A typical Welsh Terrier tops out around 21.2 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 25.89 mph. 1.5 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). Even a typical Welsh Terrier would beat most people in a 100-yard sprint.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 111 Welsh Terriers, a typical Welsh Terrier tops out at 21.2 mph, and half of them run faster than 21.6 mph. That makes the Welsh Terrier the 131st fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
5 Welsh Terriers have topped 25 mph, but none has reached 30 yet.
Among the most popular Terrier breeds, the typical Welsh Terrier is faster than 5 of 8. The American Staffordshire Terrier is the quickest of the bunch at 24.0 mph, and the Border Terrier (20.8 mph) runs closest to the Welsh Terrier. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 2.9 mph gap to the American Staffordshire Terrier is about 1.15 seconds.
Oaks' Resistance Is Futile holds the fastest consistent run by any Welsh Terrier: 25.89 mph at the Borzoi Club of Greater Omaha in Nebraska on March 29, 2025. That's 100 yards in 7.90 seconds.
AKC's results also show Summersun's Bard Taliesin At Brynmawr at 28.65 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 24.18 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 Welsh Terrier is Darren, with a best of 24.56 mph over 12 logged runs.
Not really, but more are running. In 2021, 32 Welsh Terriers ran Fast CAT, typically at 20.6 mph. In 2025 it was 36 dogs at 21.1 mph.
Kentucky has the most Welsh Terrier runs, 320 of them, followed by Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania. The fastest Welsh Terrier run in Kentucky is 24.14 mph.
Any AKC-registered Welsh Terrier 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.