The Breeding Philosophy of Del Mar:
Alaskan Klee Kai are still a very young and very rare breed.
We believe each and every AKK are special. As
breeders with a hard eye, our dogs are examined carefully. We recognize things that can be improved on and look for mates
that will eliminate or balance those flaws.
We, as breeders, only breed if we are convinced that our knowledge,
experience, and devotion to the Alaskan Klee Kai breed will result in a mating that will produce an exceptional litter of
puppies, with qualities that are as near as possible to the ideal for our breed.
We breed to preserve and to
enhance the characteristics that make this breed unique. In short, we breed to improve. Our ultimate goal is to produce healthy
and structurally sound dogs with great temperaments.
Every dog is the best dog in the world to its owner. Good
breeders, however, know to avoid "kennel blindness". In other words, they take a step back and honestly evaluate
the good and bad points of their own dogs before making the decision to breed them. The goal of breeding, after all, is to
produce a better dog.
Kennel blindness is one of the worst things to happen to any breed. Every judge will tell
you that every generation in a breed should be better than the last, and that is the very essence of our philosophy.
We breed to improve type, health, movement, temperament, conformation, and intelligence - all while staying within
the written breed standard.
One of the best ways to get an objective opinion on a dog is to test it against
others. We enter dog shows to prove breeding stock as well as to get evaluations and/or opinions from the judges we meet on
how our line can be improved in future generations.
We have always advocated protecting the puppy buyer which
has made us not very popular in the breeder groups. It costs money to health screen breeding stock, and breeders should adhere
to state laws regarding their contracts.
We believe that if one is to take the responsibility of bringing life
into this world, they need to also take the responsibility of following up on that pups health and with the people they place
their pups with. Many breeders do not like the fact we have placed the lemon law on our site.
There are some very nice
folks out there, so keep your eyes and ears open. And if you hear someone talking down on someone, remember to always consider
the source and motivation.
Every breeding we set up has a small list of people waiting in advance. We are trying
to create a healthy sound line and hope to retain as many puppies in competition homes as possible. We require every puppy
that leaves here to be health screened prior to breeding. We also require that they are returned to us if they need to be
placed. They are NOT for re-sale or re-homing, they are all microchip'd and not one will EVER end up in a pound.
We take LIFE TIME responsibility for EVERY baby that leaves our home.
~Klee Kai of Del Mar