# Are Vizslas the fastest hunting dog?



## eldesson (Jan 28, 2018)

Hi, I've been reading about Vizslas lately and I was immediately drawn to their charismatic appearance and athleticism. I was just wondering, predominantly out of curiosity, if you would you consider Vizslas to be the fastest breed of hunting dog. By fast, I refer to a combination of raw speed (e.g. top speed), and endurance (ability to sustain moderately fast speeds for long durations). 

Essentially, if there was a 10k race for hunting dogs, would the Vizsla win? How does it compare to other fast breeds like the German Shorthaired Pointer and the Weimaraner? And are there any other non-hunting dog breeds (e.g. maybe a Saluki?) that would outperform it by those metrics?


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## MassFam5 (May 2, 2017)

There’s a few GSPs at our local dog park that sure give our dog some competition in both the speed and endurance dept. I think Weims are up there in the speed too. Not sure about other breeds but that’s an interesting question. Curious to see what others think based on their experience. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

IDK about actual stats, but all of the breeds you're naming are fairly fast and have good endurance. My own totally biased and non scientific opinion is that the Vizsla, being the smallest of the continental pointers would win based on agility, where lower center of gravity and general lightness would be most beneficial in maneuverability. For outright gracefulness of that movement, there's no competition, however...


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## rustedduck (Dec 18, 2017)

I believe the Greyhound is number one, followed by a tie for 2nd between
the Vizsla and the Saluki. The Greyhound comes in with a top speed of 45 mph,
followed by the Vizsla/Saluki at 43.
I understand these figures are for top speed only, and probably dont reflect endurance.


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

According to the number of Top 10 fastest Dog breeds in the world... video's you watch, I would say Yes the Vizsla is the Fastest HUNTING dog.
The Vizsla clocks in as the 2nd fastest dog breed in the world, next to the Grayhound, and followed by the Saluki. 

It is all there to view if you google top 10 fastest Dog breeds in the World. 
Grayhound
Vizsla
Saluki
Dalmation
Russian Wolfhound
Whippet
Weimaraner
Border collie
Doberman
Great Dane


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Most of your smooth haired pointing breeds, are going to be close to equal. 
Bloodlines, and conditioning will play big part in overall speed, and endurance. 
Your going to find slower, and faster in each breed of pointers.
I would think the English Pointers would be hard to beat as a group.


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## Markandro (12 mo ago)

I find this thread fascinating. My Viz is nowhere near the 40mph that other sites suggest. I know a lot of other Vizslas who are a similar speed to mine. They can definitely go for ages and I wouldn't be surprised if they were top gun when it came to a 10k race, but as far as sprinting is concerned I would suggest the 40mph "fact" seems bogus to me. Whippets smash my Viz in a sprint. They have a different sprint gait that seems to make them naturally loads quicker in a sprint. I'd be interested to hear others opinions - a viz is fast, but not as quick on the sprint as any sight hound. The facts of other dogs speed online (e.g. Jack russell) look bonkers too. I believe the greyhound speed, but little else frankly until I see the evidence! 🤣


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Markandro

They're fast. Real fast. You just haven't seen them feel the need to turn it on.
When Finn was less than two years old, he ran down and passed two adult GSP's sprinting toward a Pheasant. It wasn't even close. In a 300 yard sprint he just blew past them like they were standing still. He probably put a good 40 yards on them at the end, and started a good 25-30 yards behind them. Their owner commented to me that he knew the Vizsla's were fast, but he had no idea they were that fast.

