Life With Klee Kai follows the adventures of two Alaskan Klee Kai in London.
Skye, a black and white female Alaskan Klee Kai, and Copper, a red and white male Alaskan Klee Kai, are the stars of Life With Klee Kai.
They’ve got a following of over 5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Having started life in the Bay Area, Skye, Copper and their parents moved to London at the start of 2019 when their dad decided to start hellobark.com.
They’ve been featured on the Daily Mail, US Weekly, LadBible and 9gag as well as countless TikTok campaigns.
We spoke to Skye and Copper’s mum Yasmin to learn more about these adorable Alaskan Klee Kai as well as the breed as a whole.
You can follow Skye and Copper on the follow social media channels:
• Instagram (@lifewithkleekai)
• TikTok (@lifewithkleekai)
• YouTube (@lifewithkleekai)
1) How did you first hear about the Alaskan Klee Kai?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @phodography / @lifewithkleekai)
I first learned about Alaskan Klee Kai when I was a child and my older brother introduced me to the breed. We were pet-obsessed children and when I first laid eyes on the breed I promised myself that I would get one as an adult.
2) What attracted you to the Alaskan Klee Kai breed?
Skye and Copper the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @albalonepetstudio @lifewithkleekai)
The first thing that attracted me to the breed in my Adult age was their size and the fact that they looked like huskies in miniature. Although I love big dogs, I knew that I needed something smaller since I was living in an apartment at the time. I also had many cats as a child and liked that Klee Kai have a lot of cat like qualities.
3) What are Copper and Skye’s personalities like?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @phodography / @lifewithkleekai)
Both of them have such big personalities but are completely different to one another. Skye is the girl and the oldest of the two. She is incredibly confident, outgoing, thoughtful and assesses every situation before jumping in completely. She’s calculated in her decisions and incredibly cuddly and sweet. She is SO playful. She loves playing with her toys, hands, and she never met a stranger she didn’t like. Copper is slightly younger and he is the goofball – he’s always making silly faces, finding ways to push Skye’s buttons, EXTREMELY talkative and expressive, and he only cuddles on his own terms. He’s a lot shyer than Skye. At home he is very outgoing, but once we go outside, he goes into his shell and relies on his sister to take the lead. He takes a while to warm up to new people and really needs to come to you in his own time, but once you win him over, you’ve got a little shadow for life.
4) Are two Alaskan Klee Kai better than one?
Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @albalonepetstudio @lifewithkleekai)
A million percent YES. We got Skye before Copper and had only intended on having her, but after a few months, my husband and I felt like she needed a playmate since we could see how happy she was at the dog park. Getting Copper was the best decision we ever made! They are best friends, they eat together, play together, sleep together and argue with each other. They are never bored and their bond is just incredible. Our breeder did an amazing job helping us choose a puppy whose personality would mesh with Skye’s. Because she is so confident and dominant we were worried about how she would react to a new puppy. She was upset for the entire five-hour drive home when I was sitting with puppy Copper (she refused to look at me or even sit near me), but once we put them on neutral ground, Copper held his own against our sassy girl, the playing started and hasn’t stopped since.
5) Are Alaskan Klee Kai easy to train?
Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @albalonepetstudio @lifewithkleekai)
Yes and no. Klee Kai are SMART. Skye was fully potty trained within less than two weeks of bringing her home – Copper took a little longer but all in all, we have our breeder to thank for that. She has raised so many AKKs and really knows the breed inside out and was able to give us some great tips. Apart from being smart, Alaskan Klee Kai can also be incredibly stubborn. Skye is stubborn, and she is also NOT food motivated. That combination is lethal when it comes to training because there are a lot of days where you feel like you aren’t making any progress. But one thing we’ve learned with her is that consistency is key, and eventually you will get there. Copper, on the other hand, is food motivated, so it makes training a little easier but all in all, I’d say this breed requires a lot of time and consistency when it comes to training. I wouldn’t recommend them to a first time dog owner.
6) Do Alaskan Klee Kai suffer with separation anxiety?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @albalonepetstudio @lifewithkleekai)
I cannot speak for the entire breed, but I can speak for my two. Both of them suffer from it a bit – Copper more so than Skye. Again, it’s something that we’ve worked on on and off, but the more consistent we are with our separation anxiety training, the better they are being left alone.
7) Do Alaskan Klee Kai get along with other dogs?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @albalonepetstudio @lifewithkleekai)
I think this is different based on every dog. AKK are very pack oriented. Both of our dogs are very vocal in general, and they get even more vocal when excited. As you can imagine, their excitement levels sky rocket when they see other dogs. Both Skye and Copper one-on-one with other dogs are great. They play wonderfully and get along with other dogs if they are all off leash or on leash together. That last part is key. They do better with other dogs when they are on their own – this is mostly because Copper has been attacked by bigger dogs a few of times, so when we walk them together, Skye tries to protect him from everything. This is something that we’ve been working on – we’re really trying to build Copper’s confidence and let Skye know that it’s our job to protect them both, not hers.
