the same and “does not stop at the border”.

Luxembourg's K9 Unit regularly cooperates with its cross-border counterparts. For example, Luxembourg sniffer dogs are deployed at major music festivals such as Tomorrowland and Nature One (also LOA in Luxembourg), and also assist with checks on the Brussels metro in Molenbeek - or wherever needed in Belgium.

Christian van Wissen also underlined the importance of animal welfare and the strong bond between handler and dog. He noted that the dogs live normal family lives at home while being highly motivated in their work. Their main day-to-day missions include preventive patrols in areas with higher crime rates, in addition to supporting cross-border operations. He reiterated the Grand Ducal Police's close cooperation with neighbouring forces, notably Germany and Belgium. The latter trains Luxembourg's police dogs free of charge, while Luxembourg in return provides support with its specialised drug-detection dogs when needed.

Luxembourg's K9 Unit currently works primarily with German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherds, although the key factor is whether the dog is suited to the tasks rather than its breed.