I was a Cat II USCF bicycle racer for many years. My dogs were my constant companions and training partners. It was nothing for me to break 30mph on a flat road with a bicycle. Dirt, or pavement, and wind up a sprint at close to 40mph. My dogs never had any issues keeping up, and usually were swinging in and out of the woods at the same time. Many times on fire road downhills, my MTN bike would be at 30-35 miles per hour on down hill sections, and they were right there. I would be out there for two to three hours, and average just at 18-20mph on the MTN bike. with them. They could do it, but then they needed a few good re=st days to recover. Never in the heat of summer though, always in the late fall, late winter, when the air was cooler.
10K through the woods, I take the Vizsla every day of the week. However, no dog is designed to run that fast for 10K. Dogs need breaks and water more so that humans. But for 10K, with breaks humanely spaced, and access to water available, a Vizlsa will easily average 20-24 miles an hour in total time elapsed, point A to B.
I promise you, they're wicked fast when they want to be.


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

@Markandro, I can understand, because you haven't witnessed a vizsla go into "insane speed mode", you'd be skeptical.

I grew up on a racing quarter horse farm. I'd like to think I have a semblance of understanding of animal acceleration and speed.

Aly, now at 20 months, has presented two occurrences of at least partially "insane mode". Was she moving at a rate of 40mph? Can't be absolutely sure, because of angles between me and the mutt. BUT, I can certainly state, it was at least close!

When you witness it, you'll definitively know and never forget it! They become a completely different creature, when they turn the afterburners up to full blast! Intensity on steroids!


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

years ago I did a try it run for FAST CAT with Bende. None of the dogs will speed up to their full speed there as the motivation is just not as high as in real life scenario (chasing a dummy in a closed encounter area), but it still gives you a good understanding about their capabilities., The whippets there did the 100 yard in 7 seconds, the greyhounds and Bende did in 8. The other dogs were 12+. 
Vizslas do have sight hound heritage, and depending on blood lines they can be built for extreme or just fast speed, both mentally and physically. But indeed there are differences. If you look at Aly above that picture calls for high speed in my view.


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## BellaVT (12 mo ago)

I'm not very familiar with the "Fast Cat" event, but looking at the results page it doesn't seem like Vizslas register as significantly faster than most other breeds. For example, the fastest Vizsla for 2022 is at 28.9 mph, while the fastest Labrador Retriever is at 29.6 mph, and the fastest Golden Retriever is at 28.6 mph. Being more comparable, the fastest German Shorthair Pointer and the fastest (English) Pointer are both at 29.2 mph.

Looking at only the fastest probably isn't perfect, as there are probably more dogs tested for the more popular breeds, and results are slightly different for other years, but as evidence it would seem to say that Vizslas are about the same speed as most other athletic dogs. This isn't to say that Vizslas aren't extremely fast, and I'm sure some individual Vizslas are much faster than some individual GSPs, but it does make me wonder if there is any stronger evidence for the speed of the breed as a whole.


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## Markandro (12 mo ago)

Thanks everyone. I agree that no dogs would run to their full potential at an event like FAST CAT, but assuming that most would be at a similar percentage of their maximum, the results are intriguing. They very much align with my observations! Vizslas are around 30mph and similar to other retrievers and pointers. Whippets and other sighthounds nearer the 40mph mark. Sighthounds are built for pure speed and have a different running style to achieve that. Vizslas are built and bred for middle distance endurance. Thanks loads for providing some actual figures. I couldn't find them before. All really interesting.


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

@BellaVT, after your most recent post, I too did some research of AKC Fast Cat results. Fascinating!

@Markandro, as a general , overarching observation, I agree with last post. Though, I'm not convinced we have explored the entire capabilities of a vizsla's potential speed.

As a fun, academic exercise, I'll take the evening to ponder, so that I'm better able to articulate my experiences and thoughts.

In the mean time, I'd like to point out... While there can be question and speculation of a vizsla's overall top speed, I'd willingly challenge anyone to present me with any dog that could marginally match an average vizsla's speed over terrain. Through wood, bramble and thicket, they are a marvel!