8) Would you recommend an Alaskan Klee Kai to a first-time dog owner?
Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @albalonepetstudio @lifewithkleekai)
Unfortunately, no. They are a breed that flourish from someone with previous experience in owning and training a dog. However, if you are a first-time dog owner looking to get a Klee Kai, I would recommend meeting them in person first. The Alaskan Klee Kai community is a social one and regularly hold meet ups in different countries – feel free to message the organizer as I’m sure they’d be happy for you to tag along. If you meet them and really want to get one, invest in a really good trainer from the beginning.
9) What comments or questions do you get when strangers meet your Klee Kai?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @phodography / @lifewithkleekai)
The most common questions we get are:
‘Is that a baby husky?!’
‘Is that a husky chihuahua mix??’
‘Are they puppies?’
‘Do you breed them?’
We get a lot of ‘awww’, as well as general shock and disbelief when they realize that they are fully grown!
10) Why did you start your Instagram page, Life With Klee Kai?
We started our Instagram account to share our daily lives with these two cuties. We get stopped all the time when we are out and about with them as people are genuinely interested in learning more about them, so we thought, why not make an account and share their personalities with the world!
11) Do you have a favourite Instagram post?
All of their puppy pictures. I still can’t believe how small they were and wish we took more pictures when they were little.
12) How does it feel to have 4million followers on TikTok?
It’s crazy but I’m so grateful! We started off just doing it for fun, not really knowing what we were doing and now we get so many messages from people saying that they’ve been having a terrible day until they saw one of our videos – and that in itself is really amazing. It’s such a great community too, I feel like our TikTok followers really understand both Skye and Copper’s personalities which makes it even more fun when we get to interact with them on our comments and when we go live.
13) Do you prefer TikTok or Instagram? Explain why.
Personally I prefer TikTok. It’s so much more creative, interactive and less pretentious. It pushes you outside of the box and makes you think of creative an engaging content that your followers are going to like as opposed to just posting a cute picture on Instagram. I love searching through my FYP and seeing what the new emerging trends are and just seeing videos that make me smile/laugh/cry – the range of talent and content on the app is huge.
14) What advice do you have for a pet owner starting a TikTok for their pet?
I would say be authentic to yourself and stay on top of trends and trending sounds. Trends are trends for a reason – they’re meant to be copied but I think it’s up to you to put your own spin on it and make sure to give credit where it’s due. Also, post multiple times a day! Just have fun with it and don’t take yourself too seriously 🙂
15) What’s your favourite TikTok video?
My favorite video is one that we did to the Wii theme song at the beginning of quarantine. It just shows us being bored inside with the dogs while changing our location and pose in time with the music. It doesn’t even rank with some of our viral videos but it was so fun to make with the dogs and my husband and I just find it really visually appealing!
16) Can you tell us your favourite Skye and Copper story?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @phodography / @lifewithkleekai)
There’s not one specific story but more a series of moments that really stay close to my heart. I had surgery in summer of 2018 after battling for months with an illness. Usually Skye and Copper are really rambunctious when they play, but the entire time I was sick and especially after my surgery, they were always so gentle around me and were so in tune with how I was feeling. They gave me endless love and cuddles and all they wanted to do was ease my pain and made sure to give me all of their time and affection. And another favorite is their reaction every time I’d come home from a trip – the emotion, squeals, kisses – it all warms my heart whenever I think of it!
17) What other Alaskan Klee Kai accounts would you recommend?
Copper and Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: @phodography / @lifewithkleekai)
We try to follow all our Alaskan Klee Kai friends, although there’s so many I’m sure we’ve missed a few. There’s so many we couldn’t pick just one.
18) Would you consider getting another Alaskan Klee Kai?
Alaskan Klee Kai can be black and white, grey and white, red and white and all white (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)
Always. I love them so much.
19) How does it feel being a Klee Kai ambassador?
Red and white Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: lifewithkleekai / Instagram)
I never really thought about it, but I’m happy that we’re able to help inform people about this unique breed! Some people can be quick to make assumptions when they comments on our posts, so it’s always a great opportunity to inform them about any misconceptions.
20) What’s next for Copper and Skye?
Alaskan Klee Kai were created in Alaska in 1980s (Photo: lifewithkleekai / Instagram)
We’re going to keep sharing their little lives with everyone. Right now they are city dogs but in the future, we’d love to give them some space to roam around in the country side.
