Come and enjoy your time with two Alaskan malamutes and their puppies in Gjerstad, Agder, Norway

Details

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  Description

  Hello!
  
  We need Workawayers in April, May and June.
  
  I`m a 56 years old woman living with my two 7 years old alaskan malamutes (a male and a female, not siblings) in Gjerstad, Agder, Norway. The dogs need a lot of walking and activity. I work 100%, shifts, in mental health and most of my free time is spent with the dogs. And our little kitten cat.
  
  Our dogs got 7 puppies November 26th. All is going well. This gives us a lot more to follow up for the next months. The puppies will go to new homes, except from the one we will keep. Now in April we still have 5 puppies left.
  
  We live in a small house and have a guest room. My 30 years old son, living with his 2 year old son and his girlfriend in Grimstad, often has one of the dogs for a week or two. He brings with him one or both dogs for camping and long walks. He also takes them running with kickbike. He has also brought the female dog with him in canoe. In the winter he goes skiing with them pulling him or/and a sled.
  I go long walks with the dogs and in the winter I use snowshoes instead of skies.
  The two dogs loves everyone who wants to go walks with them. They are nice, friendly and have very good language/ communication with other dogs. They can be a bit stubborn so one can not give in. One example is that they wants to hunt other animals like cats and rabbits, so one have to say "no" and hold them back. We can't walk them without a leash. The workawayers have to be strong to handle the male dog.
  We have now built a new dogyard with a house for them.
  We also have a garden with a lawn that needs to be cut and plants that needs to be looked after and watered. We also have other plans for the garden/outdoor space that we need help to finnish, like painting.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  If You love dogs this is a nice experience. Our malamutes love being outdoors and they love being lacy and cuddled with at home. You will experience a lot of Norwegian nature. You will learn about Norwegian way of living i.e. traditional food. You might learn a bit of Norwegian language. You will meet my family and friends. I will bring You to places in the area that I think is special to this region in Norway and to museums if You want to. If You want to go camping I will tell You about nice places to go to and provide You with the necessary equipment (Tent or hammock, cooking gear and so on).
  I have knowledge of a lot of techniques in needlework, like knitting, sewing logcabin and clothes, crocheting a.o., and I can learn you if you want to. I plan to make yarn of the doghair and knitt with it. I can teach you so you can knitt your own mittens.

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  Help

  The two malamutes needs a lot of walking and activity (sniffing and exploring the nature around them, bathing in the river, visit the dog park). I need help with the walking, activity and looking after when I`m at work. The dogs need minimum two hours walking/activity a day, the rest of the time is watching them. When I work evenings I want you to give the dogs their daily meal.
  We also need help with training the dogs to stay in the dog yard when I`m at work, now they can`t be left alone. Because the dogs shed a lot of hair it is helpful if we can get some help with daily vacuuming. I`ts required that You are used to handle (large) dogs, know about/or are interesting in learning about the breed and that you are physically strong. If we agree that you can only handle one dog at the time, the other dog can stay with my son or my friend instead.
  If You want You can bring one or both dogs for camping in the forest or in the mountain area. The dogs carry their own food for the trip in their dogpack/backpacking. In the winther we have a sled for them.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Norwegian: 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

  The guestroom in my home is for You. It`s a rather small bedroom with a double bed. An alternative is sleeping in the garden in a tent, in the summer and autumn. The bathroom is small with a shower. Except for my bedroom, the rest of the house is for you to use as your own home. I make traditional Norwegian meals for us. You are free to make your own meals when I`m at work. I will of course buy all the food and also provide you with food for travels/camping.
  We have no smoking in our home.

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  What else ...

  It's a 10 min walk to the nearest center, where there are bus stops, some shops, cafes and a small zoo.
  The train station is a 10 minutes drive from my home.
  You might also use my car or I can drive you when I have time.
  When I`m not at work most of my time goes with the dogs, family and friends. Knitting, sewing, reading, watch tv, genealogy and yoga are some of my other hobbies.
  Its a lot of beautiful sites to go hiking, camping and fishing in this distrikt.
  I have a bicycle if you want to use that.
  There are some small cities around, and dependent on where one wants to go it takes 20-50 min to drive there.

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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