How to Care for Your New
Mini Husky or Alaskan Klee Kai Puppy
Hello, it is almost time to bring your puppy home! Below are care instructions for when you adopt a dog of this breed.
Food and Supplies for an Alaskan Klee Kai
Feed your Klee Kai only food and treats made in the USA, Canada, UE, Australia or New Zealand with ingredients sourced from these same sources. This means that you will not poison your Klee Kai by accident from food sources that are questionable. Feed your dog more than recommended on the bag, as they have high metabolisms.
I feed an organic RAW or freeze dried food morning and night, and leave out an organic kibble for them to eat during the day.
Ideally, feed your puppy RAW Food – AM and PM.
Try to stick to lean meats for your dog, like venison or bison. Just google Organic Raw Dog Food or Organic Freeze Dried Dog Food. If you cannot afford an organic type, you should still get something that uses well-sourced and minimally processed ingredients.
Supplies you may need for a Mini Husky puppy include a dog bed, toys, food/water dish, small size collar/leash, a small crate for the dog to sleep in at night, a 3 ft. high exercise pen, and a large litter box (I use litter pans for rabbit hutches, found on Amazon or at Tractor Supply). See the sections below for types of products to get and avoid.
You will also need to get Only Yesterdays News cat litter to use in your puppy litter box. This litter is made from recycled newspaper, so your puppy can eat some without being harmed.
Currently, your puppy is eating Earthborn Holistic Puppy Vantage dog food. You can find this type online at www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com
Best Practices for Day-to-day Life of your Mini Husky Puppy
Sleeping
Your Klee Kai puppy should sleep in a soft-sided crate at night until potty-trained. Dogs don’t like to go to the bathroom where they sleep, so this will help to prevent overnight accidents. If you are a light sleeper, they can sleep in bed with you soon after adoption.
Regardless of your eventual sleep plans for the dog, for the first few nights, put the crate on your bed or night stand where the puppy can see you. They will get used to this quickly, at which time you transition the crate to the floor in your room. Once fully potty trained, you can use a dog bed for them to sleep on the floor, or you can let them sleep in bed with you. And TRUST ME: put them on the night stand or bed initially, or they will scream.
I suggest a soft-sided crate (the type that is used for airlines, when you fly with your puppy). You can take this dog crate everywhere, including if you are out and need to go into a store; it looks like a bag.
If you will be leaving your puppy in a crate while gone, then DO NOT get a wire crate. They are very dangerous. Your puppy can get their teeth stuck in them and break a jaw.
For sleeping and going places with you, I like the soft crate pictured to the right.
Feeding
This is a Maskeyon airline-approved, large, soft-sided pet carrier. It’s expandable and collapsible, with a removable fleece pad and pockets.
I free feed my Mini Husky puppies, which means that I leave dry food out for them to eat all day and night. While they are young and still getting house broken, you may wish to pick up the food and water around 7 PM.
In my house, they get their raw food day and night. And I put kibble out all day.
Daytime
During training and when you are out of the house, you can set up an exercise pen for the puppy (with a litter box, food, water, a bed, and toys inside of it). Any time your Mini Husky is alone in the house, put them in this pen until they are potty-trained and you trust them to be loose in the house.
When you are home, let your Alaskan Klee Kai out to play and follow you around. If you are worried about them having an accident, keep them on a long leash attached to your waist so that you will be aware when they are ready to potty.
I like these two pens below. The reason is that there is not a top rail with another rail right below. Puppies have been known to climb out and get their leg stuck in between. As a result, a puppy being able to climb a pen in your absence poses a great hazard to the dog, as it could potentially break a limb if stuck in that position.
Best pen is this type – kinda pricey, but the safest one for your loved one
Second best is this type – get a 30- or 36-inch tall one
Harness
These two harnesses are the only ones I use, as they will not make the dog’s shoulder blades sore. You can find it on Amazon, Chewy or any pet store. The brands are Hamilton and Puppia.
Exercise
An Alaskan Klee Kai is a very active dog, so play with them a lot. Put a sock on your hand and wrestle with them. Or attach a doggie toy to the leash and run around; mini huskies love to chase it.
Beware of mixed dog parks, as bigger dogs have been known to attack and even kill Mini Huskies. Only go to small dog parks. As with any small breed, you must be aware of your surroundings when walking them, to ensure that bigger dogs do not run up and attack them. It can happen a lot, even by dogs that are supposed to be super-friendly like golden retrievers and labs.
Take your puppy everywhere with you, so they get super well-adjusted to the world. This is where your soft-sided crate comes in handy. Just do not put them down on the ground until after they have had all their shots. If you do have a set of potty pads for them to potty or stand on, you can put one of those underneath them.
The best thing you can do to make sure your Alaskan Klee Kai puppy is a pleasure to be around is to enroll them in training classes for obedience. If possible, you can find a trainer that will come to your house to help with commands and behavior, helping them to be good members of your family.
Last but not least, please call me if you have any questions or need advice with your new puppy.
See Facebook here for all of my Nordic Klee Kai Puppy tips, videos, and other updates.