Dog lovers welcome to spend time at our Lapphund paradise in Småland, Sweden

Details

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  Description

  My partner Tomas and I Dorothea live with a group of Finnish lapphunds on a previous farm and mill in Småland. The farm consists of our house, a cottage, a garage and the old stable including a sauna. Our neighbours are a natural reserve, a pond, a creek and a lake and hiking trails at walking distance. Astrid Lindgrens Lönneberga, Norra Kvills Nationalpark and Vimmerby are located just a 20 and 30 minutes car drive away. Småland is known for its natural beauty, stone walls, dreamy meadows, deep forrests, wild life, red houses and cottages and we live with our dogs in the midst of it.
  
  We are both around 40 years old. Tomas is self-employed and works with IT and I am a psychologist with a PhD in engineering physics (solar cells). Tomas is Swedish and I am originally from Austria. Finnish Lapphund is a local breed stemming from Sami reindeer herding dogs. Our lapphunds are very friendly connection seekers and they thrive with being able to both be outside even during snow storms and cuddles on the sofa.
  
  They are pretty vocal - meaning they talk a lot but they also bark when something strange happens outside. We need help with our dogs and plants mostly when we want to leave our beautiful place for other adventures - often only for a few days but up to a few weeks. You will live with us for a few days before we leave so that you get acquainted with the place, the dogs and the routines.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Help around the house

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Farming

  

  Culture

  

  Events & social

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Plant care

  

  Languages

  

  History

  

  Gardening

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Carpentry

  

  Books

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Winter sports

  

  Sailing / Boating

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature

  

  Mountain

  

  Hiking

  

  Dancing

  

  Cycling

  

  Camping
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Tomas is Swedish, I am Austrian. Our home is a former traditional mill farm located in the heart of Småland close to Lönneberga, Vimmerby, Eksjö, that are known for being symbols of Swedish rural culture. Vimmerby and the surrounding villages like Bullerby are known for Astrid Lindgren and there are several museums on Astrid Lindgren and Swedish rural culture.
  
  Our dogs are Finnish lapphunds, a breed that stems from the reindeer herding dogs of the Sami people in Lappland (northern Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia). This breed is extremely rare outside of the Nordic Country so that you have the rare chance to really get acquainted with the breed . If you are interested in becoming either a professional with dogs or want to start breeding dogs or are just superintersted in dogs you have the opportunity to learn how a small kennel can be run with focus on animal welfare.
  
  We are located only 50 minutes from Alversjö (Eksjö) where the largest Nordic Burn (an event built on the 10+1 principles of Burning Man), Borderland, takes place. Tomas and I are involved in the burner community so that we can hattip you about local burns. Furthermore, we are polyamorous with good connections to the Swedish polyamorous community and we can help you find out about their events. We regularly have meet-ups (drinking tea and coffee and talking) for polyamorous people at our place.

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  Help

  We are mostly looking for responsible and practical person to take care of our dogs, plants and mail box when both of us are travelling but offer also longer stays that include more work around the estate. We have 4-5 adult dogs and sometimes puppies. You need to have experience with dogs.
  
  Our most pressing pet- and housesitting need at the moment is for the week of 19th to 26th of July, as we will both be away at a festival then. To fill this need, you need to be able to come here at the latest in the middle of the week preceding so that you can get to know the dogs and routines, but you are of course welcome earlier than that, and to stay for longer afterwards, if you prefer.
  
  If you stay longer than we need a pet and house sitter then we expect you to to also help with gardening, tasks around the house like light painting and small renovations, do it yourself projects like building a small wood shed, and gardening. To some degree you can choose what you want to help with. There are projects where you can learn about old Swedish carpentry and painting techniques. We follow workaways policy of 2 days off and 25 hours help per week. Usually there will be more tasks on weekends than Monday to Friday and we expect you to be flexible with which days you get off and the exact daily helping hours.
  
  For petsitting you would need to relocate the dogs in the morning and evening from the house to the outdoor premises and back. You would also have to feed them 2 times a day, clean their bowls and ensure that they can access drinking water any time. Poop needs to get cleaned up in the garden . Once a week they need to get their nails trimmed and teeth brushed and when they are shedding or their hair is dirty they need to be combed - shedding happens only twice per year. Going on walks is optional, as their outdoor areas are big enough to not require daily walks. However, I am sure that you will love to go on walks for your own pleasure in this beautiful countryside and our dogs will be happy to join you. Training the dogs is also optional. Only force-free and postive reinforcement based methods are allowed.
  
  There is more to do when puppies live with us. What needs to be done with the puppies depends on their age. During the first weeks you only need to weigh and stimulate them daily and ensure that their mother can both with them and outside as she pleases. Older puppies need to get acquainted with their surroundings by them spending more and more around in the whole house and garden . When they are outside of their safe puppy pen, you need to have an eye on them so that they do not hurt themselves or damage something. You can also start clicker training them if you like. After 4 weeks of age the dams usually stop cleaning up after their puppies so that you would need to that as well - both the defecating area and when the pee or poo somewhere else in the house. At this age they also need to get fed 3-4 times per day.
  
  We have plants in our house that need to get watered twice a week. During the summer there are also a few plants in the garden that need to get watered daily. We appreciate if you like to fix other stuff as well, but that is completely up to you.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Swedish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We have an extra room with a double bed in our house and you can use all rooms (kitchen, bathroom, laundry, living room, library, hall, storage) in the house except our own bedroom and offices. There is a sauna available as well.
  
  We will not provide you with food when we are gone, but you are free to take fruits, berries and vegetables from the garden. If you stay longer and help 25 hours per week you will be included in our breakfasts, lunches and dinners if you want. If you are not happy with the food we share with you you will have to buy food on your own.
  
  You are expected to clean and tidy after you. You are expected to help with cleaning up after meals. You will like everybody living here help to clean the rooms and areas you are using on a weekly basis according to our schedule and before leaving and to do your own laundry. We are not going to clean after you!
  
  If you don't have a car you can borrow one from us for shorter trips. We also have bicycles to borrow.

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  What else ...

  We do not have any permanent neighbors within 2 km distance and the area is not known for a great night life. The next train station - Hultsfred - with trains to Kalmar or Linköping (and Stockholm) is a 20 minutes drive away by car. There are several shops for most things you will ever need during your stay. More shops are located in Vimmerby (30 min) and even more in Vetlanda (35 minutes). There is a café and a local dairy a 15 minute drive away. You can borrow a bike as well and we will invite you to drive shopping with us when we at home. Within walking distance there are two natural reserves and several lakes.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  There is wifi at 100/100 Mbite/s all over the premise. You need to connect your phone to the wifi to be sure to be able to talk on the phone.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  You can use the sauna, an electric car charger, tables, bbq, toilet and shower.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Your dogs can be either kept with our dogs or in their own pen. You can also have pets in cages or in your own room. No cats.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Varri

  Aurora

  Barchetta

  Tjårok

  Delta

  Finnish lapphund, female 16 lg

  Tundra

  Female finnish lapphund, 11 kg

  Tajga

  Finnish lapphund, female, 16 kg

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