Do not leave your dog alone for a long trip.

If you need to go on a long trip, and you simply cannot take your dog, do not board him/her. In my opinion, that would be cruel. Do not leave the dog at home by themselves while having someone come over once a day to feed them. This can cause way too much emotional damage. The best thing you can do is leave him/her with someone you can completely trust. If you do not know someone like that, then you need to find someone like that.

I cannot help it. I feel that it is cruel to board a pet, but I am not stupid. There are sometimes where boarding your pet is the best alternative. Besides, I am sure that there are places that do a great job with your pet.

I don't think it is "cruel". It's the matter of opinion.

As for what to do with dogs when you are away for a very long time.
Some people can afford to pay people to take care of their pets while they are away, although the quality of such services can be vary.
Some people have friends or neighbors who can take care of their pets while they are away for free. The quality of such care can be vary too. As some people will do no more than feeding, while some other people will actually spend time to walk your dogs and even playing with them.
Some people simply do not have any option at all besides having someone to come over once a day while they are away. Not everyone have trustworthy friends who can take care of dogs for them.

I don't think it's cruel either. I happen to love the kennel/groomer that we use. I wouldn't want to leave my cats or dogs there for very long at a time because sure, it's stressful....but not more stressful than trying to bring them to another location with you.

I also don't think it is cruel to board a pet. If you have checked out the establishment and know that they are reputable, your dog should be well taken care of. Do your research, see what others have to say about the place. It would be better than leaving the dog home alone.

Having said that, my dog would not do well at a kennel or boarding facility. But, I am lucky as I have a large family who will help out.

We all have to do what is best and what we are capable of. For some people a kennel is the only viable option.

No, boarding your dog while you go on a trip is not an option, in my opinion.

Think of it this way. When you go on a trip and you cannot take your children with you, would you send to them to be locked up in the police station while you are away? That's more or less what happens when you board your dog. It will be kept in a cage, with strange dogs and strange people. Isn't that like being locked up in the police station?

If you have a dog as a pet and you know you have to travel and you know you cannot take your dog with you, then make sure that you start preparing for your trip well ahead of time. The first thing is to locate someone you can trust who loves your dog. Take your dog to visit that person often. Leave your dog now and then with that person, for short periods of time, like half a day or even overnight. So when the time comes for you to take a trip without your dog, you can leave your dog with that person and your dog will not be traumatized.

Is that too much trouble? If you think it is, then you should seriously consider getting this as a pet:

I wouldn't go on any long trips and board my dogs unless it was a matter of life or death! My dogs are a part of my family and I would no more leave them alone in the house or in boarding kennels than I would abandon my kids! Luckily I have a family member who would willingly move into our house to take care of them if there was some kind of emergency but I would still worry.

Both my dogs were rescue dogs and I can clearly remember how upset and stressed they were when I first saw them in kennels. It took a long time to gain their trust and the youngest one still suffers from separation anxiety. If I were to board them they would honestly think that I had abandoned them and in their minds it would be the worst thing that could ever happen to them. I love my dogs far too much to put them through that and I honestly can't see my youngest dog surviving as he simply wouldn't eat!

I cannot understand anyone who can go away on holiday and have a nice time when they know their dogs are in kennels. We have always taken our dogs with us and even though it means we can't go abroad and have to make do with a caravan holiday at least the family is altogether.