Hi! I'm the girl from Laurelin's other forum.
I have a two-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai, Casper. He's pretty typical of the breed, as far as I can tell. He's a standard size, around 17-17.5 inches at the shoulder and 18 pounds.
I would definitely consider Casper to be more suspicious than aloof. He's constantly watching
everything. He's not overly fearful (although extreme shyness is a big problem in the breed), and he will approach strangers and let them pat him, but with some people he seems to be nervous and will air-snap at them when they stop patting him and turn around (as if he's not confident enough to confront them to their face and has to wait until their back is turned). He has never bitten anyone, though. If people leave him alone, he's fine -- we live in a small city and walk by people all the time. However, if you have a little husky, people don't tend to leave you alone.
Casper wants to meet and play with other dogs, but he's rude; he "greets" them by getting right in their faces. He doesn't handle corrections from other dogs well; he'll growl and snap back. He likes to play, but he plays rough -- lots of stomping and smacking with his feet. I don't know if this is a breed trait, though, or just due to him having a couple of bad experiences with other dogs as a pup. His sister (who belongs to a future breeder in Ontario) goes to the dog park and plays fine with other dogs, as does the other AKK that the breeder owns. I have heard that attacks by other dogs are one of the leading causes of death for AKK, though (right after getting hit by cars -- they are not to be trusted off leash).
This link is the best for explaining the klee kai personality, I think. There are some breeders who are actively working to breed for a better temperament, and I can send you links to their sites if you like.
The only major health issue is Factor VII, a hemophilia-type disorder. All good breeders test every one of their dogs for this; they should not be producing any affected pups, only carrier (asymptomatic) or clear. Be sure to ask about the parent dogs' status. I've also come to learn that patella issues are more common in this breed than I'd thought, so watch out for that. They can also be prone to a lot of the same issues as other small breeds.
Now, the good stuff! Casper is a smart little guy. He's not as quick to learn or quite as biddable as my papillon (not many dogs I've met are), but he wants to please me and he learns more quickly than many breeds I've dealt with. He has
excellent focus. He can be stubborn, but not overly so. I have not found him to be much of an escape artist; he never door dashes or tries to dig or climb out of my fence (I never leave him out there alone, though). He was super easy to housetrain. He loose-leash walks like a pro. He's vocal -- talkative,
lots of cool noises like a husky -- but I wouldn't call him overly noisy. He actually likes to sit really silently in the armchair and watch the neighborhood fox out the window. My papillon barks more often, and more loudly, than he does. He's fine in his crate unless he knows I'm going somewhere fun; then he'll talk and whine. He's good with my cats and he respects my papillon. He's energetic but has a great off-switch -- even if we miss our walk for a few days, he won't destroy my things or bark up a storm out of boredom; he'll just sleep or chew on an antler.
This is getting long, so I'll wrap it up. I don't tend to recommend this breed to many people. I love Cas, but he can be challenging. This is a new breed, and there are still some issues that need worked out -- mostly with temperament, but also with looks. I do not like the look of most toy-size AKK -- I've seen them described as "chihuahuas in husky suits," which is pretty accurate -- and there's a lot of variation in head shape and leg length and whatnot. The breed just hasn't been around long enough to be consistent. I find the mini and standard sizes look more like a husky, though. I don't have enough experience with the breed to tell you whether or not there are big temperament variations between the sizes.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I can also point you to good breeders and to Facebook groups for the breed.