Meet our co-host – Lukas the Stabij!
Good morning lovely Airbnb community! Fellow dog lovers and not so dog lovers alike...
For many hosts a guest with a dog is a no-go, which I completely understand. If your house isn’t set up for a dog or other visiting animals, then dogs simply aren’t welcome.
4 years ago, we were lucky to get our hands on an old farmhouse with a guest annex on the Danish countryside, on the outskirts of a tiny village called Lørslev in the very north of Denmark. Having a B&B has been an old dream of mine, but I didn’t think it would happen before I retired or otherwise got time to run what I imagined would be a very time-consuming affair.
But in comes Airbnb and provided us with the perfect midway solution – not a full-on B&B, but an easily accessible opportunity to welcome guests to our home and get to host and know people (and dogs) from all over the world.
In addition to the guest annex the farm has a closed off courtyard and a huge garden which we fenced in. Perfect for children, dogs and chickens to run wild, without running off. So how can we refuse hosting four legged friends?
Never too big for a cuddle with mummy
The guest annex is the old pig sty, refurbished and redecorated by the couple who owned the property before us. It has a lovely old farmhouse vintage feel, and I promise the smell is all gone!
Every Airbnb host offers something different. Some make it their living and have a whole professional set up, and others – like us – combine hosting with jobs and kids and what have you.
Lukas doing his bit of hosting and showing our Norwegian Airbnb guests the chicken house
Our whole family is in on the hosting. Maren (5) and Ingeborg (3) won’t let language barriers stand in the way of making new friends – furry or not.
Lukas sometimes struggle with new humans, but he is fluent in Dog and is great at seeing who wants to play and who doesn’t, and is always happy to share his space with someone up for a run around the yard.
Lukas enjoying the full-service Dog Spa Service
And even if the village is small (under 300 inhabitants) it has playgrounds for both children and dogs as well as a community run café where guests can pick up fresh bread and baked goods every weekend,and have a coffee or taste the local beer Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
So as long as the dog doesn’t run off with one of our chickens, dogs are very welcome to run freely on our property 😉
PS: We’re often asked what breed Lukas is, and – as it is quite a rare breed everywhere else than Holland – we love spreading the word about the lovely breed that is the Friese Stabijhoun, also known as Staby or Stabihoun. Stabij means “stand by me” and that’s what a Stabij does. Always close and always ready for a cuddle. Also, always ready to dig up the garden in case there happens to be a mole or water vole nearby. And as you can see in the picture below - getting some help from Maren, then 1,5 years old, in getting to the cute critters.
Maren helping Lukas dig for moles
Maren is the Master Mole Catcher of the village
Ps PS: we also of course have a Chief Mousekeeping Officer, Magnus.