The best advice I would offer anyone moving to rural France is to get a dog. Don’t buy one, they are not a fashion accessory. There are thousands of homeless dogs in refuges around the country looking for a kind owner.
They help with security. We live on a recognised walk and you can often hear the progress of walkers through the village by listening to which dogs are barking. The tone of the bark will tell you if they are strangers or locals and there is a wholly different cacophony when wildlife such as deer, boar, or foxes pass through the area.
They keep you fit. At a recent visit to the doctor to see if my many aches and pains were simply due to my advanced years, he diagnosed early onset rigor mortis and asked if I managed to get plenty of exercise. I explained I had two dogs needing three walks a day. He then said that people do not realise how many lives are saved or at least prolonged by dogs.
But above all they help you meet people who you would not otherwise get to know. People always want to stop and chat if you have a dog. We have made many good friends through a canine introduction. On a recent visit my son took a wrong turning in the village and asked a local if they knew where I lived. They didn’t recognise my surname but they knew where the dog lived!
Then there are the “when I was walking …” stories. My latest occurred yesterday.
When I was walking, I passed a couple looking over the locked gates of a house that was for sale. As I knew the owner I asked them if I could help them. They explained that they were just checking the area before an official viewing and asked what the village was like, location of local shops and other services etc.
Then he asked “Are the people friendly around here”
“If you move in here you will have the best neighbours in the world” I replied.
“You seem to know a lot about the area, do you live near here?” he asked
“Next door” I said.
If he does buy the property, I am sure we will become good friends.
I miss having my dog very much and am torn about getting another due to the fact they do not allow you to be spontaneous and decide to go off somewhere and the fact that another one would get me out more and be a companion which I miss dreadfully. My previous dog was a pure breed pedigree and we had a lot of problems with allergies so yes, would not buy another but looking on my local SPA which is less than two miles from me, the dogs they are advertising all seem not be suitable for having where there are children around and I have two very small grandchildren who visit a lot so I would always be on edge in case the dog might turn on them. I do agree you meet some nice people out walking their dogs and get to know their routes and yours leading to conversations and just general chitchat. Previously my garden was not enclosed completely but now this one is so that would be one less worry but the thought of having to turn out on a winter’s night in a strong tramontine wind tends to put me off a bit now, I used to do two walks a day previously of anything in total upto 10kms and felt so much healthier and my legs were completely muscle toned with no fat either, different story now since that all stopped.
I don’t feel at all comfortable just walking by myself, it smacks of poor old girl, no one to go with so don’t do it unless the family want to go out somewhere., the same can be said of eating out which I would love to do, but have no one to go with now. bought a stepping machine to help me keep walking fit but its not the same.
Agree with this dilemma 100% - my family have always had dogs but I don’t have one currently - have been thinking it would be a great idea to have one when I move to France, but I am also planning to do short photography trips away on my motorbike.
Two of the times I went away for a week before moving here, I put my dog into a pension that had been recommended by my vet and did a visit beforehand to see what it was like. My poor boy just sat and howled (he had wolf DNA in his genes) so you can imagine the noise and the owner had to call the vet because he lost his voice. He also sat outside in the rain even with a heated box to snuggle down into. The last time I went off, I found a local family who took in dogs into their own home, well, I had trouble getting him away from there he even had his own sofa in front of the TV set.
I can see why you would want one. The forum seems largely populated by dog lovers, which Is why I usually keep quiet about my preferences. I just wanted to observe that other options were available.
Yes sidecars still exist, but they have to be pretty much permanently attached to the motorbike, and I gather they are a pig to drive - you have to steer by speeding up or slowing down!
I don’t have a dog and I often walk on my own (and class as elderly thse days!). I suppose it depends on your area but it’s certainly normal round here to see lone walkers - male or female
I only have one combination remaining, I have owned several, a '46 Zündapp KS 750 which was built integrally. I would not say it is a pig to drive, but it is a bit of a piglet . The monster is shaft driven, including the sidecar wheel.
We’ve no dogs to walk… and I’ll walk on my own during daytime if OH or a pal is not available…
not at night though, unless it’s a quick flit to check on a neighbour…
Walking is wonderful… I gaze at the scenery, wave at other walkers… wave at cars… and talk to everyone I meet… or, at a pinch, I hold a conversation with the sheep in the nearby field.
It’s getting out into the fresh air… and moving… that keeps me sane and healthy.
I had cats too, four at the same time and loved each and every one of them but not possible here because of the main road nearby and have already found next door’s ginger tom dead after being run over one morning. Cats are more loyal to their owners I think than dogs are.
My problem is that I am on the very edge of a town in the agglo and the countryside is different to previous in Bretagne. We do have a 15km pedestrian and cycle only walkway in both directions along the Agly down to LeBarcarès on the coast but its a case of leaving the car and doing so far and then turning back as too far to go by foot in the first instance. Most of the countryside here is vineyards and scrubland and generally fenced off so being a newbie am not sure where there are chemins.
We have always used dog sitters and never put them into kennels and ours have been spoilt rotten. On one occasion, when we came back from a trip, Vita (our Airedale) went and sat by the dog sitter rather than with OH (she was “his” dog and adored him.). OH was quite hurt! While we were away she was getting walks 4 times a day and thought the dog sitter was wonderful.
I imagine from the dog’s point of view it’s like having an all-expenses-paid holiday at a luxury resort in the Maldives, so yes why would you want to come home?
. The monster is shaft driven, including the sidecar wheel.
