A typical Maltese tops out around 14.5 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 17.56 mph. 8.2 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph).
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 26 Malteses, a typical Maltese tops out at 14.5 mph, and half of them run faster than 14.3 mph. That puts the Maltese 220th of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT, near the back of the pack.
1 Maltese has topped 25 mph, but none has reached 30 yet.
Among the most popular Toy breeds, the typical Maltese is the slowest of the 9. The Italian Greyhound is the quickest of the bunch at 23.5 mph, and the Pomeranian (15.6 mph) runs closest to the Maltese. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 9.0 mph gap to the Italian Greyhound is about 5.40 seconds.
Sugar Magnolia holds the fastest consistent run by any Maltese: 17.56 mph at the Shawangunk Kennel Club in New York on September 14, 2025. That's 100 yards in 11.65 seconds.
AKC's results also show Jodi's Prince Paxton Of Stewart at 26.56 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 15.04 mph. A jump that big is usually a timing or typing error, so we flag it rather than crown it.
Colorado has the most Maltese runs, 76 of them, followed by Tennessee, Ohio, California. The fastest Maltese run in Colorado is 15.04 mph.
Short legs don't stop anyone from having a blast. Any AKC-registered Maltese 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.