How Big Will My Alaskan Klee Kai Be Full Grown?
Maybe you already have an Alaskan Klee Kai, maybe you don’t but you’re just curious—how big do these dogs get?! If you’re somewhat familiar with the breed, then you probably know that the Alaskan Klee Kai comes in three sizes: toy, miniature and standard.
However having said that, when an Alaskan Klee Kai is born, it’s almost impossible to know for sure what size they will be as an adult. Sure, you can guess how big they will be by looking at their parents, but even that is not 100% foolproof—you can get all three sizes from a single litter; for instance, a toy-sized Alaskan Klee Kai can be born from two miniature parents.
While no one would be able to tell you 100% how big they will get as puppies (they all do look the same when they’re tiny puppies after all), their growth usually does follow a loose timeline. We’ll be delving in to talk about that soon—but first, let’s quickly go over the requirements for the three sizes of the Alaskan Klee Kai.
Brief Overview of the Three Alaskan Klee Kai Sizes
Toy-sized: Up to and including 13 inches
Miniature: Over 13 inches and up to and including 15 inches.
Standard: Over 15 inches up to and including 17 inches.
Oversize: Over 17 inches
Keep in mind that we always measure a dog’s height in terms of how tall they stand at the withers (highest point from the neck). Now that we’ve refreshed ourselves with the information, let’s take a look at the general growth of an Alaskan Klee Kai.
The Alaskan Klee Kai at 0 Months Old
Congratulations, your Alaskan Klee Kai has just been born along with the rest of his litter mates! At this point, they’re teeny fuzzy things (cute ones, mind you) who are entirely dependent on their mother for survival—it won’t be for another week or two until their eyes start to open.
As newborn puppies, they are incredibly delicate and small. That won’t be the case for long though, they go through their newborn phase fast—before you know it, you’ll be trying to teach your rambunctious puppy his first few tricks!
The Alaskan Klee Kai at 3 Months Old
By the time they are 12 weeks old, they’re typically around 5-8 pounds (and most likely already in their new homes!). If your Alaskan Klee Kai is significantly larger than that range at this age (eg. 15+ pounds), then there may be a high chance that he will either grow to be an “oversized” Alaskan Klee Kai or is of a mixed breed. At 3 months, he should still pretty much be “a ball of fur”―that is, super fluffy with stubby legs!
The Alaskan Klee Kai at 6 Months Old
The Alaskan Klee Kai can be considered to be a very “leggy” breed of dog; you’ll definitely be starting to notice it by the time they are 6 months old. Usually by then, they’ve grown a lot height-wise. Many of us like to refer to this period as the “skinny phase”—in fact, sometimes they even look like they’re being starved!
Don’t worry too much if they do appear to be on the thin side though, chances are they still have a lot more growing left to do (even if they’re done growing vertically, they continue to fill out). Depending on the individual dog, they might have gained a few pounds at this point or they might not have gained much at all since the last weigh-in!
The Alaskan Klee Kai at One Year Old
Generally speaking, the Alaskan Klee Kai typically stops growing height-wise at around the one year mark, give or take a couple of months; this is due to the closing of the growth plates.
Since the size of an Alaskan Klee Kai is determined by height at the withers and not by weight, you will usually have a good sense of what size your pup will be by this time. (But of course, there will always be those dogs that continue to grow past twelve months—remember, this is just a loose estimation!) However having said that, it doesn’t mean that they won’t be filling out their bodies for the next few months though!
The Alaskan Klee Kai at Two Years Old
By the time an Alaskan Klee Kai is two years old, he is most likely done filling out; though depending on the dog, he may continue to mature a little more over the next months.
Compared to the “skinny phase” just a year ago, it may seem as if he’s gained a bit of weight—perhaps even a tad bit less “leggy”! At 24 months (plus or minus a couple) an Alaskan Klee Kai should be close to, if not already at his fully grown size. 🙂
