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.

[Solveig0]

Hi @Helen427 ,

The chickens walk freely around in the garden, so they eat what they can find. Its great for snails and other harmful insects and they clean up a lot of the undergrowth. 

We eat everything from the garden, so yes, I love all the parts of the broccoli 😄 

[J-Renato0]

@Solveig0 

I love your post!
What a beautiful listing!
What a beautiful family.
What a beautiful pet, that dog!

I also love dogs. I do not have one now.
As for hosting guests with dogs, I can not take because my listings are apartment. It is not suitable for dogs.

In my country, pet dogs are not usually well trained.
Recently I spent about 20 days in Germany and I notice that all dogs were very well trained. I saw them everywhere, even in the tube/underground.

@Solveig0  and @Cathie19  a question just out of curiosity. To have a dog in your country, do the dogs have to be trained and does the owner have to have a license? Does the dogs have to take a test to prove they are trained?

[Cathie19]

No training required where I live, but if you want to have three dogs, you have to get council permission. This also includes neighbours agreeing.

[Solveig0]

Hi @J-Renato0 ,

No, no tests or training required, but there is a requirement for leashes, so you have to have your dog on a leash unless its in special dog areas or inside a fenced off area. In Norway (I'm originally Norwegian) this law is very strictly enforced, not so much in Denmark, but people tend to have their dogs leashed. 

Mis-behaving dogs are not tolerated. If a dog is aggressive and bites it will have to be put down, and people who mistreat their dogs might go to jail. 

[J-Renato0]

@Solveig0   @Cathie19 

In Brazil no training or license permision is required.
As for people who maltreat dogs (cats and whatsoever) might go to the trial.
I think Brazil and its cities are the few ones on earth that still tolerat pitbulls dogs. Anyway in Rio they are only permited to go in the streets (after 10pm) on a leash and using a dog muzzle. However some dog owners does not respect this law.

[Bronwyn38]

Lukas looks quite a lot like a friend's Brittany Spaniel actually, more than a Cocker Spaniel! We have two ageing Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, one of whom, Louis, absolutely loves to greet every guest and their dog(s)… he's very disappointed if people arrive WITHOUT a dog! And if they are not too rough our boisterous, he adores hanging out with new canine chums. His sister, Darcy, is not so keen on other dogs (she was attacked when we were out walking a few years back and has not forgotten), so she keeps her distance and judges the situation from afar, then eventually ventures out if she deems the situation risk-free, but she definitely loves to hang out with the people.... she will be there on the veraandah couch with them, or under the al fresco dining table for hours on end, given half a chance - if guests are amenable to this sort of thing, of course! Our dogs do not mingle with guests unless invited to do so! It helps to bind us all, having this shared love of dogs, and it's a great starting point for conversation, regardless of race, creed, age, or purpose of travel! I found a very good niche market in this popular tourist region of East coast Australia... we have thousands of B and B's in this region, but very few of them are truly pet friendly, which is why we get so many return guests with their pets, who are often good mates of Louis' and they catch up on the latest just as we humans do! Happy Christmas Solveig0!

[Erica266]

I have a dog and thought that could never host with a dog, but maybe i should change that rule. 

[Stephanie]

I can see your dogs lovely face in your pic @Erica266 !

[Clara116]

@Solveig0  From another dog lover thanks for the wonderful photos and story.

One of my boys doesn't love other dogs unless they live here so we can't host dogs in our cottage out back. But we are working on Eddies social skills and he's getting better - He's a little fellow that truly thinks he's a pit bull (I mean he will stand up against a dog 10 X 's his size.).....lol. He doesn't bite but his growl surely sounds like it. We love him and at home  he's a soft marsh mellow. Thanks again, happy hosting and journeys, ClaraEddie