A typical Australian Shepherd tops out around 23.8 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 31.61 mph. 1.1 mph faster than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Australian Shepherds outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 3.8 mph.
Aussie: same breed, same answer. Based on the best Fast CAT run of 3,840 Australian Shepherds, a typical Australian Shepherd tops out at 23.8 mph, and half of them run faster than 24.5 mph. That makes the Australian Shepherd the 47th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 24 Australian Shepherds have ever broken 30 mph, and 1,597 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Herding breeds, the typical Australian Shepherd is faster than 6 of 8. The Belgian Malinois is the quickest of the bunch at 26.9 mph, and the German Shepherd Dog (23.7 mph) runs closest to the Australian Shepherd. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 3.0 mph gap to the Belgian Malinois is about 0.96 seconds.
Avid's Understanding The Universe holds the fastest consistent run by any Australian Shepherd: 31.61 mph at the Vallejo Dog Training Club in California on March 26, 2023. That's 100 yards in 6.47 seconds.
AKC's results also show Teyrnon's Mia Sola @Mystic Fire at 38.30 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 25.65 mph. A jump that big is usually a timing or typing error, so we flag it rather than crown it.
On Dash-Hound, the fastest Australian Shepherd is Jameson, with a best of 28.77 mph over 8 logged runs.
Australian Shepherds come in more than one Fast CAT height group. 3,380 measured over 18 inches and averaged 23.9 mph; 453 measured 12 to 18 inches and averaged 23.5 mph. Smaller dogs earn extra points per mph toward their titles, so the shorter ones rack up titles faster.
Not really, but more are running. In 2016, 46 Australian Shepherds ran Fast CAT, typically at 23.4 mph. In 2025 it was 1,276 dogs at 23.9 mph.
Florida has the most Australian Shepherd runs, 4,624 of them, followed by Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia. The fastest Australian Shepherd run in Florida is 38.30 mph.
Any AKC-registered Australian Shepherd over 12 months old can enter, and your dog runs alone down a straight 100 yards. Most dogs figure out the lure fast. Have someone your dog will run to waiting past the finish line, because a dog that stops to check on you can lose a second or two.
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Speeds from AKC Fast CAT results. Photographers: spotted your work? Tell us at [email protected] and we'll credit it or take it down.