A typical Scottish Deerhound tops out around 25.6 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 31.06 mph. 2.9 mph faster than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Scottish Deerhounds outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 3.3 mph.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 189 Scottish Deerhounds, a typical Scottish Deerhound tops out at 25.6 mph, and half of them run faster than 26.5 mph. That makes the Scottish Deerhound the 12th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 10 Scottish Deerhounds have ever broken 30 mph, and 128 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Hound breeds, the typical Scottish Deerhound is faster than 5 of 8. The Greyhound is the quickest of the bunch at 32.9 mph, and the Rhodesian Ridgeback (24.7 mph) runs closest to the Scottish Deerhound. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 7.3 mph gap to the Greyhound is about 1.78 seconds.
Bruach's Fletcher Of The Dogwoods holds the fastest consistent run by any Scottish Deerhound: 31.06 mph at the Gulf Coast Hound Club in Florida on January 17, 2020. That's 100 yards in 6.59 seconds.
AKC's results also show Tanglewood Kisses Under A Blue Moon Of Nightwatch at 33.92 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 29.18 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 Scottish Deerhound is Eros, with a best of 28.61 mph over 18 logged runs.
A little. The typical Scottish Deerhound ran 25.1 mph in 2021 (41 dogs) and 25.8 mph in 2025 (51 dogs). As more everyday pets join in, the average moves around.
Virginia has the most Scottish Deerhound runs, 229 of them, followed by California, Pennsylvania, Ohio. The fastest Scottish Deerhound run in Virginia is 30.21 mph.
Scottish Deerhounds are sighthounds, built for exactly this: a straight sprint after a lure. Most catch on in a run or two. Any AKC-registered Scottish Deerhound 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.