Day 9 - Hosting friends – and their dogs!

[Solveig0]

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.

[Stephanie]

@Solveig0  what a GORGEOUS pup and puss! I've never known someone with a Stabyhoun, they often get confused with cocker-spaniels. 

Lovely post!

Thanks

[Suzanne302]

@Solveig0  This post makes me want to come visit your property! I'm a fellow dog-lover and I love hosting dogs in my home as well!

Thanks for sharing!

[Solveig0]

Thanks @Suzanne302 , please come visit! We (obviously) love guests. xx

[Miloud0]

Salute @Solveig0, 

You have a so nice co-host. great post, thanks for sharing 

Thanks, 

Miloud

[Kevin1322]

we have dogs, and we have found that the great thing about guests travelling with dogs is that guests with unsociable dogs tend to leave them at home. So all we meet are very sociable dogs!   

And if they don't bring their dogs they are very happy to stay in a house that has dogs.

There are no drawbacks are there!

[Solveig0]

@Kevin1322 Agree! We also get unsociable dogs, I think because a lot of people use our place on their way to or from Norway and bring dogs for hunting or other purposes. Our dog is great with unsociable dogs, he speaks dog very well, so even though the dogs might not go with other dogs, or other humans, they can usually go with Lukas. And opposite - if the dog is very sociable with humans, they're not always as sociable with Lukas... 

[Rita662]

Lukas is so cute, and Magnus as well.

Waht a great team you have 🙂

[Cathie19]

Lovely post @Solveig0.  Your dog looks gorgeous... and heavy! Lol...

Our passive dog is not keen on small animals in her space, and we are surrounded by dogs in a suburban street.

Currently two to the left of me , two to the right. Two to the left over the road then two to the right... over the road. ... and that’s just the immediate vicinity in our suburban street. Darwin is a city that loves its pets! 

But we don’t need to upset the balance....... good luck with your ideal animal space!  👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Here’s  a picture of our girl, a “Darwin special”: a rescued Bull Arab Cross. She runs like the wind when let loose on the beach. But here she is getting ready to face a night outside in a chilly 19° Celsius. YES I do mean Celsius ( c. 66°Fahrenheit) please note: tropical dogs feel the cold! Lol....

[Solveig0]

She looks lovely @Cathie19 . I can well understand 19 can be chilly. I lived in Dubai for a few years, and anything below 20 I'd be freezing and going inside 😄 😄 

[Kira32]

@Solveig0  what a lovely idea❤

[Heather133]

@Solveig0 Prettige kennis te maken! (Hope I spelled that right. My Dutch is rather rusty and rather Flemish to begin with!) Hilarious that your Airbnb suite is a former pig sty!  

I've always said no to having guests bring their dogs because I have two small dogs of my own and I've worried about possible pecking order problems. Your post has me reconsidering. The photos are beautiful and your pup looks like a great ambassador for your home.

[Heather133]

Oops! Just noticed that you are in Denmark and it's your PUP who is from Holland. 

[Solveig0]

@Heather133 That's ok! 😄 

Dogs - if left to themselves - usually figure out the pecking order, and in my experience it has little or nothing to do with size 😄 😄 Lukas is great at picking up other dogs' social signals, so we're not so worried, but not all dogs are - and not all the dogs we've had visiting have been either, but then Lukas just stays away from them and we've never had any issues. 

[Helen427]

Thanks for sharing @Solveig0 

Wonderful to see a Family Affair, including the animals.

Do you fed the chickens the  Brocolli leaves/ stalks that are in the garden next to the coop?

They are the nicest part of Brocolli & peppery in taste.

All the best

Central To All Home & Location

Auckland, New Zealand