A typical Portuguese Podengo tops out around 19.9 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 29.60 mph. 2.8 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Portuguese Podengos outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 1.8 mph.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 178 Portuguese Podengos, a typical Portuguese Podengo tops out at 19.9 mph, and half of them run faster than 20.1 mph. That makes the Portuguese Podengo the 155th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 1 Portuguese Podengo has ever broken 30 mph, and 22 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Hound breeds, the typical Portuguese Podengo is faster than 2 of 8. The Greyhound is the quickest of the bunch at 32.9 mph, and the Beagle (19.7 mph) runs closest to the Portuguese Podengo. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 13.0 mph gap to the Greyhound is about 4.08 seconds.
Fadista Spavinaw Creek Do Vale De Fermedo holds the fastest consistent run by any Portuguese Podengo: 29.60 mph at the Seminole Kennel Club in Oklahoma on October 18, 2024. That's 100 yards in 6.91 seconds.
AKC's results also show Zeus at 30.12 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 27.46 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 Portuguese Podengo is Minka, with a best of 16.99 mph over 6 logged runs.
Portuguese Podengos come in more than one Fast CAT height group. 22 measured over 18 inches and averaged 25.4 mph; 135 measured under 12 inches and averaged 18.5 mph; 21 measured 12 to 18 inches and averaged 22.9 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 2018, 33 Portuguese Podengos ran Fast CAT, typically at 20.1 mph. In 2025 it was 59 dogs at 20.1 mph.
Ohio has the most Portuguese Podengo runs, 409 of them, followed by California, North Carolina, Virginia. The fastest Portuguese Podengo run in Ohio is 28.03 mph.
Portuguese Podengos are sighthounds, built for exactly this: a straight sprint after a lure. Most catch on in a run or two. Any AKC-registered Portuguese Podengo over 12 months old can enter, and the only real training is a reliable finish: have someone your dog will run to waiting past the 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.