A typical Cairn Terrier tops out around 17.8 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 25.04 mph. 4.9 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). Even a typical Cairn Terrier would beat most people in a 100-yard sprint.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 425 Cairn Terriers, a typical Cairn Terrier tops out at 17.8 mph, and half of them run faster than 18.4 mph. That makes the Cairn Terrier the 186th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
6 Cairn Terriers have topped 25 mph, but none has reached 30 yet.
Among the most popular Terrier breeds, the typical Cairn Terrier is faster than 1 of 8. The American Staffordshire Terrier is the quickest of the bunch at 24.0 mph, and the Miniature Schnauzer (18.8 mph) runs closest to the Cairn Terrier. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 6.2 mph gap to the American Staffordshire Terrier is about 2.96 seconds.
Pebble Rock's Goalie holds the fastest consistent run by any Cairn Terrier: 25.04 mph at the Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club in Connecticut on June 12, 2021. That's 100 yards in 8.17 seconds.
AKC's results also show Nicairn Fearghas Dolaidh Hjo Got The Spirit at 28.25 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 19.80 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 Cairn Terrier is Bingley, with a best of 22.73 mph over 95 logged runs.
Cairn Terriers come in more than one Fast CAT height group. 381 measured under 12 inches and averaged 17.7 mph; 43 measured 12 to 18 inches and averaged 19.3 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 2017, 94 Cairn Terriers ran Fast CAT, typically at 17.3 mph. In 2025 it was 101 dogs at 17.8 mph.
Virginia has the most Cairn Terrier runs, 1,625 of them, followed by New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado. The fastest Cairn Terrier run in Virginia is 23.87 mph.
Short legs don't stop anyone from having a blast. Any AKC-registered Cairn Terrier over 12 months old can enter, small dogs earn twice the points per mph toward their titles, and the crowd always cheers loudest for the little ones. Have someone your dog will run to waiting past the finish line.
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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.