Surprised nobody mentioned that having a dog in Germany is not a problem, but there are quite a few rules that you don't have in the US (and certainly not down South).

Mandatory registration, pet passports, mandatory micro-chips, mandatory 3rd party liability insurance ($1.2million worth of cover!!), landlord written approval (if even permitted in the building), leash laws, muzzles for certain breeds, banned from playgrounds, etc....

Well-behaved dogs are welcome in most restaurants and shops in Europe, but as a general rule (this is a general comment based on 20yrs experience and as a definite average) the lower level of what a US resident considers to be well-behaved would get you fined or thrown out of places in Europe.

Kennels with any space will be very hard to find due to summer school holidays. I would strongly suggest you leave the dog behind until you are settled. Living for weeks in a downtown European hotel with a dog is a real pain, especially since you are going to very busy looking at places to live, visting various government offices (registration as residents, registration of the dog, work permit, etc).