If we ask about fast animals, everyone talks about cheetahs or some African antelopes, but few people would think of mentioning dogs, even though many breeds reach speeds of around 60 km/h .
Among all the breeds that exist, some do have the appearance of being very fast animals, but there are others that will surprise us because they do not have the appearance of a sprinter.
Greyhound
The English greyhound holds the honor of being the fastest dog on the planet , as it can exceed 70 km/h for a short period of time, which is what it needs to finish the race at the dog track.
The reason it runs at this speed is that it has been selected for decades to run faster in these designated places, since right now off the track they are not able to hunt anything.
As a curiosity, many of these animals end up being adopted by people from all over the world, because after a very short life in racing their future is uncertain, something that is avoided by dog lovers spread around the globe, who organize themselves in order to save them.
saluki
Salukis are one of the most elegant sighthounds , something that is helped by the mix of areas with short and long hair, like the one we see on their tail, which sways in the wind when they run.
It reaches 67 km/h and in this case it is capable of running in the countryside, since it has never been used in dog tracks as is the case with the greyhound.
It may be one of the oldest breeds in the world . It is supported by genetic studies and is also native to Iran, an area where civilization as we know it was born.
It is possible that he was the companion of the first nomadic people who settled in the East, and there are carvings that are more than 6,000 years old that show dogs that look like a Saluki.
Afghan Hound
There is no more elegant dog in the world than the Afghan hound , which reaches 64 km/h while making its hair flutter when chasing its prey, although now we see it more at exhibitions, where it is always one of the stars.
Originally from Afghanistan, it is one of the few sighthounds with long hair, something that is due to the fact that the area where it was born is very cold in winter.
It can be quite a challenge when training him, as he has a very independent personality, similar to that of the inhabitants of the country where he was born. In fact, it seems that they choose an owner, who is the only one they will pay attention to.
Vizsla
A first surprise on the list is this dog originally from Hungary, and from its appearance no one would say that it can run at the same speed as an Afghan greyhound.
Its origin is in hunting, like sighthounds, but it has nothing to do with them, since the Vizsla is a dog that does not catch game , but points them out to its owner and also collects them in the water.
It is not the best companion to have in an apartment, since it needs a lot of activity, and as a curiosity, it has come to us by chance, since after World War II it was very close to extinction.
Due to his speed, in World War I he was used as a messenger, carrying information from one place to another under enemy fire.
Jack Russell Terrier
61 km/h is the speed at which this Jack Russell Terrier can reach, which no one expects to be on a list of sprinters, but it is so.
Again, it is a hunting dog, although different from all those we have seen, since it was selected for and for fox hunting, something we owe to a parish priest who is the one who gave its name to the breed.
Like the Vizsla, it is not the best companion dog if we are going to keep it locked up at home, because then it will give us a lot of problems.
Dalmatian
Disney has made Dalmatians one of the best-known breeds in the world thanks to its movies , although they do not show that they can run up to 56 km/h.
He was born in what is now Croatia and the reason he runs so much is that he was a carriage dog, who had to watch the carts and horses when they stopped, in addition to “decorating” so that everyone knew that there someone very rich was passing by.
Due to unresponsible breeding, deafness is currently one of the breed's biggest problems , since it is estimated that up to a fifth of dogs born have this disease.
Borzoi
We return to the sighthounds and now we go to Russia, the country of origin of the Borzoi , which runs up to 57 km/h, something it needed to catch up with the rabbits and foxes.
He also hunted wolves, although always in teams of three dogs, since a wolf is a very tough prey, which can kill a dog without flinching.
Although it is a sighthound, it does not need as much exercise as others and if we let it, it will spend a good part of the day resting, always next to its masters.
whippet
It can be said that it is a miniature greyhound , despite which it reaches 54 km/h , a figure that is not bad at all and that allows it to be a fearsome hunter.
The Whippet is of English origin and it may be that it was used by the poorest people to hunt rabbits, often poachingly.
Doberman
Louis Dobermann gave us one of the fastest breeds , it exceeds 50 km/h, and one of the best guardians on the planet with whom we can be sure that nothing bad will happen to our family, especially to the children with the who appears protective.
It needs to be busy, so we will only buy one if we are going to give it the necessary attention and we can play sports with it, otherwise it can give us problems.
Due to his physique, it is very likely that this tax collector who created the breed used some type of greyhound, as it is a very graceful animal that has a certain similarity to short-haired sighthounds.
German shepherd
The best-known dog in the world is also fast, reaching 48 km/h when it starts running , although the truth is that these speeds are better achieved by working dogs.
The German Shepherds that have been selected for exhibitions have been raised with a type of descending trunk line that causes hip dysplasia and other types of hereditary diseases.
Thus, if we want a healthy one, it is best to opt for a working dog, or contact a responsible breeder who gives us all the guarantees that he is selling us a dog that does not have dysplasia, something that is possible thanks to the x-rays and DNA analysis.
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