A typical Welsh Springer Spaniel tops out around 21.0 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 26.09 mph. 1.7 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). Even a typical Welsh Springer Spaniel would beat most people in a 100-yard sprint.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 107 Welsh Springer Spaniels, a typical Welsh Springer Spaniel tops out at 21.0 mph, and half of them run faster than 21.6 mph. That makes the Welsh Springer Spaniel the 135th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
7 Welsh Springer Spaniels have topped 25 mph, but none has reached 30 yet.
Among the most popular Sporting breeds, the typical Welsh Springer Spaniel is the slowest of the 9. The Vizsla is the quickest of the bunch at 24.9 mph, and the English Springer Spaniel (22.2 mph) runs closest to the Welsh Springer Spaniel. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 3.9 mph gap to the Vizsla is about 1.50 seconds.
Fox River Sunshiney Days holds the fastest consistent run by any Welsh Springer Spaniel: 26.09 mph at the Packerland Kennel Club in Wisconsin on June 4, 2026. That's 100 yards in 7.84 seconds.
AKC's results also show Juniper's Redwood Valley Sequoia at 26.16 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 24.35 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 Welsh Springer Spaniel is Tru, with a best of 21.31 mph over 36 logged runs.
Welsh Springer Spaniels come in more than one Fast CAT height group. 40 measured over 18 inches and averaged 20.8 mph; 67 measured 12 to 18 inches and averaged 21.2 mph. Smaller dogs earn extra points per mph toward their titles, so the shorter ones rack up titles faster.
A little. The typical Welsh Springer Spaniel ran 19.9 mph in 2022 (25 dogs) and 21.5 mph in 2025 (38 dogs). As more everyday pets join in, the average moves around.
California has the most Welsh Springer Spaniel runs, 167 of them, followed by Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio. The fastest Welsh Springer Spaniel run in California is 26.16 mph.
Any AKC-registered Welsh Springer Spaniel 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.