Alaskan Klee Kai

CaliTerp07

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#22
Aren't they??

Shibas are GORGEOUS and for a long time when I was younger I was hell bent on owning one someday, but as far as I can tell (never met any) they're far too independent for my tastes. The Klee Kais seem to really bond with their owner which is something I really appreciate. Violet is independent but she does love her people very much and is clingy indoors and in unfamiliar settings. I love that.
That's funny! Every Shiba I've known (I do agility with one, one of the couples in my Bible study has one, and a friend from high school had 2) is incredibly owner bonded. Very aloof (leaning towards fearful) towards other people, but definitely owner bonded. Maybe they're the exception to the rule.
 

Dekka

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#23
Shy and skittish are not good things. Aloof is fine. Shy and skittish dogs tend to bite when they feel trapped. I have met a shy dog that felt trapped in the middle of a room!
 

Dekka

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#24
The one Shiba around here kicked ass in agility. I think they went to worlds. Not normal for the breed, but still.. :D
 

Southpaw

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#26
Honestly, I think the problem with any breed that has "reserved" in their standard is that breeders tend to shrug off shyness as being reserved. I don't mind a dog that is reserved and cautious, but shy is a whole other level. And living with a shy dog, I can't imagine that anyone would knowingly seek that out. Reserved does not equal shy and should not ever. Dance is a shy dog, and she's my world, but if I had known how shy she was I never would have taken her. It hinders a lot of what I enjoy doing with my dogs and it's taken years to get her to the point where I can now take her most places without an issue.

My Dobermans are what I would call reserved. They're friendly and don't mind strangers petting them and will walk into new situations with no issue, but they're indifferent. They either don't care about things or they're cautiously but confidently curious. Unlike Dance whose first reaction is to flee and bark, and if not that, she just looks scared.
Absolutely this 10000%. I like aloof dogs. I've met plenty of aloof dogs - they're just like "yeah, there's a person there. Whatever." They don't get excited but they don't actively avoid the person, either. They just don't care either way. Juno is shy and I DON'T like that. She becomes super aware of her surroundings and doesn't want people near her. They're vastly different - I don't think anyone would want a shy dog.

We had a supposed Klee Kai at school once. A rescue dog which is why I'm unsure if that's what she actually was. There was nothing about her that put me off, being in a kennel environment you never know how a dog's going to behave, but she was fine to handle and whatnot and didn't seem frightened.
 

ihartgonzo

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#27
We had several Klee Kai's stay at the pet hotel I worked at (there's a few breeders in the area)... all of them were painfully shy! Like, so paralyzed with fear that they would not come out of their kennels. One would jump and snap at you if you tried to put a lead on her.

I always wondered why they didn't have a similar temperament to a Husky, which is anything but shy. I've met a few out and about. Two looked very much like Chihuahua x Husky mixes. Tiny, with very domed heads. They were super skittish as well. I met one awesome, outoging Klee Kai in Agility, and he had a real Husky face and nice conformation. ;)

Like with most any breed, I really think a lot depends on the breeder you go to. I'm sure with enough research, you could find a reputable breeder with stable, correct dogs. It seems like the combination of the breed being new & the craze for "Mini Huskies" has resulted in overly shy dogs with poor temperaments being bred.
 

Aleron

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#28
I always wondered why they didn't have a similar temperament to a Husky, which is anything but shy. I've met a few out and about. Two looked very much like Chihuahua x Husky mixes. Tiny, with very domed heads. They were super skittish as well. I met one awesome, outoging Klee Kai in Agility, and he had a real Husky face and nice conformation. ;)
Some Huskies are shy and quite a few I've known are weird about people touching them. Also it could have been introduced when they added breeds to reduce the size. I suspect it was accidentally "cemented" in early on and it has become a normal part of the breed.

As for the domed head, big eyes, short muzzled, etc seen on many of them, those are features associated with extremely small size in dogs. Those features come with breeding for small size and are hard to breed away from and keep from creeping back in.
 

stafinois

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#29
Some Huskies are shy and quite a few I've known are weird about people touching them. Also it could have been introduced when they added breeds to reduce the size. I suspect it was accidentally "cemented" in early on and it has become a normal part of the breed.

I think American Eskimos were used to bring size down, and many of them aren't known for their outgoing temperaments.
 

PlottMom

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#30
Met a few at UKC premier over the years - most people that had them, had multiples, so they seem to be addictive ;)

Most seemed alright, maybe a bit shy of strangers... one jumped from the ground into my arms, she's lucky I caught her :) I fell in LOVE after that.
 

ravennr

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#31
people compare them too much to Sibes, but they are not meant to be small Sibes. they're meant to be small Alaskan Huskies. maybe the fact that they're not tiny copies of Sibes has something to do with how they are. there was a different aim than what people tend to think by their appearance.

breeders tend to be very picky about their litters, though, from what i've read. maybe the size of the gene pool is attributing to some of these issues people are seeing.
 

~Dixie's_Mom~

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#32
Been looking into breeders, & watching a lot of videos online. I must admit, I am smitten! They are so full of character and spunk! (They're wicked smart, too!) I'd give anything to meet some. I'm considering contacting some of the youtubers who have them, to ask them questions.
 