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

BellaVT said:


> I'm not very familiar with the "Fast Cat" event, but looking at the results page it doesn't seem like Vizslas register as significantly faster than most other breeds. For example, the fastest Vizsla for 2022 is at 28.9 mph, while the fastest Labrador Retriever is at 29.6 mph, and the fastest Golden Retriever is at 28.6 mph. Being more comparable, the fastest German Shorthair Pointer and the fastest (English) Pointer are both at 29.2 mph.
> 
> Looking at only the fastest probably isn't perfect, as there are probably more dogs tested for the more popular breeds, and results are slightly different for other years, but as evidence it would seem to say that Vizslas are about the same speed as most other athletic dogs. This isn't to say that Vizslas aren't extremely fast, and I'm sure some individual Vizslas are much faster than some individual GSPs, but it does make me wonder if there is any stronger evidence for the speed of the breed as a whole.


just imagine how many of the field trial bred huning dogs would not be part of this statistics... neither did the 7 second run of Bende as it was a try it event. so as always, be careful with statistics, just as in the book *The tiger that isn't*


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

I've spent some time, researching and thinking about this topic. Watched a bunch of videos of greyhounds, whippets and vizslas, performing in "Fast Cat". Combed through AKC Fast Cat results.

Before I begin with dogs, I'd like to go back to my race horse days. When introducing young horses to a track, for acclimation and viability evaluation, there were certain things ya looked for. One of them, the horse's head position and "reach"/extention of their front legs, towards the end of a run. If the horse kept it's head low and ears back, eagerly reaching for the next piece of track, it was a horse to consider.

After watching a bunch of random videos of greyhounds, whippets and vizslas doing "Fast Cat" runs, something peculiar popped out. Every single greyhound and whippet would lower their head (below the crest of their withers) and have extreme front leg extension through the run. Vizslas? Every single one of them would marginally lower their heads to their withers and never really extend and reach with their front legs.

My first thought was: does a vizsla generally have the body structure, physiological ability to extend and lower their heads, while running? The answer to this question came easy. Any time you've got your vizsla out in an open or semi-open place and they have a psychotic "Zommies" episode, you'll witness the behavior I'm talking about. They dart here and there... and "ZOOoooooom" circles around you... the entire time, with lowered head and extreme reach/extension of their front legs. Often times, in an unnatural, overly accentuated way.

Above in this thread, I eluded to two instances of what I'd witnessed as extreme vizsla speed and will describe, for context.

When Aly was about 17 months old and we were walking in the state forest I frequently reference on these forums, we were along a bit of a straightaway, leading to a curve in the road. As we were walking, from around the curve ahead, a guy with a German Shepard appeared, about 50 yards away. We both grabbed our dogs and had a quick (yelling) exchange about each of our dogs being young and good with other dogs. We each agreed to let our dogs go and let them figure it out. Upon doing so, Aly took several steps forward while the German Shepard (Sasha) bolted at us at a flat out run! Remember... there's only about 50 yards between us... and things are happening FAST! By the time Aly realized and reacted, Sasha was within 20 yards. Aly spun and took off in the direction we'd come from. We're talking breath-taking acceleration! Aly passed me in less than the blink of an eye... and by this time, Sasha was within 5 or 7 yards of her. Within a few seconds, Aly had opened up a 25 to 30 yard distance on Sasha... head bowed low and front feet extending, reaching for her life! Pure, raw speed! By the time Aly rounded the bend, at around 125 yards away, she was running and looking back at Sasha, who was still running at full bore. As an aside to the immediate topic and to conclude the Sasha story, after the two dogs took off, Sasha's owner hurried to me, apologizing. After a brief discussion, I'd learned Aly and Sasha were exactly the same age... and Sasha was never known to be vicious or harmful. As we talked for several minutes, the guy began to be concerned the dogs were nowhere in sight. After he'd convincingly given me a quick, general rundown of Sasha, I suggested he relax and not worry. I knew Aly would circle back, to get to me... and had a sneaking suspicion, the two dogs would return as friends. Low and behold, about 8 to 10 minutes after the mutts took off, they came trotting up the road towards us, side by side, playfully biting at each others necks. To date, Aly and Sasha are bestest of buddies. Sasha is/was a very fit, well taken care of, well trained German Shepard, with not a single cell of malice in her... and she's gorgeous! More directly to the topic of this thread... and quite interestingly, lifetime records of AKC "Fast Cat" show results of vizslas and german shepards having nearly identical top speeds.

