By necessity, impoverished farmers and peasants who lived in the Netherlands could only afford one dog, and figuratively speaking, it had to be a dog that could wear many hats. To the benefit of both the owner and canine, a Stabyhoun was that dog. She could hunt duck and upland birds. She could rid farms of vermin, mostly rats, mice, voles, moles, ferrets, foxes, and polecats, and she could even a pull cart loaded with produce or goods. At the end of the day, she was happily ensconced in the home, her calm and gentle ways making her an excellent family companion.

It is of interest that another “side job” of a Stabyhoun came from its role in hunting moles. The breed’s fine mole hunting skills provided a farmer to earn extra income.  He simply put his Stabyhoun in a bicycle basket, rode around looking for likely places in which his dog could catch moles, then sold the mole skins which were used to make linings for gloves.

As an aside, these days, moleskin is made from cotton which is sheared to give it a smooth textured surface that feels like the skin of a mole.

Image: Stabyhoun by LA Shepard/thedoglover
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