Read time: 7 mins
03 Nov 2023
Written by Kieran Beckles
Copper and Skye are Alaskan Klee Kai dogs who live an active lifestyle alongside my wife, toddler and I.
We brought home Skye in 2017 before Copper joined our pack six months later - and we’ve been on many adventures together over the past six years.
Alaskan Klee Kai are a relatively new dog breed after they were created by an American lady called Linda Spurlin in the 1970s. My wife introduced me to the breed while we were still living in California, which is perhaps the state most populated by Alaskan Klee Kai.
Seeing as they looked like mini huskies, I assumed that Copper and Skye would be extremely food motivated like Siberian Huskies.
However, Skye is a fussy eater who doesn’t like bland kibble or smelly wet food. She would regularly turn her nose up at dry dog food bought at the store despite being accustomed to eating kibble as a puppy. While Copper is more food motivated than Skye, he has a sensitive tummy like Skye. We noticed that store-bought kibble or wet dog food would lead to flatulence and runny stools.
When we turned to the Alaskan Klee Kai community, it became apparent a lot of Klee Kai owners were experiencing fussiness with their mini huskies - too. While every dog is different, it does appear a lot of Klee Kai are picky eaters.
When we first brought home Copper and Skye, we fed them dry dog food that was recommended by our breeder. However, we noticed over time that Copper and Skye were becoming less interested in their food and would have a few bites before returning to their dog bed.
We decided to try a number of different kibble brands but Skye would grow bored within a couple of weeks. She’d stop eating and start to have tummy problems and vomiting bile because her stomach was empty.This led to multiple trips to the vet and the emergency vet, costing us hundreds of pounds in vet fees every time.
But a chance meeting with a Samoyed owner at the dog park in California prompted a change. We learned about the concept of fresh dog meals that can be delivered directly to our door. It coincided with a big life change as we moved back to the UK from the USA.
Once we got to London, we did some research into fresh dog food brands in the UK and came across Butternut Box.
When we settled back into London life, we had agreed a partnership with a dry dog food brand on our Life With Klee Kai channels. While we wanted to try Butternut Box, we decided to give dry food one last chance. However, Copper and Skye grew bored of the kibble within a couple of months.
During this time, I had launched hellobark.com and I had read some of the positive reviews from dog owners who had made the switch to Butternut Box. A common theme was pet owners with picky eaters or dogs with sensitive stomachs who had noticed a massive change after signing up to Butternut Box.
The positive testimonials prompted me to take a closer look at their fresh dog food. I really liked that their food is cooked at low temperatures rather than harsh temperatures, the variety of recipes to cater to fussy eaters like Skye and the community feel to the brand. It seemed like a no-brainer to give Butternut Box a go, so we ended our partnership with the dry dog food brand and signed up to Butternut Box.
I found the whole experience of signing up to Butternut Box and transitioning Copper and Skye to their new balanced and complete meals seamless. Butternut Box require dog owners to fill out their sign-up questionnaire to give this dog food company a better idea about your pup and their habits. I liked this approach as it really made me feel like Butternut Box cares about my dogs.
As I mentioned already, Butternut Box had a good range of recipes (and it’s great to see how they’ve constantly expanded their menu) and the ingredients were clearly displayed.
In our first Butternut Box delivery, there was a useful guide on how to make the successful transition to my Alaskan Klee Kai’s new meals. We stuck the guide on the fridge and slowly introduced Butternut Box to Copper and Skye. The process was straightforward and there were no hiccups. Within a couple of weeks, Copper and Skye were exclusively eating Butternut Box and we loved seeing their mealtime excitement restored and clean bowls once dinner time was finished.
We signed up to the Butternut Box Ambassador Program and I got to take part in their Nutrition School which I found fascinating because it gave me a greater understanding of dog food (not just Butternut Box’s dog food). While we didn’t need any help with the transition, there was an issue with one of our deliveries and their Customer Love Team were easy to deal with.
We haven’t had any issues with Copper and Skye’s digestive health since making the switch to Butternut Box. There’s been no trips to the vet because Skye isn’t eating - so we’ve saved a lot of money in vet bills! Skye is still a picky eater but I really appreciate the range of recipes Butternut Box has on offer.
It allowed me to be clever with my recipe selections - I picked a range of low fat meals but some more decadent options to keep my dogs motivated at mealtime. Copper and Skye do have the same favourite recipes - You’ve Got Game, Pork This Way and Chicken and Duck were always hugely popular with my Klee Kai.
We’ve recommended Butternut Box to many Klee Kai friends who’ve struggled with pickiness and it’s always been a hit. While we said goodbye to their pickiness, we said hello to firm stools. It was remarkable how consistent Copper and Skye’s stools were - unlike when we fed kibble or wet food. Copper’s flatulence went away - too.
Having worked on hellobark.com for the best part of five years and been sent lots of dog food to review, I’ve had the chance to take a look at the other options out there. We’ve also been approached by pet food brands for sponsorship deals on Life With Klee Kai but we’ve turned them down because we don’t want to switch from Butternut Box.
While there are a handful of dog food brands that are worthy rivals to Butternut Box, I believe Butternut Box represents the best pound-for-pound value for dog owners. Their fresh dog food is reasonably priced when compared to other similar pet food brands. It still gets stellar reviews from dog owners - just check out Trustpilot to see the thousands of happy customers and happy dogs.
Switching to Butternut Box was the best decision we could have made for Copper and Skye - and we continue to encourage other dog owners to give them a try to see the benefits firsthand.
Written by our very own Butternut Box Ambassador, Kieran, co-founder of UK-based independent pet website Hello Bark. When he isn't working as a sports journalist or writing about pets, Kieran likes to capture the day-to-day lives of his Alaskan Klee Kai Skye and Copper.
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