I was hoping some of you who kennel your dogs from time to time could give me some advice and hopefully reassurance about leaving my young dog at a kennel.
Do you kennel your dogs?
What do/did you do to make it easier on the dog (and/or yourself)?
Any other thoughts about kenneling?

History:
I have a 14 month old male Malinois. He goes to work with me and is very stable and well socialized (especially for a Mal). He is out of working lines (both parents and all siblings are in LE offices) and he and I do schutzhund and some extra protection training.

I've had him just over a year and have only left him at home with roommates or had people come and stay at my house. He is very attached to me and I to him and I am having a hard time feeling ok about leaving him overnight in a kennel. I am going to have to be out of town for a few weekends in the next couple months and the person who gave him to me (still very involved with him - "dad") has put some pressure on me to treat him like a working dog and kennel him occasionally.
I think he's at the point in his training and development where I don't really want to leave him with well-meaning yet non-working dog people. Does that make sense? I just feel so bad about him feeling confused/scared/abandoned. Yet I want to know that he is safe and not destroying my house.
Now to be fair - I have a very reliable and safe kennel where he would go.

Please give me any suggestions or thoughts you have on kenneling a young dog. Thank you!

If you have references and have thoroughly inspected the place and you're satisfied that he will be safe and cared for, then here's what I would do:

I would arrange for him to be there for a a couple of hours, a couple of times, while you grocery shop or something, before you leave for a few days. This will reassure you more than anything else, I think. (This is not a bizarre request; people do this when allergic visitors come or they need to be gone for longer than usual, or for this very reason.)

When you do go, make it clear in writing that you want to be notified of all problems and issues, no matter how small (if you do), and leave all contact numbers. Again, this is reassuring to the owner, I think.

When you leave, for both the short and the longer times, make it upbeat and casual for both the departure and the return.

Leave him something he likes, to have something familiar in the kennel (a blanket? A chew toy? A dish? A piece of your clothing, like a t-shirt?).

P.S. When my daughter travels without her working earth dogs, they stay in a kennel that's run by her vet's office. As soon as she makes the turn onto the road where the kennel is, the dogs start to vibrate with joy. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> They love it there.

Best time to visit a potential boarding kennel is mid morning. They've already completed the morning clean-up, from the long night. New boarders have probably already arrived. If the kennel smells like sh**, find some place else. The only other thing I look at is; if boarding with a combination vet clinic, boarding kennel, ensure they have completely seperated facilities. Sick dogs go to the vet. Well ones to the boarding kennel.

DFrost

Make sure there's a good employee-to-dog ratio. At the kennel I worked at there would be days where there'd only be one person per 30, 40, even 50 (rare) animals including the cat room. Not fun, and the animals got shorted on a lot of time out of the kennel. Usually above 50 animals a second worker got scheduled but even then that's a lot. I second mid-morning, it's the busiest time of the day with daycare animals so you'll get a good picture of how the kennel is run during the crazy part of the day.

Since your dog is a working dog and may have more requirements than a pet dog you could do a "dry run" by boarding him in daycare just to see if the staff is comfy with him and if he comes home happy and tired. It's a good litmus test and if the staff notice anything negative they can let you know before he's stuck there for a few days. Bring plenty of food, I would portion out each feeding amount in ziploc bags with the feeding date and time (numbered, if you feed more than once a day) to avoid any feeding amount confusion, have extras just in case. Make sure to give sturdy toys and if you leave any blankets or sweaters or whatnot make sure they're easily washed! We've had dogs come in with almost a king size comforter set and that was always a blast to wash. Do note that dogs that never chew anything at home could spend their time in the kennel snacking on and flossing with their bedding so keep that in mind when choosing what to give your dog. Make sure to note whether you mind having your dog out with any others as well. At our kennel we made clear notes of this and even noted dogs that got along great with each other. Any dogs that we weren't sure about got alone time. Ideally, dogs would interact separately but in our kennel that was logistically impossible except for those that specifically needed to be alone.

You say the kennel is reliable and safe so that's most of the battle right there! Before boarding your dog, I'd suggest a long session of play, exercise, and fun training to tucker him out before he goes in as well as the same when you collect him. I'd also suggest contact numbers for a good friend or your trainer in the area just in case you cannot be reached.

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....... if boarding with a combination vet clinic, boarding kennel, ensure they have completely seperated facilities. Sick dogs go to the vet. Well ones to the boarding kennel.........DFrost

Oh, excellent reminder!

Yes, my daughter's dogs' boarding kennel isn't even in the same building as the hospital part.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the advice.
The kennel is not at a vet office. It's a small private one (25 dogs max) They are used to working dogs, all the LE K-9s go there. They don't do group play sessions.
I think I will call them and do a couple short visits to get us both used to it with tiring training before and after. It's nice to hear that some dogs begin to look forward to going!

Do your dogs seem to be very anxious when you pick them up?

Thanks again!

Please make certain the kennel understands what shots/vaccinations you choose for your dog. If a vet is in any way connected with your boarding kennel, make sure you leave written instructions that no vaccines/booster shots will be administered to your dog in your absence, without your written, expressed consent. We are in a complaint process with the veterinary board because of vaccine boosters given my dog during a grooming session without my knowledge or consent <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />. We learned the hard way and I don't want it to happen to someone else.

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Please make certain the kennel understands what shots/vaccinations you choose for your dog. If a vet is in any way connected with your boarding kennel, make sure you leave written instructions that no vaccines/booster shots will be administered to your dog in your absence, without your written, expressed consent. We are in a complaint process with the veterinary board because of vaccine boosters given my dog during a grooming session without my knowledge or consent <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />. We learned the hard way and I don't want it to happen to someone else.

Good catch, Ruth!

We should all take this reminder to update our instructions to our own vets and pass this along to dog-owning friends.

Thanks Connie. No apparent ill effects so far, we are pressing the issue to make a point. Apologies for off topic note.