A typical Portuguese Water Dog tops out around 21.6 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 28.85 mph. 1.1 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Portuguese Water Dogs outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 1.1 mph.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 566 Portuguese Water Dogs, a typical Portuguese Water Dog tops out at 21.6 mph, and half of them run faster than 22.2 mph. That makes the Portuguese Water Dog the 118th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 1 Portuguese Water Dog has ever broken 30 mph, and 68 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Working breeds, the typical Portuguese Water Dog is faster than 1 of 8. The Boxer is the quickest of the bunch at 25.2 mph, and the Samoyed (21.4 mph) runs closest to the Portuguese Water Dog. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 3.6 mph gap to the Boxer is about 1.34 seconds.
Hat Trick Mine That Bird holds the fastest consistent run by any Portuguese Water Dog: 28.85 mph at the Clemson Kennel Club in South Carolina on October 22, 2023. That's 100 yards in 7.09 seconds.
AKC's results also show Danca's Dutch Bright Morning Star(S) at 31.18 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 23.16 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 Water Dog is Juno, with a best of 24.85 mph over 22 logged runs.
A little. The typical Portuguese Water Dog ran 20.5 mph in 2018 (36 dogs) and 21.4 mph in 2025 (142 dogs). As more everyday pets join in, the average moves around.
Wisconsin has the most Portuguese Water Dog runs, 949 of them, followed by Maryland, Florida, Virginia. The fastest Portuguese Water Dog run in Wisconsin is 27.72 mph.
Any AKC-registered Portuguese Water Dog 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.