Laurelin

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#33
There's a girl on my other forum with a papillon and a klee kai. I can maybe give you some information if you'd like so you could contact her. I think she'd love to talk klee kais. I also know someone else with them. Will ask around.
 

monkeys23

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#35
I met one and her two babies. A lady with Beauces at the local Schutzhund club got her for her daughter to handle in 4H and the breeder told her to breed her and coordinated it because she matured into such a nicely balanced dog temperament-wise. I have no idea as to the true-ness of any of this and I have never been impressed with her beauceron breeding decisions... but whatevs not my dogs or my problem!

The Klee Klai and her babies were soooooo stinking cute!
 

Cranberry

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#36
Hi! I'm the girl from Laurelin's other forum. :) I have a two-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai, Casper. He's pretty typical of the breed, as far as I can tell. He's a standard size, around 17-17.5 inches at the shoulder and 18 pounds.







I would definitely consider Casper to be more suspicious than aloof. He's constantly watching everything. He's not overly fearful (although extreme shyness is a big problem in the breed), and he will approach strangers and let them pat him, but with some people he seems to be nervous and will air-snap at them when they stop patting him and turn around (as if he's not confident enough to confront them to their face and has to wait until their back is turned). He has never bitten anyone, though. If people leave him alone, he's fine -- we live in a small city and walk by people all the time. However, if you have a little husky, people don't tend to leave you alone. ;)

Casper wants to meet and play with other dogs, but he's rude; he "greets" them by getting right in their faces. He doesn't handle corrections from other dogs well; he'll growl and snap back. He likes to play, but he plays rough -- lots of stomping and smacking with his feet. I don't know if this is a breed trait, though, or just due to him having a couple of bad experiences with other dogs as a pup. His sister (who belongs to a future breeder in Ontario) goes to the dog park and plays fine with other dogs, as does the other AKK that the breeder owns. I have heard that attacks by other dogs are one of the leading causes of death for AKK, though (right after getting hit by cars -- they are not to be trusted off leash).

This link is the best for explaining the klee kai personality, I think. There are some breeders who are actively working to breed for a better temperament, and I can send you links to their sites if you like.

The only major health issue is Factor VII, a hemophilia-type disorder. All good breeders test every one of their dogs for this; they should not be producing any affected pups, only carrier (asymptomatic) or clear. Be sure to ask about the parent dogs' status. I've also come to learn that patella issues are more common in this breed than I'd thought, so watch out for that. They can also be prone to a lot of the same issues as other small breeds.

Now, the good stuff! Casper is a smart little guy. He's not as quick to learn or quite as biddable as my papillon (not many dogs I've met are), but he wants to please me and he learns more quickly than many breeds I've dealt with. He has excellent focus. He can be stubborn, but not overly so. I have not found him to be much of an escape artist; he never door dashes or tries to dig or climb out of my fence (I never leave him out there alone, though). He was super easy to housetrain. He loose-leash walks like a pro. He's vocal -- talkative, lots of cool noises like a husky -- but I wouldn't call him overly noisy. He actually likes to sit really silently in the armchair and watch the neighborhood fox out the window. My papillon barks more often, and more loudly, than he does. He's fine in his crate unless he knows I'm going somewhere fun; then he'll talk and whine. He's good with my cats and he respects my papillon. He's energetic but has a great off-switch -- even if we miss our walk for a few days, he won't destroy my things or bark up a storm out of boredom; he'll just sleep or chew on an antler.





This is getting long, so I'll wrap it up. I don't tend to recommend this breed to many people. I love Cas, but he can be challenging. This is a new breed, and there are still some issues that need worked out -- mostly with temperament, but also with looks. I do not like the look of most toy-size AKK -- I've seen them described as "chihuahuas in husky suits," which is pretty accurate -- and there's a lot of variation in head shape and leg length and whatnot. The breed just hasn't been around long enough to be consistent. I find the mini and standard sizes look more like a husky, though. I don't have enough experience with the breed to tell you whether or not there are big temperament variations between the sizes.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I can also point you to good breeders and to Facebook groups for the breed. :)
 

~Dixie's_Mom~

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#37
Cranberry, thank you so much! I REALLY appreciate all the in-depth information! I would LOVE links to fb groups.

I've scanned through a few breeders sites via the AKKAOA. It would be at least 1-3 years before I'd be in the position for another dog though. It's been my plan to have a Whippet as my next dog, but AKKs are really wiggling into my heart, the more research I do. I'd like to own one of each, I'm just not sure in which order. Meaning it could be even longer 'til I'd be ready for an AKK. But of course I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd like to meet a few first. ;)

If you want, I'll pm you with my email address so we can easier chat back and forth about it. :) Thank you again!!

ETA: Oh, and Casper is BEAUTIFUL!!
 

Cranberry

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#38
Sure, you can send me a PM if you like. :) You can search for the groups on Facebook -- Alaskan Klee Kai - Frequently Asked Questions is one, and there's also one called Available Alaskan Klee Kai Dogs and Puppies, where breeders post any available AKK they have (that one also includes an up-to-date breeder list).
 

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