The second display of Aly's extreme speed occurred in the same field I made the kangaroo video. Aly loves her field! When the hay grows tall, she loves pouncing on moles and field mice. I keep a bush-hogged path around the perimeter, for our daily walks... where she hunts woodchucks. The evening after the local farmer cut and baled the hay, we went out to explore... climbing on and play around the big round bales. While we were out there, she went into a weird "zoomie" event. I can only guess, she was intellectually overwhelmed by her field haven gone from very tall grass to cut clean. Instead of normal zoomies, she went crazy at 100 to 200 yard dashes. I'm talking extreme speeds... with head lowered and full leg/body extension!

In both cases above, I've intentionally left out numbers. Though, I can say with a very high degree of confidence, in both cases Aly was traveling at a significantly higher rate than the fastest ever recorded, AKC Fast Cat time for a vizsla, of 31.65mph!

This post is long enough already. I won't bore anyone with further suppositions and theories.

In the end, don't underestimate a vizslas speed, because you haven't witnessed it, or because AKC "Fast Cat" results don't reflect greater.

At this point, the much more interesting question to me is how/why a vizsla has obtained the abilities of such great speed.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

derwos

As I stated, I know for a fact my bicycles were doing 35+mph, for short bursts, and my boys were right there. When they need to run, that head goes down and they take a very long stride.
To put things in perspective, the fastest human ever born can only reach just under 28 mph, and would stand zero chance of ever outrunning a vizlsa. They are much faster than 30 mph.
A person has to respect their speed, even though we don't typically have a use for it

A fun fact, just for you, I have a now 21 year old OTTB out of General Royal, from the AP Indy line. We picked up off the back shed rows at Suffolk Down as a three year old. He's also still very fast for an old timer. 

On the flip side of their speed, Has anyone ever noticed how slow they are when they know you're going to want them to do something they don't want to? Finn moves at Glacial speed when I want him to come back in the house, and he wants to sun himself in the grass.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

gunnr said:


> derwos
> 
> As I stated, I know for a fact my bicycles were doing 35+mph, for short bursts, and my boys were right there. When they need to run, that head goes down and they take a very long stride.
> To put things in perspective, the fastest human ever born can only reach just under 28 mph, and would stand zero chance of ever outrunning a vizlsa. They are much faster than 30 mph.
> ...


and they can hear a lizard crawling on the wall the of the house on other side of the street but have a hard time hearing when you want to end hunting. famous Selective Hearing Disorder I noticed with many of them


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

gunnr said:


> As I stated, I know for a fact my bicycles were doing 35+mph, for short bursts, and my boys were right there. When they need to run, that head goes down and they take a very long stride.


WE may be in church and preaching to each others choirs.🤣😂


gunnr said:


> To put things in perspective, the fastest human ever born can only reach just under 28 mph, and would stand zero chance of ever outrunning a vizlsa. They are much faster than 30 mph.


I'm well aware of Usain Bolt's 2011 run, when that measurement was recorded. I've also done some interpolative mathematics of that run, against the AKC Fast Cat fastest recorded time, for a vizsla.

I won't bore anyone with the mathematics. Suffice it to say, very interesting inferences could be drawn!



gunnr said:


> A fun fact, just for you, I have a now 21 year old OTTB out of General Royal, from the AP Indy line. We picked up off the back shed rows at Suffolk Down as a three year old. He's also still very fast for an old timer.


