Alaskan Klee Kai aka "miniature huskies" (labrador, shih tzu, retrievers)

[eevee]

I'm curious if anyone has ever had personal experience with the Alaskan Klee Kai breed. I first heard about them several years ago and became smitten with the idea of a smaller sized husky-like dog. My very first dog would have been a red and white husky but the landlord said no to large dogs so that adoption was canceled and we got my shih tzu instead. The idea of owning a husky has never fully left my mind, but for now I don't have the room for one. The AKK seems like a good, apartment sized alternative. I'm wondering how they stack up against Siberian huskies and smaller spitz breeds like Pomeranians and American Eskimo dogs. I know right now they're still fairly rare, but I'm not looking to get another dog for at least another year or two.

[Niftybergin]

I've looked into the AKKs, too, for similar reasons.

Everything I've read about the AKK indicates that temperamentally, they are different than the Sibe. Particularly, they are reserved and can be shy, and that shyness can turn to fearfulness. I've never known an AKK in person, so I don't know how true that is. My Sibe -- and the other 6 Sibes we've had in our family -- were never people-shy. (They aren't/weren't full-bore human enthusiasts the way, say, Labrador retrievers can be, but they are generally comfortable and relaxed around all people, including strangers, with no displays of fearfulness.)

Because the AKKs are more standoffish,they tend to be more guardy than Sibes. Most Sibes are terrible watchdogs. They'll watch, all right, and that's about it. No warning. They simply don't view people as a threat. But AKKs, from what I've read, will sound the alarm. For me, I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Which brings up the next issue: I've read that AKKs can be barky. With our 7 Sibes, barkiness has been hit or miss. Most of our Sibes have been extremely quiet non-barkers, but two -- a daddy and daughter combo -- are ridiculously noisy, both with barking and with the woo-woo. (Or simply the woooooooo, as they do it.)

As a long-time Sibe-owner, I've experienced some difficulties around living arrangements. I'm a renter, and lots of places won't allow big dogs or Siberians in particular. (My Sibe is long and tall and 70 pounds, so larger than the "medium-size" that most Sibes are supposed to be.) So I understand the appeal -- on the surface, at least -- of the AKK. But in my opinion what makes the Sibe such an amazing dog is the temperament and personality. Looks alone wouldn't be enough to win me over to the AKK. I'd need to feel that the dog was familiar to me somehow...that its Sibe-traits were present and accessible.

[trlhiker]

I would love to get an AKK but because they are a rare breed, they tend to be very expensive.