Made in Alaska, and not very long ago
Most breeds are older than the records that describe them. The Alaskan Klee Kai is not. It was made deliberately, in Alaska, within living memory, by a woman named Linda Spurlin.
The story starts with a chance meeting. Spurlin came across a small husky in Oklahoma in the early 1970s and wanted one of her own, not a novelty and not a dwarf, but a correctly proportioned northern dog scaled down to a size that fits an ordinary house. She spent the better part of two decades on it, working from Alaskan and Siberian Husky stock and bringing the size down with American Eskimo Dog and Schipperke, selecting hard for balance at every step. She kept the work to herself until 1988, when she made the dogs available to other people for the first time.
The name comes from an Inuit expression meaning small dog, and it is said “klee kye”. Everything in the standard reflects what Spurlin was after: a companion-sized dog with the balance, coat and expression of a working sled dog, and no exaggeration anywhere in it.
They are still an uncommon breed. Most people who meet one on the pavement have never seen one before, and the first question is always the same question about huskies.
The mask, the three sizes and the coat
The face is the signature. The standard asks for a clearly defined mask, dark markings across the face with lighter contrast around the eyes, up the muzzle and over the cheeks, and it is what separates an Alaskan Klee Kai from a small husky at a glance. The mask is symmetrical, sharply drawn, and different on every dog.
The breed comes in three sizes, which is unusual and genuinely useful. Toy stands up to thirteen inches at the shoulder, Miniature from thirteen to fifteen, and Standard from fifteen up to about seventeen. Weight runs from around ten pounds to the low twenties across the range. All three are the same dog in every other respect, so you can pick the size that suits your household without changing the breed you are getting.
The rest of the picture is pure northern dog. A wedge-shaped head, upright triangular ears set well apart and thickly furred, a well-plumed tail carried in a loose curl over the back or off to one side, and a light, quick, effortless way of moving.
The coat is a double coat in two lengths, standard and full. Colours are black and white, grey and white, and red and white, and the contrast between the dark saddle and the pale underside is much of what makes the breed so striking. The eyes are the other surprise: blue, brown, amber or green, one of each, or two colours split within a single eye, and none of it is out of the ordinary here.
The temperament behind the face
An Alaskan Klee Kai is quick, curious and closely attached to its own household. It works out how things function, including doors, gates, latches and routines, and it will show you what it has learned, usually at an inconvenient moment.
They are discerning about people they do not know yet. A Klee Kai takes its time with a new person, observes from a little distance, and decides in its own time. Once you are approved you are family, and the change is total. The way in is to sit down, talk to somebody else, and let the dog come to you, which it will. Meeting a wide range of people, places and calm adult dogs through the first six months turns that natural reserve into easy confidence.
Inside the family they are affectionate, playful and funny, and they hold on to the puppy quality well into adulthood. They also talk. Like their northern relatives, Klee Kais have a range of sounds, from chirps and mutters to a properly theatrical howl, and most owners end up holding conversations with them.
They notice everything and will report the items they consider important. For a dog this size, that is about the right amount of security.
Living with a double coat
The double coat is the easiest thing about the breed. It is self-cleaning to a remarkable degree, mud dries and falls straight out of it, and it carries very little odour, which is why Klee Kai owners bath their dogs a few times a year rather than a few times a month.
Brushing once a week with a pin brush or a slicker keeps it in order for most of the year. Twice a year the undercoat comes away in sheets over a week or two, and that is when you want an undercoat rake, a decent vacuum and half an hour outside in the sun. It is a satisfying job and it is over quickly.
The coat should never be clipped. It insulates in both directions and it works best left alone.
The rest of the routine is short. Nails every few weeks, and you will hear them on a hard floor when they are ready. Ears wiped out with a soft cloth while you brush. Teeth brushed as a matter of routine, started early enough that the puppy decides the toothbrush is a game.
Training, and what a day together looks like
An Alaskan Klee Kai learns fast and likes variety, which points at short sessions with something new in them. Three or four minutes, a handful of good treats, one thing at a time, marked the instant it happens, and stop while the dog still wants another go. Ask for the same behaviour twenty times in a row and you will get a dog that goes and finds something more interesting to do.
Two lessons deserve real investment. The first is a recall, built indoors, then in a fenced yard, then on a long line, and always paid properly. The northern breeds are independent thinkers, and a recall is the thing you want in the bank. The second is a leash and a fence you trust, because a Klee Kai is agile, curious and very good at solving problems.
The day suits an active household. A good walk in the morning at a pace that allows for sniffing, and a shorter one in the evening. In a Florida or Tennessee summer the early and late hours are the pleasant ones, with shade and water in between.
The middle of the day is for sleeping somewhere with a view of the room. Afternoons want a job: a puzzle feeder, a scatter of kibble in the grass, five minutes of trick training, a game of find-the-toy. This is a breed that does well at agility and enjoys learning tricks, and ten minutes of thinking settles it better than an extra mile of walking would.
Evenings are social. A Klee Kai wants to be in the room with everyone, on the sofa if it is invited and against your feet if it is not, with an ear still tracking the front door.
Coming to meet the Alaskan Klee Kai puppies
Photographs of this breed all look alike and the dogs themselves do not. Mask, markings, eye colour, coat length, finished size and above all temperament vary a great deal between littermates, and it takes about a minute in the same room to see it.
Our Alaskan Klee Kai puppies come from our network of licensed breeders, and our team can tell you what a particular puppy’s parents were like and which size it is likely to finish at. We have a store in Orlando and one in Nashville, and you are welcome to sit on the floor with a puppy before deciding anything. Find directions and hours, and ask about financing while you are here. Every puppy here goes home with its vet records, its vaccination history and a health warranty, and our team will walk you through what those cover.