Alaskan Klee Kai

The breed began in Wasilla, Alaska, with Linda Spurlin, who admired a small husky-type dog she encountered in Oklahoma in the early 1970s and set out to reproduce the type deliberately. Working through the 1970s and 1980s, she bred down in size using Alaskan and Siberian Husky stock with limited additions of American Eskimo Dog and Schipperke to reduce size without dwarfism.

Spurlin made the breed available to the public in 1988, having first named it the Klee Kai of Alaska; the name Alaskan Klee Kai was adopted in 1995. The words come from an Inuit expression understood to mean small dog. The United Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1997 and the American Rare Breed Association in 1995.

The American Kennel Club admitted the Alaskan Klee Kai to its Foundation Stock Service and then moved it forward towards full recognition in the Working Group in the 2020s. The gene pool remains small, and the parent club has put considerable effort into pedigree records and health testing to keep it manageable.

Three size divisions are recognised: toy up to 13 inches at the withers, miniature over 13 and up to 15 inches, and standard over 15 and up to roughly 17 inches. Weights run from under 10 pounds for a small toy to about 22 pounds for a large standard. The body is slightly longer than tall, well balanced and never coarse, with a level topknot of expression created by the mask and the erect triangular ears.

There are two coat types, standard and full, both double, with a soft dense undercoat and a straight harsh outer coat that stands off the body; the full coat is longer, especially on the ruff and tail. The accepted colour patterns are black and white, grey and white, and red and white, with the symmetrical facial mask considered essential. A solid white dog occurs but is not accepted for showing. The tail is well furred and curls over the back or to the side when the dog is alert.

With family, the Klee Kai is affectionate, playful and often comically vocal, using a wide vocabulary of yodels, grumbles and talking noises rather than steady barking. They form intense attachments and generally prefer to be in the same room as their people, which makes them poor candidates for long days alone.

With strangers they are naturally reserved. A well-bred, well-socialised Klee Kai will stand back and assess rather than rush forward, and a poorly socialised one can become genuinely shy or reactive. Puppy classes, calm exposure to visitors and to busy places, and patience over months rather than weeks are essential. They are alert and will report anything unusual, which makes them good alarm dogs and poor silent ones.

They are typically fine with other dogs in the house and often enjoy canine company, but the spitz prey drive is real and small pets, birds and free-roaming cats are not a safe bet. Klee Kai are also agile escape artists who can climb and dig, so fencing needs to be secure and gardens checked.

The Klee Kai was created purely as a companion. It has no working history in harness, is not built for hauling, and should not be expected to do a Siberian Husky's job. What it does have is a husky's energy in a package that fits comfortably into a smaller home.

That energy is best spent in sport and games. Klee Kai do well at agility, rally and obedience, scent work and trick training, and many enjoy hiking and canicross-style running with a fit owner. Short, varied, upbeat sessions suit their attention span far better than repetition.