A typical Samoyed tops out around 21.4 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 28.45 mph. 1.3 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Samoyeds outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 0.6 mph.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 877 Samoyeds, a typical Samoyed tops out at 21.4 mph, and half of them run faster than 22.0 mph. That makes the Samoyed the 122nd fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 3 Samoyeds have ever broken 30 mph, and 80 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Working breeds, the typical Samoyed is the slowest of the 9. The Boxer is the quickest of the bunch at 25.2 mph, and the Portuguese Water Dog (21.6 mph) runs closest to the Samoyed. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 3.7 mph gap to the Boxer is about 1.42 seconds.
Mcmagic's Lightening Strikes Twice For Kudla holds the fastest consistent run by any Samoyed: 28.45 mph at the Hungarian Pumi Club of America in Connecticut on June 7, 2024. That's 100 yards in 7.19 seconds.
AKC's results also show Polar Mist Fire Diamond at 31.61 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 26.12 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 Samoyed is Ace, with a best of 25.61 mph over 27 logged runs.
Not really, but more are running. In 2017, 44 Samoyeds ran Fast CAT, typically at 20.7 mph. In 2025 it was 298 dogs at 21.3 mph.
Virginia has the most Samoyed runs, 2,596 of them, followed by Wisconsin, Colorado, Ohio. The fastest Samoyed run in Virginia is 31.49 mph.
Any AKC-registered Samoyed 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.
Fast CAT rankings ยท How fast is a dog?
Speeds from AKC Fast CAT results. Photographers: spotted your work? Tell us at [email protected] and we'll credit it or take it down.