OH!! WOW!!! A little insight to the @gunnr family and lifestyle!! So cool!! Your thoroughbred guy is gelded? So many questions I'd love to ask... though, won't in a public discussion.

May I participate in "Fun Facts", too?

The race horse farm I grew up on (my parents farm) during the early 70's thru early 80's was originally a breeding operation of racing thoroughbreds. The main stud was a horse named "Big Pete". "Big Pete" ran in the Preakness (I think he got his butt whooped), when he was young. I'm not sure exactly when, but am guessing in the mid-60's. I have a recollection of him being 17 years old, in the late 70's. Big Pete's offspring ran and made some cash in low to mid grade stakes races. Nothing spectacular.

During the mid 70's, there was growing prospect of quarter horse racing coming to NY. My father jumped into the opportunity (my parents had a greater affinity towards quarter horses, anyway) and began acquiring quality stock, out of Oklahoma (then, the center of the quarter horse racing universe). The stud brought to the farm was named "Oh Chick". At the time, Oh Chick was the Oklahoma state record holder at 330yds, for 1 year olds. I think he was 5 or 6 years old, when we got him. He seethed with testosterone... and was mean as a snake! He was also the fittest, most muscularly developed horse I've ever seen. He had a dark coat and the knots of muscle bulged and glistened all over his body!

I can't remember exactly when, but think it was about 1980 to 1981, NYS passed legislation/regulation that killed quarter horse racing here.

At about this same time, a little palomino filly out of Oh Chick began displaying outstanding confirmation. Her name was "Kansas City Lights". A professional show trainer was brought in and at 1 year old, Kansas City Lights went to The Palomino Congress in Oklahoma City and won National first place champion, for 1 year olds... and National Runner-up, for all age groups combined. Sad part of her story: a few months after winning national champion, she developed a very rare neurological disorder, manifested in her spine. I the course of a few weeks, she progressed from being perfect, to losing strength and control of her hind legs, to being put down.

Thanks, @gunnr... for sharing enough to provoke curiosity... and for jogging memories from decades ago. It's been A LONG time since I've thought through those times passed!!


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

gunnr said:


> On the flip side of their speed, Has anyone ever noticed how slow they are when they know you're going to want them to do something they don't want to? Finn moves at Glacial speed when I want him to come back in the house, and he wants to sun himself in the grass.





Gabica said:


> and they can hear a lizard crawling on the wall the of the house on other side of the street but have a hard time hearing when you want to end hunting. famous Selective Hearing Disorder I noticed with many of them


@Gabica & @gunnr, while I'm so often sharing accolades of Aly, make no mistake! She's a female vizsla, with her moments of obstinance!

The BEST is when she wants to ignore me... and looks away from me, like I'll disappear when she does. Then, while I press her for her attention, she gives me that "side-eye" glance! It requires everything in my power, not to bust out laughing! THAT LOOK is so funny and precious!!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

derwos said:


> @Gabica & @gunnr, while I'm so often sharing accolades of Aly, make no mistake! She's a female vizsla, with her moments of obstinance!
> 
> The BEST is when she wants to ignore me... and looks away from me, like I'll disappear when she does. Then, while I press her for her attention, she gives me that "side-eye" glance! It requires everything in my power, not to bust out laughing! THAT LOOK is so funny and precious!!


 Typical female. LOL
June had the side eye down pat. The I don’t why you are bothering me look. Shine not quite as bad, but it’s there. Little Heifer will totally ignore you already, if she’s not ready to come inside. You can let her see your going inside, and she could care less.


