Praise, Contact and Aids

Between obedience/dexterity exercises

The binding 2026 guideline specifies brief verbal praise only; no touching or playing. Keep the dog calm and under control and proceed to the next exercise in free heeling. The specific V-level approach to the down is on leash.

This clarifies the rulebook’s general permission for brief praise after an exercise; it does not authorise physical celebration between exercises.

Nosework start and restart

The 2026 clarification for F V, T, FL and MT says the exercise begins in GS. During preparation for the search, the dog’s exact position is flexible. Contact and aids are permitted before dispatch; once searching, the dog must work independently.

After an alert, the handler may repeat the full start procedure, including contact and aids. This is not permission to intervene during an ongoing search. More support is reflected in a lower independence assessment. The general prohibitions on food, motivational articles and force remain applicable.

During search and alert

Prohibited assistance or touching during work falls under the warning rules (first warning −5; second terminates the phase). Assistance that produces or supports the alert is specifically scored 0 for that alert. Do not confuse this with the permitted start procedure or prescribed handling such as carrying and lifting off the ladder.

The general rule exempts praise from the touching prohibition, but it is not permission to cue or physically guide an alert. Do not treat physical positioning into a down as a prescribed part of finishing an alert. See Alerts for the finish and its commands.

Water, equipment and rewards

• Water/sponge in nosework: judge’s agreement, justified by conditions; not at or directly after the alert. Tracking additionally permits cleaning the dog’s head, eyes and nose during work.
• Food or motivational articles during work: termination. No such reward interval is created by an exercise ending.
• Declare whistle commands before work. Do not alternate whistle and voice for the same command; this can lead to a warning. Keep commands short.
• Boots and goggles are allowed during search at the handler’s responsibility and risk; injured dogs are excluded.
• GPS/recording devices for the handler during nosework are prohibited, except declared GPS in MT.
• On the ladder, do not touch the working dog or apparatus; lifting the dog off at the end is expressly required.

Sources

FCI/IRO 2025, §2.2; 2.6; 3.3–3.4. Binding IRO guideline, approved 25 August 2026.