One question that gets asked a lot is: how often do I need to bathe my Alaskan Klee Kai? The breed certainly looks as though it might require a lot of maintenance and upkeep as far as bathing and grooming go, with all of that beautiful, soft, fluffy fur! Today we’ll discuss how to keep your Klee Kai in tip-top shape.
The Alaskan Klee Kai is a breed that actually doesn’t require a lot of routine maintenance in terms of bathing and grooming, even though they are a double-coated breed. What this means is they have a top coat that is made up of longer guard hairs, and a soft, dense undercoat that they shed twice a year. As far as bathing goes, your Klee Kai probably won’t need a bath any more frequently than every three or four months. More frequent bathing may dry out their skin. Here are some tips for bathing your Alaskan Klee Kai:
Since they are small-to-medium sized dogs, bathing them in a sink is simplest.
Make sure to spend some time working the water into both their top coat and their undercoat. The undercoat is very dense and needs to be soaked thoroughly.
A little soap goes a long way. Start with a little and if you aren’t getting enough of a lather add some more water and if necessary, a little more soap.
There are a lot of places that dirt can hide easily in their undercoats, which are very dense, so give them a nice massage to work the soap deeply into their undercoats.
Remember to rinse them very thoroughly, getting all of the soap out of their undercoats. Dirt will stick to soap left in the undercoat so it’s important that none remains at the end of their bath.
Towel dry them as completely as possible.
Remember to have fun bathing your Alaskan Klee Kai! Bathtime should be enjoyable for both of you.
As far as brushing your Klee Kai goes, it’s recommended to brush them about once a week to keep their coats healthy and get rid of any visible dirt or mats. When they shed all of their undercoats — also called “blowing their coats” — twice a year, you’ll want to do more in-depth grooming. This is to encourage the shedding of that old undercoat layer, so that the new undercoat can grow in easily. When your Klee Kai is blowing their coat, they certainly do release a lot of fur, and they could use your help in getting rid of it.
If your Alaskan Klee Kai is blowing their coat when you want to bathe them, make sure to groom them completely and thoroughly before and after you bathe them. Otherwise, you’re going to end up with a whole lot of fur all over you and down your sink into your plumbing.
Grooming an Alaskan Klee Kai while they are blowing their coat is a little more involved than the once-a-week brushing they normally need. You will want to use several different kinds of brushes, combs and a grooming glove to ensure you’re getting as much of their undercoat off as possible while also being gentle to your dog. Alaskan Klee Kai love to play and sometimes see grooming time as playtime, which is okay: they shouldn’t dislike the activity or approach it with any apprehension.
The basic steps in grooming your Alaskan Klee Kai to remove their undercoat are as follows:
Begin with a grooming tool like the Kong Zoom Groom, which has large, widely spaced, soft rubber teeth to loosen the undercoat.
Next, use a grooming glove to further loosen the undercoat.
Switch to a slicker brush. Because the metal bristles on the slicker brush sometimes seem to hurt or at least agitate the dogs, it’s recommended to use one with rubber or nylon coating on the ends of its bristles. Start by brushing your dog in the opposite direction of the hair growth, then go the other way. You will dislodge a lot of the undercoat this way, so make sure you are cleaning out your slicker brush frequently.
Use a rake tool to pull the undercoat fur away from your dog.
Finally, use a comb to dislodge any stubborn pieces or mats. Give them a quick comb through the whole coat and you’re all set!
We hope that this helps answer any questions you may still have about bathing and grooming your Alaskan Klee Kai. If you have any tips or any other comments, please let us know!