A typical Shetland Sheepdog tops out around 19.6 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 29.01 mph. 3.1 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Shetland Sheepdogs outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 1.2 mph.
Sheltie: same breed, same answer. Based on the best Fast CAT run of 1,176 Shetland Sheepdogs, a typical Shetland Sheepdog tops out at 19.6 mph, and half of them run faster than 20.5 mph. That makes the Shetland Sheepdog the 159th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 5 Shetland Sheepdogs have ever broken 30 mph, and 82 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Herding breeds, the typical Shetland Sheepdog is faster than 1 of 8. The Belgian Malinois is the quickest of the bunch at 26.9 mph, and the Collie (20.4 mph) runs closest to the Shetland Sheepdog. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 7.2 mph gap to the Belgian Malinois is about 2.79 seconds.
Kleimans Beaux Of My Heart holds the fastest consistent run by any Shetland Sheepdog: 29.01 mph at the North Georgia Kennel Club in Georgia on June 22, 2024. That's 100 yards in 7.05 seconds.
AKC's results also show Havere Sheli Jul-Rics Triple Threat at 36.56 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 20.25 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 Shetland Sheepdog is Beaux, with a best of 29.01 mph over 115 logged runs.
Not really, but more are running. In 2017, 45 Shetland Sheepdogs ran Fast CAT, typically at 19.2 mph. In 2025 it was 396 dogs at 19.6 mph.
Pennsylvania has the most Shetland Sheepdog runs, 2,776 of them, followed by Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina. The fastest Shetland Sheepdog run in Pennsylvania is 29.52 mph.
Any AKC-registered Shetland Sheepdog 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.