Alaskan Klee Kai Images

Alaskan Klee Kai come in three different sizes (Photo: lifewithkleekai / Instagram)

By helloBARK!
Updated on 11 August 2021

Alaskan Klee Kai are companion-sized dogs that originated in Alaska in the 1970s.

An American lady called Linda Spurlin created the Klee Kai through careful and selective breeding.

She didn’t make her Alaskan Klee Kai available to the public until 1988.

The United Kennel Club recognised the Alaskan Klee Kai as a breed in 1997. Klee Kai have also been granted status by the American Rare Breeds Association.

Musician Joe Jonas, actress Sophie Turner, and football coach Bill Belichick are three examples of celebrities who own Alaskan Klee Kai.

This article we’ll highlight the different varieties of Alaskan Klee Kai, using images provided to us by Alaskan Klee Kai owners on Instagram.

If you have more questions about Alaskan Klee Kai, you can contact hellobark.com, contact @lifewithkleekai on Instagram or reach out to the Alaskan Klee Kai Association of America.

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Alaskan Klee Kai information

Alaskan Klee Kai were created by Linda Spurlin in the 1970s. Although they’re often likened to Siberian Husky puppies, the Alaskan Klee Kai are ancestors of the Alaskan Husky.

Spurlin used predominantly Alaskan Husky to develop her Alaskan Klee Kai, as well as some Siberian Husky, Schipperke and American Eskimo Dog. However, we must emphasise that you can only create an Alaskan Klee Kai by breeding two UKC registered Alaskan Klee Kai together. There have been over 15 generations of Alaskan Klee Kai registered with the organization.

The Spurlin family decided to make their ‘mini huskies’ available to the public in 1988 following overwhelming interest in their AKK.

Writing on the Alaskan Klee Kai Association of America’s website, Spurlin explained why she settled on the name Alaskan Klee Kai for her dogs:

We had to think up a name for the little huskies. We finally derived the name Klee Kai from the Eskimo words meaning ‘little dog’.

The United Kennel Club recognised the Alaskan Klee Kai breed in 1997 after already receiving full recognition by the Federation of International Canines, the American Rare Breed Association and Canine Rarity Shows.

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Follow Copper and Skye to learn more about Alaskan Klee Kai or to get in touch

The UKC’s breed standard for the Alaskan Klee Kai says that these ‘mini huskies’ can come in three different colors: black and white, gray and white and red and white. You’ll also encounter Klee Kai who are white, cream or predominantly black.

Black and White Alaskan Klee Kai images

Skye (@lifewithkleekai)

Alaskan Klee Kai Skye (Photo: @lifewithkleekai / Instagram)

Black and white Alaskan Klee Kai Skye (Photo: lifewithkleekai / Instagram)

Alaskan Klee Kai can suffer with separation anxiety (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)

With the right training and a decent amount of patience, Alaskan Klee Kai are good family dogs in our experience. They may be independent at times, but you always feel their love. They love companionship and our two love nothing more than to cuddle up on the couch at the end of the day in front of the television. We found puppy classes and plenty of socialisation with other dogs and humans is very important.

Grey and White Alaskan Klee Kai images

Kouki (@kouki.thekleekai)

Kouki the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @kouki.thekleekai / Instagram)

It’s so hard to pick just one thing! I love how they are small enough to bring everywhere but they are also able to keep up on multi-day hikes. I love their sassy personalities. I love how their cute little tails bounce when they trot.

Red and White Alaskan Klee Kai images

Koda (@meetkodapup)

Koda the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: MeetKodaPup / Instagram)

A challenging aspect of owning a Klee Kai depends on how much you like making small talk with people. We can’t go anywhere with her without being stopped! People are so curious about what this tiny husky-looking dog is. I lost count of how many people on the street have asked to take a picture of her.

White Alaskan Klee Kai images

To follow.

Black Alaskan Klee Kai images

Devo (@chiapet_devodog)

Devo the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @chiapet_devodog / Instagram)

Blue eyed Alaskan Klee Kai images

Copper (@lifewithkleekai)

Red and white Alaskan Klee Kai Copper at the Golden Gate Bridge (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)

Copper, the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)

Alaskan Klee Kai Copper (Photo: @lifewithkleekai / Instagram)

We have a lot of great memories with Copper and Skye, such as going on many beautiful hikes around the Bay Area. We were so proud of them for making the big move to London from San Francisco this year. But our favourite memory is going whale watching in Monterrey in 2018 (even though Copper did get sea sick!).

Brown eyed Alaskan Klee Kai images

Ripley (@glam_and_growl)

Alaskan Klee Kai Ripley (Photo: @mykie / Instagram)

Mykie and her Alaskan Klee Kai Ripley (Photo: @mykie / Instagram)

I was surprised at how incredibly wilful she can be. She’s so smart that she can learn any rule just to turn around and break it. She truly has a mind of her own and it’s really interesting to see when she wants to behave and when she wants to sass me.

Bi-eyed Alaskan Klee Kai images

Mila the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @mila.thekleekai / Instagram)

Parti-eyed Alaskan Klee Kai images

Kouki (@kouki.thekleekai)

Kouki the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @kouki.thekleekai / Instagram)

AKK are very very smart. They’re easy to train when it comes to tricks, but they do everything on their own terms. This makes obedience training difficult. It took us a very long time to get him trained to how he is now, and we still struggle with a few things.

Standard Alaskan Klee Kai images

Baylee (@myloveonpaws)

Alaskan Klee Kai love the companionship of humans and can become very attached to their owners (Photo: Myloveonpaws / Instagram)

Alaskan Klee Kai Baylee (Photo: Myloveonpaws / Instagram)

Instagram famous Alaskan Klee Kai Baylee loves to hike around Germany (Photo: Myloveonpaws / Instagram)

If you want to get an Alaskan Klee Kai, you’ll need a lot of patience. I also think experience with cats can be more helpful, than experience with dogs. Baylee definitely is really cat like, and no will to please at all.

Miniature Alaskan Klee Kai images

Chia (@chiapet_devodog)

Chia the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @chiapet_devodog / Instagram)

Chia and Devo the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @chiapet_devodog / Instagram)

Toy Alaskan Klee Kai images

Copper and Skye (@lifewithkleekai)

Alaskan Klee Kai Copper and Skye at Golden Gate Bridge (Photo: lifewithkleekai / Instagram)

Alaskan Klee Kai Copper and Skye (Photo: @lifewithkleekai / Instagram)

One of the questions that we get asked the most is whether our dogs are husky puppies. Most strangers assume that our pups are baby huskies that will grow to a big size. Some eagle-eyed observers do notice their paws and will ask if they are mini huskies. However, Alaskan Klee Kai is a breed of its own.