I'm moving to Montpellier next August to study French for a year, and will be applying for European grad schools while I'm over there (I'd like to become a translator and want to continue my studies in a French speaking area). I have a 50 pound Malamute/Samoyed that I'd absolutely love to take with me, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to find housing with a dog--does anyone have suggestions/stories etc that will help me decide whether or not to take my dog as well as a doggie budget if I do bring her along? THANKS!

I can't imagine it would be that difficult at all to find lodging in France that would allow a dog. I mean, hotels let them in, restaurants let them in, they ride on trains all the time, and I've even seen them in the supermarkets. I doubt this would be an issue. As for budget, sorry, can't help you.

Montpellier is a wonderful place to be a student, by the way.

I didn't think it would be that big of a deal either, but my French advisor thought that it might not be worth it. I think I'm going to try anyway, though...

I would love to have my dog with me in France. They are welcomed just about everywhere. Where I live you can't even take them to the beach! However, in your case, hopefully the dog wouldn't be shut up alone in an apt. for long periods while you're in school, etc. If you don't take him, will he be staying with your parents, or somebody with a yard (who loves him!)? Especially a dog like yours. I LOVE the northern breeds like that (I have huskies). If you had a small dog like a poodle, I'd say definitely take it, as you can carry them along so many places. But a malamute-type, think twice, and think about what's best for the dog.

For an independent apartment, your landlord is far more likely to be concerned about your finances than your dog. But if you want to stay in a student foyer, then you may have problems. Are you going to try and settle on housing before you leave? Or wait til you get there? If you have the budget to spring for a hotel while you apartment hunt, then again, not much problem with the dog. But if you want to stay in a hostel, then it may be more difficult.
We've never had any problems traveling with our dog in France (or elsewhere in Europe for that matter).
Also, how do you plan to get to Montpellier? If you are planning to get there by train, it will be no easy task to manage your dog, its crate, plus your luggage.
Is your dog ok with hot weather? No airco in most places in Montpellier, remember. Some northern breeds aren't happy in extended hot weather.

Vets in France are very good on average, FYI. And less expensive (also on average) than vets in the U.S.

Does your pet have a low prey drive? If you're in a building with a concierge, better than average chance she will have a cat that will feel free to lounge about the building. If your dog has a high prey drive (and a lot of northern breeds do), better make sure he/she is trained to leave that cat alone.

As a dog owner who takes her English cocker almost everywhere in Europe, we wish you luck. But bringing your pet to France will make your student life more complicated.

You don't say whether your dog is crate trained, but if not, start training NOW. Also, how does your dog handle being alone for hours at a time? Some dogs handle it quite well; other breeds (like ours) are prone to separation anxiety and simply can't take being alone for hours every day.

As Sue4 noted, a smaller dog would be a lot easier to manage. That's not to say you can't make this happen, as long as you're truly committed to the responsibilities and extra work involved.

P.S. It's a given, of course, that you ALWAYS clean up after your dog. (Even if the French don't)

A part of my next paycheck will be going towards the purchase of a crate, as a matter of fact, so that between now and next August she can get used to it. And yes, she does have the instinct to chase. But she is not allowed off-leash when we're out of the house. I'm beginning to think my best bet will be to go over there a few weeks in advance to secure housing then my boyfriend or brother can bring her over. She can avoid August, which I assume would be the hottest time and is something I worry about. Is it still fairly hot in the winter? Anyway it sounds to me like the rental market has more apartments than houses-is that right?. I'm from Montana (Western US-sometimes people don't know where it is)and here it's easy to find a room to rent at a house with a yard.

BTilke, very interesting.
My daughter has 2 greyhounds (speaking of low prey drive) but her Persian cat terrifies those dogs lol.
Pup, who is basically a hunting dog , wants a cat or small dog to call his own..
I wonder what he would do if we lived somewhere with a free roaming cat..

Hi,
This answer isn't about dogs or Montpellier... but I noticed you said you were interested in becoming a translator. Have you come across the website www.proz.com ? It's an online translators community, and probably the best place to start researching the profession (it has a list of translation organisations/schools by country, for example).

Hi Scarlett, most traditional gundogs (spaniels, setters, retrievers) actually have low prey drive as they were bred not to kill game but to flush it out or retrieve it. Chasing a cat to them is just a harmless game and they will quickly give it up if the cat stops and turns around. And they have soft mouths, so they can carry game without crushing it. I know spaniels who, upon finding baby rabbits, will carry them around gently in their mouths without hurting them in the least. Our English cocker adores cats and would love to have one of her own.
Greyhounds, Malamutes, Huskies, etc. are dogs with traditionally high prey drive. As are some of the more "stroppy" terriers. If they catch a typical prey animal, they are more likely to kill it than most gundogs. Foxhounds, deerhounds, borzois (Russian wolfhounds) have high prey drive too...hounds that run a fox or deer (or pet cat) to ground are more likely to kill it (and that's how we get the phrase "in at the kill&quot. It's the difference between what a pack of high prey drive dogs (like huskies) would do if they surrounded a deer v. what a pack of low prey drive dogs (like English cockers) would do.

BTilke, you're so right about the "prey-driven" northern type dogs. That instinct is so high in Malamutes and Huskies that I don't think it's possible to train them (at least most of them!) not to chase,and unfortunately not to kill. When unleashed, they also tend to run off, in a straight line, looking back at you saying "catch me if you can". As I said, I adore them but traveling with them would be quite a commitment. Maybe with ONE, I could do it! If mspoja decides to take her dog, I hope it will work out beautifully, but France isn't Montana. Especially finding a house with a fenced-in yard!

I have no idea how it would be in Montpellier but here in Castellon (Spain ) we usually live in apartments and some of my neighbours have Huskies and they adapt quite well. We don't have central heating at home which is something I've heard that doesn't do them any good.
Maybe she has to get used not to have a yard to run and you will have to get used to give her long walkings for her to be healthy.

Hubby and I moved to Denmark for a little over a year a few years ago and left our baby(Also a 50 pound dog) with my husbands mother. We were over there for him to work on his master degree and student life and the dog and moving to a new country just seemed all too hectic. If you are appling for housing through the university it will probably be much more difficult to find a place that accepts dogs. But if you do it on your own, you will probably find something.

We are moving back about the same time you are heading to Montpellier and this time with the dog,he is older (will be 7 instead of 4) and we will be there much longer and we will be looking for our own place this time around.

I will say that while we were over there without him the first time, it had its pros and cons...
We missed him terribly and we realized how well they treat dogs over there and that made us miss him even more. But it was easy to just pick up and head out of town for the weekend on a split second without worring about him, also it was easier to do some exploring and stay away from home all day and not thinking, we have to leave now to take Hendrix outside.

Good Luck with your decision.. Its not an easy one. I don't regret not taking him the first time, but I can't imagine not taking him with us when we head back.