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

texasred said:


> Typical female. LOL


"Typical redhead female. LOL"

There. I fixed it. LOL

After divorce, I dated a redhead. I originally knew her as a classmate in high school. She was a VERY shy and quiet person back then. Later in life? She's a hoot!! I think Dawn knows more redhead jokes than anyone on the planet!🤣😂 She can be thanked for this response.🤪


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

derwos said:


> "Typical redhead female. LOL"
> 
> There. I fixed it. LOL
> 
> After divorce, I dated a redhead. I originally knew her as a classmate in high school. She was a VERY shy and quiet person back then. Later in life? She's a hoot!! I think Dawn knows more redhead jokes than anyone on the planet!🤣😂 She can be thanked for this response.🤪


My oldest daughter has red hair.
As a joke
We call her the red headed stepchild.
My kids called one of my other daughters FedEx. They would tell her that FedEx dropped her off at the house. As you can tell we have a very dry sense of humor, and luckily none of us are the sensitive type.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Derwos
As a kid I shoveled a lifetime of horse poop most weekends.
We used to work Santa Anita, Santa Ana, and Hollywood Park cleaning out the Shedrow stalls for the upcoming weekend races.
Used to fill up 30 yard dumpsters and haul them out to Chino CA, for the manure industry.
The LA County I grew up had a lot of large livestock facilities. They’re all gone now. 
I live amongst a lot of small farms in CT now, and love it!


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

Being with and working around those animals leaves a lasting impression!!!

Shame on me! When I think of CT, I think of cities and suburbs. I should know better, living in NY. Nearly everyone who doesn't live in the northeast, thinks the entire NY state is paved, with endless and enormous buildings.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

I'm on the eastern side of the state, in Griswold. Not nearly as populated as the western portion.
We do still have lots of small farms . They keep trying to kill the farming industry in CT, but these "Yankee Farmers" aren't having anything to do with it.
We have the best milk, ice cream, and dairy, available. Lot's of "boutique farms". There is zero reason to buy it in a supermarket. Same with bacon.
It's a lot different than So Cal, but I like it here. ( Well, maybe not the taxes.  )


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## ball.nicholas55 (2 mo ago)

Markandro said:


> I find this thread fascinating. My Viz is nowhere near the 40mph that other sites suggest. I know a lot of other Vizslas who are a similar speed to mine. They can definitely go for ages and I wouldn't be surprised if they were top gun when it came to a 10k race, but as far as sprinting is concerned I would suggest the 40mph "fact" seems bogus to me. Whippets smash my Viz in a sprint. They have a different sprint gait that seems to make them naturally loads quicker in a sprint. I'd be interested to hear others opinions - a viz is fast, but not as quick on the sprint as any sight hound. The facts of other dogs speed online (e.g. Jack russell) look bonkers too. I believe the greyhound speed, but little else frankly until I see the evidence! 🤣


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## ball.nicholas55 (2 mo ago)

Markandro said:


> I find this thread fascinating. My Viz is nowhere near the 40mph that other sites suggest. I know a lot of other Vizslas who are a similar speed to mine. They can definitely go for ages and I wouldn't be surprised if they were top gun when it came to a 10k race, but as far as sprinting is concerned I would suggest the 40mph "fact" seems bogus to me. Whippets smash my Viz in a sprint. They have a different sprint gait that seems to make them naturally loads quicker in a sprint. I'd be interested to hear others opinions - a viz is fast, but not as quick on the sprint as any sight hound. The facts of other dogs speed online (e.g. Jack russell) look bonkers too. I believe the greyhound speed, but little else frankly until I see the evidence! 🤣


Finally someone on these forums that has a clue. I don’t understand where all these misconceptions come from regarding top speed amongst dog breeds. A viz is rapid, and as you said would do well in an endurance race, but against a greyhound or a whippet in a sprint! It’s not even close! Same goes with dalmatians and most other breeds on that list that isn’t a sight hound. My guess is that some idiot confused kph for mph


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

From one of the “idiots”.
Get a Cyclocross bike. Get you and your dog in shape, find a nice forest road with a downhill section,and you have my absolute guarantee that dog will exceed 55-60km/hr chasing you.
40km/hr is a very pedestrian pace for a trained cyclist. All dogs are faster than that. I’ve been chased by enough of them.😉


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