The Stabyhoun is one of the rarest dog breeds in the world. It hails from the Dutch province of Friesland; its origins lie in the forested region of eastern and southeastern Friesland. The breed has been mentioned in Dutch literature dating back to the early 1800s, but it was not until the 1960s that the breed became known outside its native province; the first Stabyhouns left the Netherlands some decades later, in the 2000s. The name Stabyhoun loosely translates roughly to "stand by me dog". The dog is considered a Dutch national treasure. Today, there are only a few thousand Stabyhouns worldwide. The unfortunate consequence of a population this size is that reputable breeders only have access to a much smaller number of dogs than you might expect; typically just 1% of the total population. This means that a Stabyhoun breeder may only have access to up to 30 individual dogs with appropriate genetics, and they own part of the 30 which can often therefore not be used due to being too closely related to whomever they wish to breed.
The Stabyhoun is mentioned in the early 19th century in Frisian literature. Historically, this breed was used for hunting foxes, small game, and birds. A fixture on Frisian farms, Stabyhouns proved to be skillful mole-catchers. During the hunting season, it was used as a gun dog. Today, the Stabyhoun remains a competent hunter, although British and German hunting breeds remain more popular. Known for its calm disposition, the Staby is a soft-mouthed retriever, an accomplished pointer, excellent tracker, and a fantastic alert dog. It has also been used by dairy farmers as a cart dog.
These dogs used to be found nearly exclusively on farms, whose owners had limited means and needed an all-purpose farm dog capable of working, hunting, and keeping watch, whilst being a faithful and reliable family companion.
The breed's appearance and purpose have not changed over the years. In order to optimize the traits of the working farm dog in earlier days, the Stabyhoun was often mixed with another old and rare - although closely related - Frisian breed, the Wetterhoun. The Wetterhoun's rugged coats and huskier physiques made the resulting Staby-crosses more robust. However, in 1942 the Stabyhoun received official breed recognition, and crossbreeding of the Stabyhoun and Wetterhoun ceased altogether in an effort to prevent the extinction of these increasingly rare breeds.
Today, the Stabyhoun enjoys a small but devoted following amongst Dutch sportsmen and families. Its numbers are increasing slowly but steadily. This breed has caught the attention of dog lovers in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and North America. The AKC recognizes it among its FSS program (Foundation Stock Service) for dogs attempting to become more established. This is a precursor to receiving full AKC recognition.
The Stabyhoun is known for its gentle disposition. This breed is friendly, sensitive, intelligent, calm, patient, and biddable but may be stubborn on occasion. The Stabyhoun is extremely tolerant of children and other animals. With steady yet gentle training, this breed will be obedient and devoted to its guardian. Stabyhouns should never be vicious or snappy. Although a Stabyhoun can be very calm indoors, like all sporting breeds, it enjoys plenty of physical activity. Given their Frisian roots, Stabyhouns relish the opportunity to swim. They are keen to join their families in most outdoor activities, and have even been shown to enjoy long mountain hikes!
With the population fluctuating, and a circle of enthusiasts struggling to bring in younger people who can continue working with the breed in the future, the fate of the Stabyhoun is uncertain at best. Some enthusiasts fear the worst, anticipating the extinction of this breed within the next 20 or so years.
Comments